When Wilt Chamberlain decided to leave the sport following his first season, his close pal wasn’t perturbed.
When Wilt Chamberlain joined the NBA, he immediately set the standard for scoring and rebounding, averaging 37.6 points and 27.0 rebounds per game, which helped his Philadelphia Warriors make it to the playoffs. But, ‘The Big Dipper’ unexpectedly decided to ‘leave the sport’ entirely following his loss to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Division Finals.
‘Wilt The Stilt’ shocked the basketball community by declaring that he wanted to retire following his first-ever playoff defeat. Conversely, his close friend was unmoved, having become accustomed to seeing Chamberlain make snap decisions when circumstances demanded it.
‘Wilt The Stilt’ shocked the basketball community by declaring that he wanted to retire following his first-ever playoff defeat. Conversely, his close friend was unmoved, having become accustomed to seeing Chamberlain make snap decisions when circumstances demanded it.
The friend of Wilt Chamberlain seemed unfazed.
Sports Illustrated claims that Chamberlain’s close buddy seen him make similar resignation remarks in the past. The 7’1″ center had considered giving up basketball as a sophomore in college when his Kansas team lost to North Carolina in the 1957 NCAA Tournament
.”Wilt is not a mature adult. According to Chamberlain’s close buddy, “He’s always been ‘Wilt the Stilt’ and ‘The Big Dipper,’ and everything’s come pretty easy for him.” “When things are so simple, you don’t mature. When anything goes wrong, he pouts and says things he doesn’t truly mean. Then he becomes obstinate and adheres to them. He might struggle to escape this situation.”
Wilt averaged 30.5 points and 27.5 rebounds in the six Eastern Division Finals games against the Celtics, so his friend knew that Chamberlain was just unhappy with his performance, coming in second after giving it his all every game.
He was aware that Wilt would come back.
Furthermore, he was willing to wager on the four-time MVP’s return to the court the next season since he had such complete faith in it.
The friend of Chamberlain continued, “I’d bet he changes his mind and plays for Philadelphia next season.” “His pride will bring him back – that and all that money.”
It’s safe to say that Wilt discovered his heroics from his rookie season wouldn’t be enough to win him a title as he faced the most formidable competition of his NBA career. Even though he had increased his scoring and rebounding totals in his second year, he didn’t lead the Warriors to the NBA Finals until the 1963–64 campaign.
