Wilt Chamberlain is statistically the best NBA player of all time. The 13-time NBA All-Star and four-time MVP racked up remarkable stats as soon as he entered the league as a rookie in 1959-60. As he reflected on his career in the late 1990s, Chamberlain mentioned the $50 million contracts that were being awarded. He then expressed his view on how much he would be worth if he had played in that era. Wilt Chamberlain dominated the NBA in scoring and rebounding for his first four years.
Wilt Chamberlain quickly became well-known in the NBA. After a great college career at Kansas and a one-year tour with the Harlem Globetrotters, Chamberlain made his NBA debut. The Philadelphia Warriors used a territorial pick on the 7-foot-1 athletic center and saw immediate results. As a rookie, Chamberlain averaged 37.6 points and 27.0 rebounds while leading the NBA in minutes played (46.4). He was voted Rookie of the Year and MVP.
Over the next three years, he managed to improve those figures. Chamberlain had his best statistical season in his third year in the league, putting up numbers that will never be matched again. He is best remembered for his 100-point performance against the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962, but the whole picture from that season is far more spectacular. He finished the season with an average of 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds. He also played more minutes (48.5) than is required to play an average game (48.0). Amazingly, he did not earn MVP. Bill Russell, the Boston Celtics’ center, won the award.
Overall, he led the league in scoring seven times and was the NBA’s best rebounder for eleven years. He led the league in shooting % nine times. Chamberlain joked about what he would make in the 1990s.
It has been said that Chamberlain became the first player to earn $100,000 in a season, but whatever his pay was, it was insufficient. Chamberlain is frequently criticized for not winning enough. He’s frequently compared to Russell, who won 11 titles to Chamberlain’s two. On the court, Chamberlain usually had the advantage in terms of statistics, but Russell’s Celtics usually triumphed. Russell was on a far superior and deeper team than Chamberlain ever was.
