Portal:Philadelphia/Selected biography/August 2007

Basketball

Wilt Chamberlain was an American professional National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball player for the Philadelphia / San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers; and also played for the Harlem Globetrotters. The 7-ft 1-in Chamberlain, who weighed 250 lb as a rookie before bulking up to 275 lb and eventually over 300 lb with the Lakers, played the center position and is credited as being one of the most successful and dominant players in the history of the NBA. Chamberlain holds numerous NBA all-time records, setting yardsticks in many scoring, rebounding and durability categories; he is the only player in NBA history to average over 50 points in a season or score 100 points in a single game. He won seven scoring, nine field goal percentage, and eleven rebounding titles, and once even led the league in assists. Although never receiving full recognition for his feats, Chamberlain had a successful career, making the NBA Finals six times, winning two NBA titles, earning four regular-season Most Valuable Player awards, one NBA Finals MVP award, and being elected into 13 All-Star games and into ten All-NBA First and Second teams. Chamberlain was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978, elected into the NBA's 35th Anniversary Team of 1980, and chosen as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History of 1996. Aside from all these accolades, Wilt is remembered as one of the worst free throw shooters in the history of the league, with a career average about 50%.