Wilt Chamberlain set so many NBA records that some overshadow others. His 100 points erase many other of his exploits, enough to forget that “The Stilt” has exceeded the 70 point mark six times!
In addition to his 100 points against the Knicks, he also scored, between 1961 and 1962, 78 points against the Los Angeles Lakers, 73 points against the Chicago Packers (now the Washington Wizards), 72 points against the Los Angeles Lakers or even 70 points against the Syracuse Nationals (now the Philadelphia 76ers).
And the sixth time? It was November 16, 1962, against the Knicks, his favorite victims.
Spoon free throws
That evening, with the San Francisco Warriors, at Madison Square Garden, Wilt Chamberlain scored 73 points, shooting 29/43, including 15/19 on free throws. With 14 rebounds. For a 127-111 victory.
The most interesting thing is that unlike his 100 points, this performance was filmed, and even colorized (even if the result hurts the eyes a little). We see Wilt Chamberlain imposing his power and technique near the circle, shooting his free throws with a spoon, and above all doing a series of one-handed “fadeaways”!
“They wouldn’t leave me under the basket”he explained. “So I had to move away for a bit. That’s all. »
Enough to allow him to erase Elgin Baylor’s 71 points, recorded at Madison Square Garden two years before.
Not the Madison Square Garden record?
“No, I didn’t know he was close to the record at the Garden” will say his coach, Bob Feerick. “I didn’t think about it at all. He already has all the others, so I thought he had this one too. He was having a good night but hey, he has a lot of nights like this. »
For the record, the NBA considers that Carmelo Anthony holds the points record at Madison Square Garden, with 62 points scored against the Bobcats in 2014.
For what ? Because there have in fact been several Madison Square Gardens in New York, very different, and the current one, the fourth, only opened its doors in 1968. It was in the third that Wilt Chamberlain scored his 73 points.
