Most importantly, he was not afraid to stand up to the dominant Chamberlain, who was known to not communicate with coaches he did not like. The Warriors were led by two future Hall-of-Famers in star forward Rick Barry and Chamberlain's one-time backup and center Nate Thurmond. [122][123] Cooke had offered Chamberlain a record-setting contract on the condition that he agreed to give up what Cooke termed "this boxing foolishness". For the last play, Thurmond and Barry were assigned to do a pick and roll against Chamberlain and Walker; however, the Sixers foiled it because Walker held up Thurmond's ability to roll, and Barry was picked up by Chamberlain, making it impossible to shoot. "[47], After losing Baylor to an Achilles tendon rupture that effectively ended his career, and especially after losing West after a knee injury, the handicapped Lakers were seen as underdogs in the playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks of Alcindor, freshly crowned MVP, and the veteran Hall-of-Fame guard Robertson, whom they faced in the Western Conference Finals. "[137] The players were split on Chamberlain, who was seen as competent but often indifferent and more occupied with promotion of his autobiography Wilt: Just Like Any Other 7-Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door than with coaching. He had five seasons where he committed less than two fouls per game, with a career-low of 1.5 fouls during the 1962 season, in which he also averaged 50.4 points per game. Date of . [184], More hostile was Chamberlain's relationship with fellow center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, eleven years his junior. [212] Chamberlain accompanied Nixon to the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr.,[213] and he considered himself a Republican. [18] He has been retroactively honored as Mr. Basketball USA for 1955, the earliest such selection. His intention was that the Celtics would throw the ball in so fast that the prolific shot-blocker Chamberlain was not yet back under his own basket, and Boston could score an easy fastbreak basket. The name was retained in one of Chamberlain's signature moves, the "dipper dunk". The 63-year-old Chamberlain was reported to have died of heart damage called myocarditis, but how could arguably the world's greatest and fittest athlete die of heart damage? [211] When Abdul-Jabbar broke his all-time scoring record in 1984, Chamberlain criticized his game and called on him to retire. [126] Furthermore, he told Chamberlain to use his rebounding and passing skills to quickly initiate fastbreaks to his teammates. Even today, people marvel at this fact: The only thing that stopped Wilt Chamberlain from winning a record 11 NBA championships was physics. Going ahead 32, the Sixers defeated the Knicks 11597 in Game 6 after Chamberlain scored 25 points and 27 rebounds; he had a successful series in which he led both teams in points (153), rebounds (145), and assists (38). [92], On the hardwood, Chamberlain continued his focus on team play and registered 24.3 points and 23.8 rebounds a game for the season. [20], In 1953, while still a sophomore in high school, Chamberlain won his first championship. Cherry comments that Chamberlain, who always thought of himself as the best player of all time, should have been outspoken enough to demand the ball. [184] The 1969 NBA Finals is arguably the biggest stain on Chamberlain's career, as supporters of Chamberlain held Russell won more only because he had better teammates; however, in this finals, Chamberlain's team was favored and lost. Category: Richest Athletes NBA Players. When coach Schayes planned to hold a joint team practice the next day, Chamberlain said that he was too tired to attend, and he refused Schayes' plea to at least show up and shoot a few foul shots with the team. Loaded with several other players who could score, Hannum wanted Chamberlain to concentrate more on defense. Sophomore season (1957): National runner-up to North Carolina, Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors (19591965), 195960 NBA season: MVP, All-Star Game MVP and Rookie of the Year, 196061 NBA season: Scoring, rebounding, durability, and field goal titles, 196162 NBA season: 100-point game and 42-point All-Star Game record, 196263 NBA season: Individual success, move to San Francisco, and playoff miss, 196364 NBA season: First NBA Finals loss to the Celtics, 196465 NBA season: Trade to the 76ers, Division Finals loss to the Celtics, 196566 NBA season: MVP and second Division Finals loss to the Celtics, 196667 NBA season: Back-to-back MVP and first NBA title, 196768 NBA season: Third straight MVP and assist champion, 196869 NBA season: Second NBA Finals loss to the Celtics, 196970 NBA season: First NBA Finals loss to the Knicks, 197071 NBA season: Conference Finals loss and challenge to Muhammad Ali, 197172 NBA season: Finals MVP and second NBA title, 197273 NBA season: Second NBA Finals loss to the Knicks, Overbrook had previously produced star basketball players like.
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