On March 2, 1962, Wilt Chamberlain achieved the impossible: scoring 100 points in a match, the most legendary record in American basketball. To celebrate the anniversary of this legendary accomplishment, DNA of Sports is bringing out an article to pay tribute to this feat but of course to this man, who died in 1999.
Wilt Chamberlain, a phenomenon
Born August 21, 1936, Wilt Chamberlain (2m16, 125kg) was drafted in 1959 by the Philadelphia Warriors after a tour with the Harlem Globe Trotters. He began his career on October 24 and finished his rookie season with 37.6 points and 27.0 rebounds per game!
He was obviously elected Rookie of the year, but also MVP. A first in history (Wes Unseld will be the second to achieve this feat in 1968/69). The following season, Wilt Chamberlain scored 38.4 points and grabbed 27.2 rebounds per game. We then understand that this interior will leave its mark on this sport…
His third season will be the apotheosis of his career from an individual point of view, with a simply astonishing average of 50.4 points per game, accompanied by 25.4 rebounds! But, a small paradox, he will not be elected MVP, his colleagues (the players voted at the time) preferring his close enemy, Bill Russell…
So here we are in 1962. Before this famous March 2, he had already scored 60 points or more on 17 occasions, including a peak of 78 in triple overtime against the Lakers! This is the NBA record.
An evening of history
On March 2, 1962, Wilt and his Warriors hosted the New York Knicks in Hersey, Pennsylvania. After one quarter, the Stilt Rider (his nickname) had already scored 23 points and, at halftime, he had 41 points. It's huge, but in line with its usual boxes. Except that the second half will put him in the history books…
One quarter and 28 points later, he is at 69 points. He is therefore only 9 units from his previous record (78 points), which is also the record in the history of the league at that time. From then on, the spectators became impatient. How high will Wilt Chamberlain push this record? “Give it to Wilt!” » resonate throughout the room and the Philadelphia players will follow the requests…
Finally, it was on a dunk that he reached 100 points. At that moment, the crowd, small in number with only 4,124 people present in the room, invaded the field and overwhelmed it. However, there are still 46 seconds to play.
We don't really know if these last seconds were played. Today, more than 60 years later, it doesn't matter: the performance is there. Verification is impossible, as no video exists of this match, only a radio recording being available.
His coach, Frank McGuire testifies: “ I always thought it was inevitable that he would do it. But when he did, I stopped: I couldn't believe it. »
In the end, the Warriors won this match 169-147 and Wilt Chamberlain exploded all records: 100 points (with 25 rebounds all the same), but also 63 shots attempted and 36 returned, without forgetting a 28/32 in throws. francs. This is a huge performance for him, because his career will be “only” 50%…
Two other records also fell that evening: 59 points in a half and 31 in a quarter. The first still stands, Kobe Bryant having scored “only” 55 points on January 22, 2006. The second is beaten first by George Gervin then by Carmelo Anthony with 33 points, and finally by Klay Thompson with 37 points in 2015.
A huge legacy
Today, his record still stands. Only the late Kobe Bryant came close on January 22, 2006, with his 81 points against the Raptors. Even if at the time this feat went almost unnoticed, its impact today is enormous: it is the most symbolic record in the league and the photo of Wilt Chamberlain with his “100” sign has remained in people's minds.
The man who designed this little poster died in 2015. Aged 93, Harvey Pollack worked for the NBA from its very first season.
Despite this accomplishment, Wilt Chamberlain will admit that this match is not his favorite. He prefers his performance of 55 rebounds (also NBA record) against Bill Russell, his best enemy.
Finally, for the anecdote, know that this record of “The Stilt” is perhaps not the most unbeatable of all. That same season, in 1962, he played 3,882 minutes in 80 games. That is to say 48.5 minutes per match, even though a match lasts 48 minutes! This can be explained by the numerous overtimes played by the Warriors that year and by the fact that he obviously almost never left the field…
| Wilt Chamberlain | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 1959-60 ★ | PHI | 72 | 46 | 46.1 | 58.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 27.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37.6 | |
| 1960-61 | PHI | 79 | 48 | 50.9 | 50.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 27.2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 38.4 | |
| 1961-62 | PHI | 80 | 49 | 50.6 | 61.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 25.7 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 50.4 | |
| 1962-63 | GOS | 80 | 48 | 52.8 | 59.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 24.3 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 44.8 | |
| 1963-64 | GOS | 80 | 46 | 52.4 | 53.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 22.3 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36.9 | |
| 1964-65 * | All Teams | 73 | 45 | 51.0 | 46.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 22.9 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 34.7 | |
| 1964-65 * | GOS | 38 | 46 | 49.9 | 41.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 23.5 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 39.0 | |
| 1964-65 * | PHL | 35 | 45 | 52.8 | 52.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 22.3 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 30.1 | |
| 1965-66 ★ | PHL | 79 | 47 | 54.0 | 51.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 24.6 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 33.5 | |
| 1966-67 ★ | PHL | 81 | 46 | 68.3 | 44.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 24.2 | 7.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 24.2 | |
| 1967-68 ★ | PHL | 82 | 47 | 59.5 | 38.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 23.8 | 8.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 24.3 | |
| 1968-69 | LAL | 81 | 45 | 58.3 | 44.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 21.1 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 20.5 | |
| 1969-70 | LAL | 12 | 42 | 56.8 | 44.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 18.4 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 27.3 | |
| 1970-71 | LAL | 82 | 44 | 54.5 | 53.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 18.2 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 20.7 | |
| 1971-72 | LAL | 82 | 42 | 64.9 | 42.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 19.2 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 14.8 | |
| 1972-73 | LAL | 82 | 43 | 72.7 | 51.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 18.6 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 13.2 | |
| Total | 1045 | 46 | 54.0 | 51.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 22.9 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 30.1 | ||
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
