''For the Bollywood film of the same name see ''Kshatriya (film)''

Kshatriya (, '''' from , '''') or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas (social orders) in Hinduism. It traditionally constituted the military and ruling elite of the Vedic-Hindu social system outlined by the Vedas and the Laws of Manu.

Etymology

In Sanskrit, it is derived from meaning "roof, umbrella, dominion, power, government" from a root "to rule, govern, possess". Old Persian ''xšaθra'' ("realm, power"), ''xšaθrya'' ("royal"), and ''xšāyaθiya'' ("emperor") are related to it, as are the New Persian words ''šāh'' ("emperor") and ''šahr'' ("city", "realm"). The Thai word for "king", ''kasat'', and the Malay word for "knight" or "warrior", ''kesatria'' or ''satria'', are also derived from it. The term denotes aristocratic status.

History

Initially in ancient Vedic society, this position was achieved on the merits of a person's aptitude, conduct, and nature. The earliest Vedic literature listed by organization of function, not of caste, the Kshatriya (holders of , or authority) as first in rank, and the Brahmins second (priests and teachers of law), before the Vaisya (Cattle-herders, merchant-traders, farmers and some artisan castes), and the Sudra (labourers, some farming castes and other artisan castes).Manusmriti assigns cattle rearing as occupation of Vaisya, however there are references in available literature that Kshatriyas also owned and reared the cattle and cattle-wealth was mainstay of their households.Emperors of Kosala and Prince of Kasi are some of many examples.

Movements of individuals and groups from one class to another, both upward and downward, were not uncommon; a rise in status even to the rank of Kshatriya was a recognized reward for outstanding service to the rulers of the day. Over the years it became hereditary. In modern times, the Kshatriya varna includes a broad class of caste groups, differing considerably in status and function but united by their claims to ruler-ship, the pursuit of war, or the possession of land.

The legend that the Kshatriyas, with the exception of the Ikshvakus, were destroyed by Parasurama, the sixth reincarnation of Vishnu, as a punishment for their tyranny is thought by some scholars to reflect a long struggle for supremacy between priests and rulers that ended in victory for the former. By the end of the Vedic era, the Brahmins were supreme, and the Kshatriya had fallen to second place. Texts such as the Manusmṛti (a book of Hindu law) and most other dharmashastras (works of jurisprudence) report a Brahman victory, but epic texts often offer a different account, and it is likely that in social reality rulers have usually ranked first. The persistent representation of deities (especially Vishnu, Krishna, and Rama) as rulers underscores the point, as does the elaborate series of ritual roles and privileges pertaining to kings through most of Hindu history.

Vedic origin

In the Rig Veda the varnas are not rigid and were related to ones actions. The Rig Veda refers to the ways in which Gods four body parts make up the four classes, depending on the nature or values that the human holds. The Brahmans were to signify spiritual and intellectual values and were to be in charge of teaching the Vedic Sanskrit, thus are made up of his head. The Kshatryas were the warriors who protected the countries and thus are made up of his arms. The Vaishyas were the farmers and merchants in the production nature and thus are made up of his belly and the Shudras were the laborers who perform menial chores of farming, labor, artisans and all the jobs required of a society and thus are made up of his legs. This was interpreted as meaning that no one caste is more important than the other and that society cannot survive without all parts working together.

According to Vedic theology , Manu is considered the law-giver and progenitor of humanity. He had over 50 sons. Manu was both king and priest and his children (and thus all of humanity) are considered highborn. Due to the eventual differences in occupations, people ended up in different jātis and castes. Those who studied the Vedas became known as Brahmins, those who practised trade became Vaishya, those who labored became Sudra, and those who took up martial arts became Kshatriyas.

According to popular myth/lore Rajputs/Thakurs came into being in 6th century AD through a of yagya done by Sage Agastya, though this might refer to Yagya done to provide regal legitimacy to certain warrior tribes. As Jats, assimilated many Surya, Chandra, Nag and Yaduvanshis into their being, same way Rajputs increased their vansh by assimilating same clans of Kshatriyas. Most Yaduvanshis became part of Jat and Rajput clans. For example, Bharatpur's Jat kingdom belong to Sri Krishna's Vrishni clan. Many Gurjar clans like Bhati got divided between Rajput, Jat and Muslims.

Most of the Gurjars (or Gujjars) believe to have descended from Suryavanshi Kshatriyas (Sun Dynasty) and connect themselves with Shri Ram Chandra. Historically, the Gurjars were Sun-worshipers and are described as devoted to the Sun-god (God Surya).Their copper-plate grants bear an emblem of the Sun and on their seals too, this symbol is depicted. Also the Gurjar title of honor is Mihir which means Sun.

Varna-Jati-Caste

There is confusion between Varna, Jati and Caste. While the term varna refers to the four broad different classes in society, the term jati refers to the different specific endogamous sections of the Hindu Society which are known as castes. Varna means "color" as well as "veil". It shows the four different ways in which the Divine Self is hidden in human beings. In the context of color people have confused it to mean race but it actually represents the distinct qualities (guna) that the four functional classes possess in their hearts and minds. The four different qualities of human beings:

#If a person possessed the qualities of purity, love, faith and detachment, seek true knowledge and have a spiritual temperament, they would be represented by the color White (sattva = truthful). Those that belong to this color, belong to the Brahman class. #If a person possessed the qualities of action, will, aggression, and energy, seek honor, power, status and have a martial and political temperament, they would be represented by the color Red (rajas = energetic; the color of blood, sacrifice). Those that belong to this color belong to the Kshatriya class. #If a person tried to seek communication, interchange, trade, business and possessed a commercial temperament they were represented by the color Yellow. They make up the Vaishya class. #For those individual in society who love of growing crops (nature) the love of arts(shudra)(farmers and artisans) they were represented by the color Black (tamas = inert, solid). Those belonging to this color are shudras

The use of 'color' in this sense is metaphorical, however over time racialist interpretations, most notably the 'martial races' theory of the British Raj, gave way to the concept of 'heritable dharma', family castes, and the present divisions in Indian society.

Panchjanya, meaning five people, is the common name given to the five most ancient Vedic kshatriya tribes. It is supposed they are all descendants of the Turvasu. They are Yadu, , Puru, Anu and Druhyu. For example, Yadav is descended from the Yadu; Saini is descended from Shini and Shoorsen both of whom were Yaduvanshi kings, Paurav is descended from the Puru; etc.

Theories of origin

Historians generally agree that caste became hereditary around the time of the rise of Buddhism and Jainism based on archaeological, literary, and artistic evidence of the communities that existed in India. Gautama Buddha and Mahavira are two Kshatriya sages who made a lasting impression on the world. They did not believe in the pre-eminence of the Vedas and taught to the masses, not keeping spirituality to an elite few. Ashoka Maurya became ardent follower of this faith and promoted it throughout the Mauryan empire. This resulted in the decline in status of the Brahman order.

Two camps exist about the importance of these texts. One camp is similar to the literalists of the Christian faith who believe that their holy texts are verbatim documentation of real people, events and dates and that modern society is descended from them. The other camp believes that the holy texts are not meant to be taken literally and should be used symbolically as examples of the proper way to live.

Those who believe the ''Mahabharata'', ''Ramayana'' and ''Puranas'' were verbatim documents feel that modern Kshatriyas are descended from the Vedic Kshatriyas . The reason for the controversy is that we do not have any physical evidence of their existence. There are no bones, forts, weapons, coins, monuments, pictures etc. discovered to state unequivocally that they existed. However the clans as mentioned in Mahabharat for certain castes has existed as it is since time unknown, and provides the basis for belief in these texts.

The literalists believe that most of the Kshatriya communities descend from Surya, Chandra, or Agni. The Surya descendants claim descent from the Sun Dynasty (Suryavanshi). Rama also belonged to this dynasty, and the Suryavanshis, who trace this lineage via Rama's son, Luv) trace their linage back to him. The Chandra descendants claim descent from the Lunar Dynasty (Chandravansh). Krishna is believed to be born in this dynasty. Chandravanshi Kshtriyas consider him as an ancestor. This is mentioned in the Rig Veda and other Puranas as well as in Great epics, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Raghuvaṃśa.

Social status

Past

File:Rajpoots_small.jpg|thumb|right|350px|An 1876 engraving of Khokar Rajputs of Punjab from the ''Illustrated London News''. rect 0 0 1000 751 desc bottom-left In the past people looked upon Kshatriyans to protect them from all dangers. Kshatriyans were kings and warriors in the army, all soldiers knew basics of Kshatriyan martial arts. The folklore talks of some great Kshatriyans and legends. The status of Kshatriyans was clearly exalted. Legends tell that Kshatriyan could be told by sight because of his tall, strong and muscular male look. They were supposedly able to fight blindfolded and archers could hit a target by just sound in the dead of the night. Stories of exemplary courage still circulate by word of mouth and are recorded as folk-tales. Teachers of Kshatriyans never accepted non-kshatriyans, for example see the story of Ekalavya.

Present

Families consider it as a status symbol or a decoration to have the famous two crossed swords in a shield symbol of a Kshatriyan hung in their house. The Kshatriyan is still a great name and older generation of rural India still attach a great value to it. South Indian Kalarippayattu gurukal teach the old martial art still. The Kalarippayattu is seriously being revived but the old tradition of accepting only Kshatriyans to learn Kalarippayattu has been dropped. The Marathas in Maharashtra and central India attach great pride and command a sense of respect among common people by their lineage while Rajput in Rajasthan.

The situation has changed in modern times and Kshatriyas do not have much to gain or lose in status by their Kshatriya lineage. One area where the Kshatriya heritage has been prominent is the Indian Army.

Kshatriya regiments make up a large portion of the Indian and Nepali Armed forces. Notable among them are Punjab Regiment, 9th, 16th and 17th Battalions of Madras Regiment (Nair), Maratha Light Infantry (Maratha), Rajputana Rifles (Mainly of Rajasthani Rajputs, Gurjars and Jats), Jat Regiment, Dogra Regiment, The Garhwal Rifles, Kumaon Regiment and Rajput Regiment.

Demographics

According to the 1891 Census of India, Martial Races made up more than 10% of the population of British India. This percentage might have decreased over the years. An example is that of the Nairs in Kerala who were decimated during the Mysore invasion of Kerala. Nairs constituted more than 30% of the population of Kerala during the 1854 census, but decreased to 14.41% in 1968 and further decreased to 12.88% in 2000. Frequent warfare was the main cause for demographic decline during early years, but low fertility is the main problem nowadays. (In Kerala, the Malayala Kshatriyas are having a fertility of 1.47 children per women, while the Muslims are having 2.97 children per women).

Specialties

The Rajputs were known to make deft political maneuvers to consolidate their kingdom or to defeat an enemy. They are also known to follow certain codes of war to fight a battle. They are recorded in history as a kind of fierce warrior clan who make brave attempts within their war codes to retrieve a lost kingdom or defeat a dangerous enemy. They are also legendarily said to have untiring persistence to attain their goal as in the case of Maharana Pratap. The rajputs are considered to be most revered and persistent Kshatriyas.

Praiseful references of might and administration of the Gurjars can be found in Arab records as well as Indian inscriptions.Kupadvanj inscription of 910A.D. mentions them as ''Roaring Gurjar''.Arab records say that the Gurjar king maintained numerous forces and no other Indian prince had so fine a cavalry.Arab invaders referred Gurjars as their greatest foe.

The Maratha warrior and emperor Shivaji Bhonsale, born April, 1627 (also Shrimant Rajaram Shivaji Raje Bhonsle - Chhatrapati Maharaj) had his own army specialized in guerrilla warfare and a particular tale of valor is also a historical fact. It is the tale of Sinhagad Fort. Jats employed guerilla warfare in Bharatpur, which was very close to the stronghold of Mughals. They were able to fight successfully against Mughal ruler Aurangzeb 30 km from Agra.

South India, particularly Kerala also has its own share of Kshatriyans who are better known as members of Raja-Kudumba's or royal families. They practice the worlds oldest martial art known as Kalarippayattu. The Kalarippayattu has something commonly known as Marma Kalai or Varma Kalai where the Marmam is attacked which instantly disables or kills the enemy without making any externally visible injury.

Kshatriya Dharma

Kshatriya Dharma is the rules to be followed by a Kshatriyan to do justice to his caste and status. it still exists in more logical and evolved forms.

Kshtariya Dharma is specifically described in the Mahabharata:

Symbols associated with Kshatriya

In rituals, the Nyagrodha (Ficus Indica or India Fig/Banyan tree) danda, or staff, is assigned to the Kshatriya class, and along with a mantra, intended to impart physical vitality or 'ojas'.

The Nyagrodha or Banyan tree, (not to be confused with the Pipul, Ficus Religiosus or Sacred Fig), with its hanging, branch-like root-trunks which can grow to several acres, is considered symbolically equivalent to the Kshtariya. Where the Nyragrodha is fastened to the ground and supported by its downward growths, the Kshatriya is thought of as supported by the larger society 'beneath' it.

In the Manu Smriti, or Laws of Manu, the Kshatriya caste is given the Varna (Color) red.

Kshatriya lineage

The major branches of Kshatriya varna are: Suryavanshi (solar line), claiming direct descent from Ramachandra, and descent from Surya; Chandravanshi (''lunar line''), claiming descent from Yadu, as Yadu was himself born in a Chandravanshi dynasty, and descent from Chandra; Agnivanshi, claiming descent from Agni; and Nagavanshi, claiming descent from the Nāgas.

Suryavanshi

The ''Suryavanshi'' or Solar dynasty lineage claims descent from Surya. Suryavanshis also claim descent from Rama, who was himself born into a Suryavanshi dynasty. Out of the 36 major clans of Rajastani Rajputs, 10 belong to the Suryavanshi lineage (Shekhawat, Rathore, Sisodia, Kachwaha.etc.)

Chandravanshi

The ''Chandravanshi'' or Lunar dynasty lineage claims descent from Chandra. Chandravanshis also claim descent from Yadu, who was himself born into a Chandravanshi dynasty.

Agnivanshi

The ''Agnivanshi'' lineage claims descent from Agni. Clans like Bhadauria, Chauhan, Parihar, Panwar & Solanki are of Agnivanshi lineage.

Nāgvanshi

The Nāgvanshi or Serpent dynasty is a sub-clan of Suryavanshi kshatriyas. They adopted Naga as their symbol and worshipped Lord Shiva in various forms. Nāgvanshis include most of the Nair and Bunt clans as well as some Rajput (Saharan Rajputs, Bais Rajputs, Naga Rajputs, Takshak Rajputs. etc.) and Jat clans. The Nāgvanshi (or Nāgbanshi) are known for ruling Chhotanagpur. Most important among the Jat clans which are of Nāga origin includes Bachak Jats, Kaliramna Jats, and Katewa Jats. Outside India, the Balinese Kshatriyas claim descent from Nāgvanshis. In South West India, the Naga Sendraka rulers of Nayarkhanda (Nagarkhanda) were feudatories to the Chalukyas. The Sindas of Bastar were also of Nagavanshi origin.

Others

Velirs/Vellalars, Tamil gentry, ancient feudal landlords. Chera/Chola/Pandya, Tamil royal lineage linked to the Velir/Vellalar caste. The alien hordes that did not follow priestly customs or traditions (Shakas, Kushans, Indo-Greeks, Hunas and Parthians) were stated as Vratya Kshatriyas in Manusmriti. The Meitei of Manipur were recognized as Kshatriyas by the Bengali and Assamese Brahmins as they are thought to be the descendants of Lord Arjuna. Gurung and Magar ethnic groups are recognized as Kshatriyas in Nepal by the Bahun, along with other Kshatriya groups such as Thakore and Chhetri. Shrestha subdivision among ethnic Newar is recognized as Kshatriya in Nepal.

See also

Indian caste system

Forward Castes

Jāti

References

Further reading

History and Culture of Indian People, The Vedic Age, p 313-314

Category:Varnas in Hinduism Category:Sanskrit words and phrases

am:ክሻትሪያ bn:ক্ষত্রিয় cs:Kšatrija de:Kshatriya es:Chatria fr:Kshatriya gu:ક્ષત્રિય ko:크샤트리아 hi:क्षत्रिय id:Ksatria it:Kshatriya kn:ಕ್ಷತ್ರಿಯ lt:Kšatrijas ml:ക്ഷത്രിയൻ mr:क्षत्रिय nl:Kshattriya ja:クシャトリヤ pl:Kszatrija pt:Xátria ro:Casta Kșatriya ru:Кшатрий sa:क्षत्रिय: simple:Kshatriya fi:Kshatriyat sv:Kshatriya ta:சத்திரியர் te:ఆంధ్ర క్షత్రియులు uk:Кшатрії zh:刹帝利

Coordinates	12°2′36″N77°1′42″N
name	K.S. Rhoads
background	solo_singer
birth name	Kevin S. Rhoads
born	August 7, 1976
years active	2007—
associated acts	Erin McCarleyTen Out of Tenn
notable instruments	}}

K.S. Rhoads (born August 7, 1976) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, composer, music-producer, and performer.

Early life

Rhoads was born in Tucson, Arizona, the younger of two sons. He moved to Denver, Colorado soon after he was born, and many places thereafter, eventually settling in Fort Myers, Florida. At age 15 he began focusing intensely on music, learning many instruments including bass, piano, and harmonica. He bought his first 4 track recorder in 9th grade, and began recording his own songs. He graduated high school in 1994 and moved to Fort Worth, Texas where he attended Texas Christian University. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Religion. He moved to Nashville in 2001, but it was not until 2007 that he started work on his debut album ''Dead Language'' with producers Robin Eaton, and Lij Shaw.

Career

Solo Artist

Dead Language was released in 2007 and received excellent critical reviews. ''American Songwriter'' called it "an exhibition in style, grace and limitless possibilities..." Listen! Nashville says: "Rhoads has the perfectionism and musicianship of Roger Waters, as well as a similar political chip on his shoulder, making him a force to be reckoned with." He toured as the opening act for Marc Broussard, Ari Hest, Butterfly Boucher, and Erin McCarley. In January 2010 he performed at the prestigious ASCAP music cafe at Sundance Film Festival, as well as SXSW in Austin, Texas. He is currently recording his second album. His songs have been featured on the shows ''CSI: Miami'', and World of Jenks on MTV.

Erin McCarley

K.S. Rhoads often plays piano and acts as music director for Universal recording artist Erin McCarley. With McCarley he has performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman, and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Together they have performed with and/or opened for many artists including: Chris Isaak, David Gray, Ray Lamontagne, Guster, Brett Dennen, Jeff Beck, Paolo Nutini, and James Morrison.

Ten Out of Tenn

K.S. Rhoads has toured and recorded with fellow Nashville musicians for a project called Ten Out of Tenn. He, along with the other artists in Ten Out Of Tenn, is the subject of documentary entitled ''Any Day Now''. The film was runner-up in the Nashville Film Festival. It is the story of 10 musical artists on tour together for one summer in 2008.

String Arrangements

Third Day - Move

By The Tree - Invade My Soul

Erin McCarley - Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing (unreleased)

Phillip Larue - Let The Road Pave Itself

Trent Dabbs - Decade Fades

We Are The Emergency - Whispers & Fragments

Albums Produced

Mia Carruthers And The Retros - We Will Grow

Erin McCarley - I Saw The Light (single)

Farther & Faster - (unreleased)

Sara Donaldson - Leaving Winter

Ten Out Of Tenn - Christmas

References

External links

Official Website

Category:Living people Category:1976 births Category:American musicians Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American composers

Coordinates	12°2′36″N77°1′42″N
name	Wilt Chamberlain
width	200px
position	Center
height ft	7
height in	1
weight lb	275
number	13
birth date	August 21, 1936
birth place	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
death date	October 12, 1999
death place	Bel Air, California
nationality	American
high school	Overbrook HS, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
college	Kansas
draft year	1959
draft pick	Territorial
draft team	Philadelphia Warriors
career start	1959
career end	1973
years1	1958–1959
team1	Harlem Globetrotters
years2	–
team2	Philadelphia / San Francisco Warriors
years3	–
team3	Philadelphia 76ers
years4	–
team4	Los Angeles Lakers
cyears1	1973–1974
cteam1	San Diego Conquistadors (ABA)
highlights	2× NBA Champion (1967, 1972) 4× NBA Most Valuable Player (, –) NBA Finals MVP (1972) 7× All-NBA First Team (1960–, , 1965–1968) 3× All-NBA Second Team (, 1966, ) 2× NBA All-Defensive First Team (–) NBA All-Star Game MVP (1960) 13× NBA All-Star (1960–1969, 1971–1973) 7× NBA scoring champion (1960–1966) 11× NBA rebounding champion (1960–1963, 1966–, –) NBA Rookie of the Year (1960) 50 Greatest Players in NBA History NBA 35th Anniversary Team #13 Retired by Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers
profile	wilt_chamberlain
stat1label	Points
stat1value	31,419 (30.1 ppg)
stat2label	Rebounds
stat2value	23,924 (22.9 rpg)
stat3label	Assists
stat3value	4,643 (4.4 apg)
letter	c
bbr	chambwi01
hof player	wilton-n-wilt-chamberlain }}

Wilton Norman "Wilt" Chamberlain (August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional NBA basketball player for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers; he also played for the Harlem Globetrotters prior to playing in the NBA. The 7 foot 1 inch Chamberlain weighed 250 pounds as a rookie before bulking up to 275 pounds and eventually over 300 pounds with the Lakers. He played the center position and is considered by his contemporaries as one of the greatest and most dominant players in the history of the NBA.

Chamberlain holds numerous official NBA all-time records, setting records in many scoring, rebounding and durability categories. Among other notable accomplishments, he is the only player in NBA history to average more than 40 and 50 points in a season or score 100 points in a single NBA game. He also won seven scoring, nine field goal percentage, and eleven rebounding titles, and once even led the league in assists. Although suffering a long string of professional losses, Chamberlain had a successful career, winning two NBA titles, earning four regular-season Most Valuable Player awards, the Rookie of the Year award, one NBA Finals MVP award, and being selected to 13 All-Star Games and ten All-NBA First and Second teams. Chamberlain was subsequently enshrined in the Naismith Memorial 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.

Chamberlain was known by various nicknames during his basketball playing career. He hated the ones that called attention to his height such as Goliath and Wilt the Stilt, which was coined during his high school days by a Philadelphia sportswriter. He preferred The Big Dipper, Dippy or Dipper, all of which were inspired by his friends who saw him dip his head as he walked through doorways. He was also called the Chairman of the Boards.

After his basketball career ended, Chamberlain played volleyball in the short-lived International Volleyball Association, was president of this organization, and is enshrined in the IVA Hall of Fame for his contributions. Chamberlain also was a successful businessman, authored several books, and appeared in the movie ''Conan the Destroyer''. He was a lifelong bachelor and became notorious for his claim to having had sex with over 20,000 women.

Early years

Wilton Norman Chamberlain was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, into a family of nine children. As his biographer Robert Cherry observed, he was a frail child, nearly dying of pneumonia in his early years and missing a whole year of school as a result. In his early years Chamberlain was not interested in basketball, because he thought it was "a game for sissies". Instead, he was an avid track and field athlete: as a youth, he high jumped 6 feet, 6 inches, ran the 440 yards in 49.0 seconds and the 880 yards in 1:58.3, put the shot 53 feet, 4 inches, and broad jumped 22 feet. But according to Chamberlain, "basketball was king in Philadelphia", so he eventually turned to the sport. Because Chamberlain was a very tall child, already measuring 6 feet at age 10 and 6 feet 11 inches when he entered Philadelphia's Overbrook High School, he had a natural advantage against his peers; he soon was renowned for his scoring talent, his physical strength and his shot blocking abilities. According to ESPN journalist Hal Bock, Chamberlain was "scary, flat-out frightening... before he came along, most basketball players were mortal-sized men. Chamberlain changed that." It was also in this period of his life when his three life-long nicknames "Wilt the Stilt", "Goliath", and his favorite, "The Big Dipper", were allegedly born.

High school career

As a player for the Overbrook Panthers, Chamberlain averaged 31 points during the 1953 high school season and led his team to a 71–62 win against the Northeast High School of his future NBA teammate Guy Rodgers. He scored 34 points, won Overbrook the Public League title and a berth for the Philadelphia city championship game against the winner of the rival Catholic league, West Catholic. In that game, West Catholic triple-teamed Chamberlain the entire game, and despite the center's 29 points, the Panthers lost 54-42.

In his second Overbrook season Chamberlain continued his prolific scoring, among them scoring a high school record 71 points against Roxborough. The Panthers comfortably won the Public League title after again beating Northeast in which Chamberlain scored 40 points, and later won the city title by defeating South Catholic by 74–50. Chamberlain scored 32 points and had led Overbrook to a flawless 19–0 season.

During summer vacations Chamberlain worked as a bellhop in Kutsher's Hotel. Red Auerbach, the coach of the Boston Celtics, spotted the talented teenager there and had him play 1-on-1 against Kansas University standout and national champion, B. H. Born, elected the Most Valuable Player of the 1953 NCAA Finals. Chamberlain won 25–10; Born was so dejected that he gave up a promising NBA career and became a tractor engineer ("If there were high school kids that good, I figured I wasn't going to make it to the pros"), and Auerbach wanted Chamberlain to go to a New England university, so he could draft him as a territorial pick for the Celtics, but Chamberlain did not respond.

In Chamberlain's third and final Overbrook season he continued his high scoring, once logging 74, 78 and 90 points in three consecutive games. The Panthers won the Public League a third time, beating West Philadelphia 78–60, and in the city championship game, they met West Catholic once again. Scoring 35 points, Chamberlain led Overbrook to an easy 83–42 win. After three years, Chamberlain had won Overbrook two city championships, logged a 56–3 record and had broken Tom Gola's high school scoring record by scoring 2,252 points, averaging 37.4 per game.

After his last Overbrook season over 200 universities wanted to recruit the basketball prodigy. Among others, UCLA offered Chamberlain the opportunity to become a movie star, the University of Pennsylvania wanted to buy him diamonds, and Chamberlain's Panthers coach Mosenson was even offered a coaching position if he could persuade the center. Cherry has described that Chamberlain wanted a change and therefore did not want to go to or near Philadelphia (also eliminating New York), was not interested in New England, and snubbed the South because of segregation; leaving the Midwest. In the end, after visiting the University of Kansas, also commonly known as KU, with renowned college coach Phog Allen, Chamberlain then proclaimed he was going to play college basketball at KU.

College career

In 1955 Chamberlain joined KU. Cherry described how shocked the young teenager was when he first arrived in the still-segregated city of Lawrence, Kansas: after being treated like a star in his native Philadelphia, he now saw places black people were prohibited to enter. Chamberlain reacted by simply ignoring these signs, eating and going out wherever he wanted. When he discovered that nobody heckled him he gave up his antipathy, and as a result black people in Lawrence were eventually treated better. Chamberlain enjoyed living in Kansas, especially enjoying the rich jazz scene in nearby Kansas City.

At KU Chamberlain became a player for the Kansas Jayhawks freshman team under coach Phog Allen, whom he admired, and also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, where he was the president of his pledge class. Announced as "looking lighter than his 240 pounds, [able to] reach 9'6" up in the air [flatfooted], and [with a wingspan of] 7'2", his debut was highly anticipated, and he delivered: in Chamberlain's debut game for the freshman squad, the freshman Jayhawks were pitted against the varsity Jayhawks, who were favored to win their conference that year. Chamberlain dominated his older college mates by scoring 42 points (16–35 from the field, 10–12 on free throws), grabbing 29 rebounds and registering four blocks. Chamberlain's prospects of playing under Allen ended, however, when the coach turned 70 shortly after and was forced to retire by KU regulation. Chamberlain had a bad relationship with Allen's successor, Dick Harp, fueled by resentment and disappointment: Cherry has doubted whether Chamberlain would have chosen KU if he had known that Allen was going to retire.

On December 3, 1956, Chamberlain made his varsity debut. In his first varsity game the center scored 52 points and grabbed 31 rebounds, breaking both all-time college records in a 87–69 win against the Northwestern team of future NBA team mate Joe Ruklick. His team mate Monte Johnson testified how athletic he was: "Wilt... had unbelievable endurance and speed... and was never tired. When he dunked, he was so fast that a lot of players got their fingers jammed [between Chamberlain's hand and the rim]." Reportedly, Chamberlain also broke Johnny Kerr's toe with a slam dunk. By this time, Chamberlain had developed several offensive weapons that became his trademarks: his finger roll, his fadeaway jump shot, which he could also hit as a bank shot, his passing and his shot blocking. Leading a talented squad of starters Maurice King, Gene Elstun, John Parker, Ron Lonesky and Lew Johnson, the Jayhawks went 13–1 until they lost a game 56–54 versus Oklahoma State in which Oklahoma State held the ball the last 3:30 minutes without any intention of scoring a basket; still possible in the days before the shot clock (introduced 1984 in the NCAA).

As he did at Overbrook Chamberlain again showcased his diverse athletic talent. He ran the 100-yard dash in 10.9 seconds, shot putted 56 feet, triple jumped more than 50 feet, and won the high jump in the Big Eight track and field championships three straight years.

In 1957 23 teams played for the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. The Midwest regional tourney was held in Dallas, Texas, which at the time was segregated. In the first game the Jayhawks played the all-white Southern Methodist University team, and KU player John Parker later said: "The crowd was brutal. We were spat on, pelted with debris, and subjected to the vilest racial epithets possible." KU won 73–65 in overtime, and police had to escort the Jayhawks out to prevent the angry crowd from hijacking the team bus. The next game against Oklahoma City was equally unpleasant with KU winning 81–61 under intense racist abuse. In the semi-finals, Chamberlain's Jayhawks defeated the University of San Francisco, 80–56.

Chamberlain made the First Team of the All-America squad and led his Jayhawks into the NCAA finals against the Tar Heels of North Carolina. In that game Tar Heels coach, Frank McGuire, used several unorthodox tactics to thwart Chamberlain. For the tip-off he sent his shortest player, Tommy Kearns, in order to rattle Chamberlain, and the Tar Heels spent the rest of the night triple-teaming him, one defender in front, one behind, and a third arriving as soon as he got the ball. With their fixation on Chamberlain, the Jayhawks shot only 27% from the field, as opposed to 64% of the Tar Heels, and trailed 22–29 at halftime. Later, North Carolina led 40–37 with 10 minutes to go and stalled the game: they passed the ball around without any intention of scoring a basket. After several Tar Heel turnovers, the game was tied at 46 at the end of regulation. In the first overtime both teams scored 2 points each, and in second overtime Kansas froze the ball in return, keeping the game tied at 48. In the third overtime the Tar Heels scored two consecutive baskets, but Chamberlain executed a three-point play, leaving KU trailing 51–52. After King scored a basket, Kansas was ahead by one point, but then Tar Heel Joe Quigg was fouled on a drive with 10 seconds remaining and made his two foul shots. For the final play Dick Harp called a play for Ron Loneski to pass the ball into Chamberlain in the low post. The pass was too soft and was intercepted, however, and the Tar Heels won the game. Nonetheless Chamberlain, who had scored 23 points and 14 rebounds, was elected the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. Cherry has speculated, however, that this loss was a watershed in Chamberlain's life, because it was the first time that his team had lost despite him putting up impressive individual stats. Chamberlain later admitted that this loss was the most painful of his life.

In Chamberlain's junior year (1957–58 NCAA season), the Jayhawks' matches were even more frustrating for him. Knowing how dominant Chamberlain was, the opponents resorted to freeze-ball tactics and routinely used three or more players to guard him. Teammate Bob Billings commented: "It was not fun basketball... we were just out chasing people throwing the basketball back and forth." In addition Chamberlain grew weary of the punishment inflicted on him; after a game against Missouri, he showed imprints of two rows of teeth marks in his arm. Nevertheless, Chamberlain averaged 30.1 points for the season and led the Jayhawks to an 18–5 record, losing three games when he was out with a urinary infection: because KU came second in the league and at the time only conference winners were invited to the NCAA tourney, the Jayhawks' season ended. It was only a small consolation that he was again named an All-American, along with future NBA Hall-of-Famers Elgin Baylor and Oscar Robertson plus old rival Guy Rodgers.

Having lost the enjoyment from NCAA basketball and wanting to earn money, he left college and sold the story named "Why I Am Leaving College" to ''Look'' magazine for $10,000, a large sum when NBA players earned $9,000 in a whole season. In two seasons at Kansas, Chamberlain averaged 29.9 points and 18.3 rebounds per game while totaling 1,433 points and 877 rebounds, and led Kansas to one Big Seven championship. By the time Chamberlain was 21, he had already been featured in ''Time'', ''Life'', ''Look'', and ''Newsweek'' magazines, even before he turned professional.

For many years following Chamberlain's departure from the University of Kansas, critics claimed that he either wanted to leave the very white Midwest or was embarrassed by not being able to bring home the NCAA basketball tournament victory. In 1998, Chamberlain returned to Allen Field House in Lawrence, Kansas to participate in a jersey-retiring ceremony for his number 13. Around this time, he has been quoted as saying: "There's been a lot of conversation, since people have been trying to get my jersey number retired, that I have some dislike for the University of Kansas. That is totally ridiculous."

Professional career

Harlem Globetrotters (1958–1959)

After his frustrating junior year, Chamberlain wanted to become a professional player before finishing his senior year. However, at that time, the NBA did not accept players who had not finished their last year of studies. Therefore, Chamberlain was prohibited from joining the NBA for a year, and decided to play for the Harlem Globetrotters in 1958 for a sum of $50,000.

Chamberlain became a member of the Globetrotters team which made history by playing in Moscow in 1959, enjoyed a sold out tour of the USSR and prior to the start of a game at Moscow's Lenin Central Stadium, were greeted by the General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev. One particular Trotter skit involved Trotters captain Meadowlark Lemon collapsing to the ground, and instead of helping him up, Chamberlain threw him several feet high up in the air and caught him like a doll. "[Chamberlain] was the strongest athlete who ever lived", the 210-pound Lemon recounted later. In later years, Chamberlain frequently joined the Trotters in the off-season and fondly recalled his time there, because he was no longer jeered at or asked to break records, but just one of several artists who loved to entertain the crowd. On March 9, 2000, Chamberlain's number 13 was retired by the Trotters.

Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors (1959–1965)

On October 24, 1959, Chamberlain finally made his debut as an NBA player, starting for the Philadelphia Warriors. The Warriors' draft pick was highly unusual, as it was a so-called "territorial pick" despite the fact Chamberlain had spent his college years in Kansas, which is not a region covered by Philadelphia. However, Warriors owner Eddie Gottlieb, one of the NBA's founding fathers, argued that Chamberlain had grown up in Philadelphia and had become popular there as a high school player; and because there were no NBA teams in Kansas, he argued, the Philadelphia Warriors held his territorial rights and could draft him. The NBA agreed, marking the only time in NBA history that a player was made a territorial selection based on his pre-college roots. Chamberlain immediately became the NBA's best paid player, earning $30,000 in his rookie contract; in comparison, the previous top earner was Bob Cousy of the Boston Celtics with $25,000, and Gottlieb had bought the whole Warriors franchise for $25,000 seven years earlier.

In the 1959–60 NBA season Chamberlain joined a Warriors squad which was coached by Neil Johnston and contained Hall-of-Fame guards Tom Gola and Paul Arizin, plus Ernie Beck and his old rival Guy Rodgers—remarkably, all five Warriors starters were Philadelphians. In his first NBA game against the New York Knicks, the rookie center scored 43 points and 28 rebounds. In his fourth game Philadelphia met the reigning champions, the Boston Celtics of Hall-of-Fame coach Red Auerbach, whose offer Chamberlain had snubbed several years before, and his old NCAA rival, Bill Russell, who was now lauded as one of the best defensive pivots in the game. In what was the first of many Chamberlain-Russell match-ups, Chamberlain outscored Russell with 30 points versus 28 points, but Boston won the game. Cherry called this outcome the first of many great duels between these pivots. The rivalry between Chamberlain and his perennial nemesis (Russell) would grow out to become one of the NBA's greatest on-court rivalries of all time. Nevertheless, the two also became friends in personal life, similar to later rivals Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

In his first NBA season Chamberlain averaged 37.6 points and 27 rebounds, convincingly breaking the previous regular-season records. He only needed 56 games to score point number 2,102, which broke the all-time regular season scoring record of Bob Pettit, who needed 72 games to score 2,101 points. Chamberlain won both the NBA Most Valuable Player and NBA Rookie of the Year awards in the same season—a feat equaled only by fellow Hall-of-Famer Wes Unseld in the 1968–69 NBA season—and broke eight NBA records. Chamberlain capped off his rookie season awards by also winning the 1960 NBA All-Star Game MVP award with a 23 point, 25 rebound performance for the East. However, it also became evident that he was a miserable free throw shooter, hardly making half of his foul shots. As time progressed, Chamberlain became even worse, and acknowledged he was simply a head case on that matter.

The Warriors entered the 1960 NBA Playoffs and beat the Syracuse Nationals, setting up a meeting versus the Eastern Division champions, the Boston Celtics. Cherry described how Celtics coach Red Auerbach ordered his forward Tom Heinsohn to commit personal fouls on Chamberlain: whenever the Warriors shot foul shots, Heinsohn grabbed and shoved Chamberlain to prevent him from running back quickly; his intention was that the Celtics would throw the ball in so fast that the prolific shotblocker Chamberlain was not back under his own basket yet, and Boston could score an easy fastbreak basket. The teams split the first two games, but in Game 3, Chamberlain got fed up with Heinsohn and punched him. In the scuffle, the Warriors' center injured his hand, and Philadelphia lost the next two games. In Game 5, his hand was back to normal, and Chamberlain scored 50 points on Bill Russell. But in Game 6, Heinsohn got the last laugh, scoring the decisive basket with a last-second tip in. The Warriors lost the series 2 games to 4.

The rookie Chamberlain then shocked the Warriors' fans by saying he was thinking of retiring. He was tired of being subjected to double- and triple teams, and teams coming down on him with hard fouls. Chamberlain feared he might lose his cool one day. As Celtics forward Heinsohn said, himself no stranger to dirty play against Chamberlain: "Half the fouls against him [Chamberlain] were hard fouls ... he took the most brutal pounding of any player ever". In addition, Chamberlain was seen as a freak of nature, jeered at by the fans and scorned by the media. As Chamberlain often said, quoting coach Alex Hannum's explanation of his situation, "Nobody loves Goliath." Eddie Gottlieb coaxed Chamberlain back into the NBA, sweetening his return with a salary raise to $65,000.

In the following season Chamberlain surpassed his rookie season statistics as he averaged 38.4 points per game and 27.2 rebounds per game. He became the first player to break the 3,000-point barrier and the first and still only player to break the 2,000-rebound barrier for a single season, grabbing 2,149 boards. Chamberlain also won his first field goal percentage title, and set the all-time record for rebounds in a single game with 55. Chamberlain was so dominant on that team that he scored almost 32% of his team's points and 30.4% of their rebounds.

Chamberlain again failed to convert his play into team success, however, this time bowing out against the Syracuse Nationals in a three-game sweep. Cherry noted that Chamberlain was "difficult" and did not respect coach Neil Johnston, who was unable to handle the star center. In retrospect Eddie Gottlieb remarked: "My mistake was not getting a stronghanded coach... [Johnston] wasn't ready for big time."

In his third Warriors season the Warriors were coached by Frank McGuire, the coach who had masterminded Chamberlain's painful NCAA loss against the Tar Heels. In that year the center set several all-time records which have never been threatened since. In the 1961–62 NBA season he averaged 50.4 points and grabbed 25.7 rebounds per game. And perhaps most astounding on March 2, 1962, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Wilt scored 100 points, shooting 36 of 63 from the field, and making 28 out of 32 free throws against the New York Knicks. Chamberlain's 4,029 regular-season points made him the first and only player to break the 4,000-point barrier. To place this in perspective the only player other than Chamberlain to break the 3,000-point barrier is Michael Jordan, who scored 3,041 points in the 1986–87 NBA season. Chamberlain once again broke the 2,000 rebound barrier by grabbing 2,052 rebounds. Additionally, he was on the hardwood for an average of 48.5 minutes, playing 3,882 of his team's 3,890 minutes. Because Chamberlain played in overtime games, he averaged more minutes per game than the 48 minutes in regulation; in fact, Chamberlain would have hit the 3,890 minute mark if he had not been ejected in one game after picking up his second technical foul with 8 minutes left to play.

His extraordinary feats in the 1961–62 season were later subject of the book ''Wilt, 1962'' by Gary M. Pomerantz (2005), who used Chamberlain as a metaphor for the uprising of Black America. In addition to Chamberlain's regular season accomplishments, he scored 42 points in the 1962 NBA All-Star Game—still the all-time record—on 17–23 shooting and pulled down 24 rebounds.

In the 1962 NBA Playoffs the Warriors met the Boston Celtics again in the Eastern Division Finals, a team which Bob Cousy and Bill Russell called the greatest Celtics team of all time. Each team won their home games, so the series was split 3–3 after six games. In a closely contested Game 7 Chamberlain tied the score at 107 with 16 seconds to go, but then Celtics shooting guard Sam Jones sank a clutch shot which won Boston the game and the series. In later years Chamberlain was criticized for averaging 50 points, but not winning a title. In his defense Warriors coach Frank McGuire said "Wilt has been simply super-human", and pointed out that the Warriors lacked a consistent second scorer, a playmaker, and a second big man to take the pressure off Chamberlain.

In the 1962–63 NBA season Eddie Gottlieb sold the Warriors franchise for an amount of $850,000 to a group of businessmen led by Marty Simmons from San Francisco, and the team relocated to become the San Francisco Warriors under a new coach, Bob Feerick. This also meant, however, that the team broke apart, as Paul Arizin chose to retire rather than moving away from his family and his job at IBM in Philadelphia, and Tom Gola was homesick, requesting a trade to the lowly New York Knicks halfway through the season. With both secondary scorers gone Chamberlain continued his array of statistical feats, scoring 44.8 points and grabbing 24.3 rebounds per game that year. But despite Chamberlain's individual success, the Warriors lost 49 of their 80 games and missed the playoffs.

In the 1963–64 NBA season Chamberlain got yet another new coach, Alex Hannum, and was joined by a promising rookie center, Nate Thurmond, who eventually would enter the Hall of Fame. Ex-soldier Hannum, who later entered the NBA Hall of Fame as a coach, was a crafty psychologist who emphasized defense and passing. Most importantly, he was not afraid to stand up to the dominant Chamberlain, who was known to "freeze out" (not communicate with) coaches he did not like. Backed up by valuable rookie Thurmond, Chamberlain had another good season with 36.9 ppg and 22.3 rpg, and the San Francisco Warriors went all the way to the NBA Finals. In that series they succumbed to the Boston Celtics team of Bill Russell again, this time losing 1–4. But as Cherry remarked, not only Chamberlain, but in particular Hannum deserved much credit because he had basically had taken the bad 31–49 squad of last year plus Thurmond and made it into a NBA Finalist. In the summer of 1964 Chamberlain, one of the prominent participants at the famed Rucker Park basketball court in New York City, made the acquaintance of a tall, talented 17-year old teenager who played there. Soon, the young Lew Alcindor was allowed into his inner circle, and quickly idolized the ten-year older NBA player. Unfortunately, Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, as Alcindor would name himself later, would develop an intense personal antipathy.

In the following 1964–65 NBA season the Warriors got off to a terrible start and ran into financial trouble. At the 1965 All-Star break Chamberlain was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, the new name of the relocated Syracuse Nationals. In return the Warriors received Paul Neumann, Connie Dierking, Lee Shaffer (who opted to retire rather than report to the Warriors), and $150,000. When Chamberlain left the Warriors, owner Franklin Mieuli said: "Chamberlain is not an easy man to love [and] the fans in San Francisco never learned to love him. Wilt is easy to hate [...] people came to see him lose."

Philadelphia 76ers (1965–1968)

After the trade Chamberlain found himself on a promising Sixers team that included guards Hal Greer, a future Hall-of-Famer, and talented role players Larry Costello, Chet Walker and Lucious Jackson. Cherry remarks that there was a certain tension within the team: Greer was the formerly undisputed leader and was not willing to give up his authority, and Jackson, a talented center, was now forced to play power forward because Chamberlain blocked the center spot; however, as the season progressed, the three began to mesh better. Chamberlain did not care for the Sixer's coach, Dolph Schayes, because Schayes, according to him, had made several disrespectful remarks when they were rival players in the NBA. thumb|Chamberlain being defended by Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics Statistically, Chamberlain was again outstanding, posting 34.7 ppg and 22.9 rpg for the second half of the season. After defeating the Cincinnati Royals led by Oscar Robertson in the 1965 NBA Playoffs, the Sixers met Chamberlain's familiar rival, the Boston Celtics. The press called it an even matchup in all positions, even at center, where Bill Russell was expected to give Chamberlain a tough battle. Indeed, the two teams split the first six games, and because of the better season record, the last game was held in the Celtics' Boston Garden. In that Game 7, both centers were marvelous: Chamberlain scored 30 points and 32 rebounds, and Russell logged 16 points, 27 rebounds and 8 assists. In the final minute, Chamberlain hit two clutch free throws and slam dunked on Russell, bringing Boston's lead down to 1 at 110–109 with five seconds left. Russell botched the inbounds pass, hitting a guide wire over the backboard and giving the ball back to the Sixers. Coach Schayes called timeout, and decided to run the last play over Hal Greer rather than Chamberlain, because he feared the Celtics would intentionally foul him because he was a poor foul shooter. But when Greer attempted to inbound the ball, John Havlicek stole it to preserve the Celtics' lead. For the fifth time in seven years, Russell's team had deprived Chamberlain of the title. According to Chamberlain, that was the time that people started calling him "loser". Additionally, in an April 1965 issue of ''Sports Illustrated'' Chamberlain conducted an interview entitled "My Life In A Bush League" where he criticized his fellow players, coaches, and NBA administrators. Chamberlain later commented that he could see in hindsight how the interview was instrumental in damaging his public image.

In the 1965–66 NBA season the Sixers experienced real tragedy when Ike Richman, the Sixers' co-owner as well as Chamberlain's confidant and lawyer, died of a coronary. Still reeling from the shock, the Sixers posted a 55–25 regular season record, and for his strong play, Chamberlain was handed his second MVP award. In that season, the center again dominated his opposition by scoring 33.5 points and 24.6 rebounds a game, leading the league in both categories. In one particular game, Chamberlain blocked a dunk attempt by Gus Johnson so hard that he dislocated Johnson's shoulder. Off the court, however, Chamberlain's commitment to the cause was doubted, as Chamberlain was a late sleeper, lived in New York and preferred to ''commute'' to Philadelphia rather than live there, and he was only available afternoon for training. Because Schayes did not want to risk angering his best player, he scheduled the daily workout at 4 pm; this angered the team, who preferred an early schedule to have the afternoon off, but Schayes just said: "There is no other way." Irv Kosloff, who now owned the Sixers alone after Richman's death, pleaded to him to move to Philadelphia during the season, but he was turned down.

In the 1966 NBA Playoffs, the Sixers met their familiar foes, the Celtics, and for the first time even had home court advantage. However, Boston easily won the first two games on the road, winning 115–96 and 114–93; Chamberlain played within his usual range, but his supporting cast shot under 40%. This caused sports journalist Joe McGinnis to comment: "The Celtics played like champions and the Sixers just played." In Game 3, Chamberlain scored 31 points and 27 rebounds for an important road win, and the next day, coach Schayes planned to hold a joint team practice. However, Chamberlain said he was "too tired" to attend, and even refused Schayes' plea to at least show up and shoot a few foul shots with the team. In Game 4, Boston won 114–108. Prior to Game 5, Chamberlain was nowhere to be found, skipping practice and being non-accessible. Outwardly, Schayes defended his star center as "excused from practice", but his team mates knew the truth and were much less forgiving. In Game 5 itself, Chamberlain was superb, scoring 46 points and 34 rebounds, but the Celtics won the game 120–112 and the series. Cherry is highly critical of Chamberlain: while conceding he was the only Sixers player who performed in the series, he points out his unprofessional, egotistical behavior and being a bad example for his team mates.

Prior to the 1966–67 NBA season, the friendly but unassertive Dolph Schayes was replaced by a familiar face, the crafty but firm Alex Hannum. In what Cherry calls a tumultuous locker room meeting, Hannum addressed several key issues he observed during the last season, several of them putting Chamberlain in an unfavorable light. Sixers forward Chet Walker testified that on several occasions, players had to pull Chamberlain and Hannum apart to prevent a fistfight. Fellow forward Billy Cunningham observed that "Hannum showed who was the boss" and "never backed down", and by doing this, won Chamberlain's respect. When emotions cooled off, Hannum pointed out that Chamberlain and he were on the same side, trying to win a championship ring; but to pull this off, the center – like all others – needed to "act like a man" and behave accordingly on and off the court. Concerning basketball, he persuaded him to change his style of play. Loaded with several other players who could score, such as future Hall-of-Famers Hal Greer and newcomer Billy Cunningham, Hannum wanted Chamberlain to concentrate more on defense.

As a result, Chamberlain was less dominant, taking only 14% of the team's shots (in his 50.4 ppg season 1961–62, it had been 35.3%), but extremely efficient: he averaged a career-low 24.1 points, but he led the league in rebounds (24.2), ended third in assists (7.8), had a record breaking .683 field goal accuracy, and played strong defense. For these feats, Chamberlain earned his third MVP award. The Sixers charged their way to a then-record 68–13 season, including a record 46–4 start. In addition, the formerly egotistical Chamberlain began to praise his team mates, lauding hardworking Luke Jackson as the "ultimate power forward", calling Hal Greer a deadly jumpshooter, and point guard Wali Jones an excellent defender and outsider scorer. Off the court, the center invited the team to restaurants and paid the entire bill, knowing he earned 10 times more than all the others. Greer, who was considered a consummate professional and often clashed with the center because of his attitude, spoke positively of the new Wilt Chamberlain: "You knew in a minute the Big Fella [Chamberlain] was ready to go... and everybody would follow." thumb|Chamberlain and Nate Thurmond of the [[Golden State Warriors|San Francisco Warriors battle for the basketball.]] In the 1967 NBA Playoffs, the Sixers yet again battled the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Division Finals, and again held home court advantage. In Game 1, the Sixers beat Boston 127–112, powered by Hal Greer's 39 points and Chamberlain's unofficial quadruple double, with 24 points, 32 rebounds, 13 assists and (unofficially counted) 12 blocks. In Game 2, the Sixers won 107–102 in overtime, and player-coach Russell grudgingly praised Chamberlain for intimidating the Celtics into taking low percentage shots from further outside. In Game 3, Chamberlain grabbed 41 rebounds and helped the Sixers win 115–104. The Celtics prevented a sweep by winning Game 4 with 121–117, but in Game 5, the Sixers simply overpowered the Celtics 140–116, which effectively ended Boston's historical run of 8 consecutive NBA titles. The Sixers' center scored 29 points, 36 rebounds and 13 assists and was highly praised by Celtics Russell and K.C. Jones.

In the 1967 NBA Finals, the Sixers were pitted against Chamberlain's old team, the San Francisco Warriors of his one-time backup Nate Thurmond and star forward Rick Barry. The Sixers won the first two games, with Chamberlain and Greer taking credit for respectively defensive dominance and clutch shooting, but San Francisco won two of the next three games, so Philadelphia was up 3–2 prior to Game 6. In Game 6, the Warriors were trailing by one point with 15 seconds left. For the last play, Thurmond and Barry were assigned to do a pick and roll against Chamberlain and whoever would guard Barry. However, the Sixers foiled this plan: when Barry ran past Thurmond's pick and drove to the basket, he was picked up by Chet Walker, making it impossible to shoot; Thurmond was covered by Chamberlain, making it impossible to pass. Barry botched his shot attempt, and the Sixers won the championship. Chamberlain said: "It is a wonderful to be a part of the greatest team in basketball... being a champion is like having a big round glow inside of you." He had contributed with 17.7 ppg and 28.7 rpg against fellow future Hall-of-Fame pivot Nate Thurmond, never failing to snare at least 23 rebounds in the six games. Chamberlain himself described the team as the best in NBA history. In 2002, writer Wayne Lynch wrote a book about this remarkable Sixers season, ''Season of the 76ers'', centering on Chamberlain.

In the 1967–68 NBA season, matters began to turn sour between Chamberlain and the Sixers' sole surviving owner, Irv Kosloff. This conflict had been going along for a while: in 1965, Chamberlain asserted that he and the late Richman had worked out a deal which would give the center 25% of the franchise once he had ended his career. Although there is no written proof for or against, Ex-Sixers coach Dolph Schayes and Sixers lawyer Alan Levitt assumed Chamberlain was right; in any case, Kosloff declined the request, leaving Chamberlain livid and willing to jump to the rival ABA once his contract ended in 1967. Kosloff and Chamberlain worked out a truce, and later signed a one-year, $250,000 contract.

On the hardwood, Chamberlain continued his focus on team play and registered 24.3 points and 23.8 rebounds a game for the season. The 76ers had the best record in the league for the third straight season. Chamberlain made history by becoming the first and only center in NBA history to finish the season as the leader in assists, his 702 beating runner-up, Hall-of-Fame point guard Lenny Wilkens' total by 23. For these feats, Chamberlain won his fourth and last MVP title. Another landmark was his 25,000th point, making him the first ever player to score these many points: he gave the ball to his team physician Dr. Stan Lorber. Winning 62 games, the Sixers easily took the first playoff berth of the 1968 NBA Playoffs. In the 1968 Eastern Division Semifinals, they were pitted against the New York Knicks. In a physically tough matchup, the Sixers lost sixth man Billy Cunningham, who broke his hand, and Chamberlain, Hal Greer and Luke Jackson were struggling with inflamed feet, bad knees and pulled hamstrings, respectively. Going ahead 3–2, the Sixers defeated the Knicks 115–97 in Game 6 after Chamberlain scored 25 points and 27 rebounds: he had a successful series in which he led both teams in points (153), rebounds (145) and assists (38).

In the 1968 Eastern Division Finals, the Sixers yet again met the Boston Celtics, again with home court advantage, and this time as reigning champions. Despite the Sixers' injury woes, coach Hannum was confident to "take the Celtics in less than seven games": he pointed out the age of the Celtics, who were built around Bill Russell and guard Sam Jones, both 34. But then, national tragedy struck as Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968. With eight of the ten starting players on the Sixers and Celtics being African-American, both teams were in deep shock, and there were calls to cancel the series. In a game called as "unreal" and "devoid of emotion", the Sixers lost 118–127 on April 5. After attending Dr. King's funeral, Chamberlain called out to the angry rioters who were setting fires all over the country, stating Dr. King would not have approved. In Game 2, Philadelphia evened the series with 115–106, and in Games 3 and 4, the Sixers won, with Chamberlain suspiciously often played by Celtics backup center Wayne Embry, causing the press to speculate Russell was worn down. Prior to Game 5, the Celtics seemed dead: no NBA team had ever come back from a 1–3 deficit. However, the Celtics rallied back, winning Game 5 with 122–104 and Game 6 with 114–106, powered by a spirited John Havlicek and helped by a terrible Sixers shooting slump.

What followed was the first of three consecutive controversial and painful Game 7s which Wilt Chamberlain played. In that Game 7, the Sixers could not get their act together: 15,202 stunned Philadelphia fans witnessed a historic 96–100 defeat, making it the first time in NBA history a team lost a series after leading 3–1. Although Cherry points out that the Sixers shot badly (Hal Greer, Wali Jones, Chet Walker, Luke Jackson and Matt Guokas hit a combined 25 of 74 shots) and Chamberlain grabbed 34 rebounds and shot 4-of-9, the center himself scored only 14 points. In the second half of Game 7, Chamberlain did not attempt a single shot from the field. Cherry observes a strange pattern in that game: in a typical Sixers game, Chamberlain got the ball 60 times in the low post, but in that Game 7, only 23 times, and only seven times in the third and only ''two'' times in the fourth quarter. Chamberlain later blamed coach Hannum for the lack of touches (i.e. scoring opportunities), a point which the coach conceded himself, but Cherry points out that Chamberlain, who always thought of himself as the best player of all time, should have been outspoken enough to demand the ball himself. The loss meant that Chamberlain was now 1–6 in playoff series against the Celtics.

After that season, coach Alex Hannum wanted to be closer to his family on the West Coast; he left the Sixers to coach the Oakland Oaks in the newly founded American Basketball Association. Chamberlain then asked for a trade, and Sixers general manager Jack Ramsay traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers for Darrall Imhoff, Archie Clark and Jerry Chambers. The motivation for this move remains in dispute. According to sportswriter Roland Lazenby, a journalist close to the Lakers, Chamberlain was angry at Kosloff for breaking the alleged Richman-Chamberlain deal, but according to Dr. Jack Ramsay, who was the Sixers general manager then, Chamberlain also threatened to jump to the ABA after Hannum left, and forced the trade himself. Cherry finally adds several personal reasons: the center felt he had grown too big for Philadelphia, sought the presence of fellow celebrities (which were plenty in L.A.) and finally also desired the opportunity to date white women, which was possible for a black man in L.A. but hard to imagine elsewhere back then.

Los Angeles Lakers (1968–1973)

On July 9, 1968, Chamberlain was the centerpiece of a major trade between the 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers, who sent center Darrall Imhoff (the unfortunate ex-Knicks center who started against Chamberlain when the latter scored 100 points), forward Jerry Chambers and guard Archie Clark to Philadelphia, making it the first time a reigning NBA Most Valuable Player was traded the next season. Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke gave Chamberlain an unprecedented contract, paying him $250,000 after taxes; in comparison, previous Laker top earner Jerry West was paid $100,000 before taxes.

Chamberlain joined a squad which featured Hall-of-Fame forward Elgin Baylor and Hall-of-Fame guard Jerry West, along with backup center Mel Counts, forwards Keith Erickson and Tom Hawkins and talented but diminutive 5 ft 11 in guard Johnny Egan. The lack of a second guard next to West (and thus, the lack of speed and quickness) concerned coach Butch Van Breda Kolff; after losing Clark and Gail Goodrich, who joined the Phoenix Suns after the 1968 expansion draft, he said: "Egan gets murdered on defense because of his [lack of] size... but if I don't play him, we look like a bunch of trucks." In addition, Cherry observed that Chamberlain was neither a natural leader nor a loyal follower, which made him difficult to fit in. While he was on cordial terms with Jerry West, he often argued with team captain Elgin Baylor; regarding Baylor, he later explained: "We were good friends, but... [in] black culture... you never let the other guy one-up you." The greatest problem was his tense relationship with Lakers coach Butch Van Breda Kolff: pejoratively calling the new recruit "The Load", he later complained that Chamberlain was egotistical, never respected him, too often slacked off in practice and focused too much on his own statistics. In return, the center blasted Van Breda Kolff as "the dumbest and worst coach ever". Laker Keith Erickson observed that "Butch catered to Elgin and Jerry... and that is not a good way to get on Wilt's side... that relationship was doomed from the start."

Chamberlain experienced a problematic and often frustrating season. Van Breda Kolff benched him several times, which never happened in his career before; in mid-season, the perennial scoring champion had two games in which he scored only six and then only 2 points. Playing through his problems, Chamberlain averaged 20.5 points and 21.1 rebounds a game that season. However, Jack Kent Cooke was pleased, because since acquiring Chamberlain, ticket sales had gone up by 11 percent.

In the 1969 playoffs, the Lakers dispatched of Chamberlain's old club, the San Francisco Warriors with 4–2 after losing the first two games, and then defeated the Atlanta Hawks and met Chamberlain's familiar rivals, Bill Russell's Boston Celtics. Going into the series as 3-to-1 favorites, the Lakers won their first two games, but dropped the next two. Chamberlain was criticized as a non-factor in the series, getting neutralized by Bill Russell with little effort. But in Game 5, the Lakers center started to come to life, scoring 13 points and grabbing 31 rebounds, helping to lead Los Angeles to a 117–104 win. In Game 6, the Celtics won 99–90, and Chamberlain only scored eight points; Cherry accuses him of choking, because if "Chamberlain had came up big and put up a normal 30 point scoring night", L.A. would have probably won its first championship.

Game 7 featured a surreal scene: in anticipation of a Lakers win, Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke had put up thousands of balloons in the rafters of the Forum in Los Angeles. This display of arrogance motivated the Celtics and angered Jerry West. In that match, Chamberlain experienced his second Game 7 debacle. The Lakers trailed by 76–91 after three quarters. But powered by a limping Jerry West, who played with a deep thigh bruise after Game 5, the Lakers mounted a comeback; but then, Chamberlain twisted his knee after a rebound and had to be replaced by Mel Counts. With three minutes to go, and West and Counts hitting clutch baskets, the Lakers trailed by only 102–103. But when the Celtics tightened up their defense, the Lakers committed costly turnovers and lost the game 106–108 despite 42 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists from Jerry West, who became the first and only NBA Finals MVP from the losing team.

After the game, the key question was why Chamberlain had stayed out the final six minutes. At the time of his final substitution, he had scored 18 points (hitting 7 of his 8 shots) and grabbed 27 rebounds, significantly better than the 10 points of Mel Counts on 4-of-13 shooting. To justify a late minute sub, either Chamberlain's injury had to be grave, or Van Breda Kolff's trust in Counts absolute. Among others, Bill Russell did not believe Chamberlain's injury was grave, and openly accused him of being a malingerer: "Any injury short of a broken leg or a broken back is not enough." Ironically, Van Breda Kolff came to Chamberlain's defense, insisting the often-maligned Lakers center hardly was able to move in the end. He himself was perceived as "pig-headed" for benching Chamberlain, and soon resigned as a Lakers coach. Cherry comments that according to some journalists, that Game 7 "destroyed two careers: Wilt's because he wouldn't take over and Van Breda Kolff because he wouldn't give in".

In his second Lakers year under new coach Joe Mullaney, Chamberlain seriously injured his knee. He was injured in the ninth game of the schedule and missed the next several months before appearing in the final three games of the 82-game regular season. Owing to a great start, he managed to average 27.3 points, 18.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. Again, the Lakers charged through the playoffs, and in the 1970 NBA Finals, the Lakers were pitted against the New York Knicks, loaded with future Hall-of-Famers Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, and Walt Frazier. Cherry observed that Reed, a prolific midrange shooter, was a bad matchup for Chamberlain: having lost lateral quickness due to his injury, the Lakers center was often too slow to block Reed's preferred high post jump shots. In Game 1, Reed masterminded a 124–112 win in which he scored 37 points on Chamberlain. In Game 2, Chamberlain scored 19 points, grabbed 24 rebounds and blocked Reed's shot in the final seconds, leading the Lakers to a 105–103 win. Game 3 featured Jerry West hitting an unbelievable 60-foot buzzer beater to tie the game at 102; however, the Knicks took the game 111–108. In Game 4, Chamberlain scored 18 points and grabbed 25 rebounds and helped tie the series at two games each. But in Game 5, things seemed to go awry for the Knicks: trailing by double digits, Reed pulled his thigh muscle and seemed to be done for the series. By conventional wisdom, Chamberlain now should have dominated against little-used Knicks backup centers Nate Bowman and Bill Hosket or forwards Bradley and DeBusschere, who gave up more than half a foot against the Lakers center. Instead, the Lakers gave away their 13 point halftime lead and succumbed to the aggressive Knicks defense: L.A. committed 19 second half turnovers, and the two main scorers Chamberlain and West shot the ball only three and two times, respectively, in the entire second half. The Lakers lost 100–107 in what was called one of the greatest comebacks in NBA Finals history. In Game 6, Chamberlain scored 45 points and almost single-handedly equalized the series in a 135–113 Lakers win, and with Reed out, the Knicks seemed doomed prior to Game 7 in New York.

However, the hero of that Game 7 was Willis Reed. He famously hobbled up court, scored the first four points, and inspired his team to one of the most famous playoff upsets of all time. At halftime, the Knicks were already up by 27, and despite scoring 21 points, Chamberlain could not prevent his third consecutive painful Game 7 loss. The Lakers center himself was criticized for his inability to dominate his injured counterpart, but Cherry pointed out that Chamberlain's feat – coming back from career-threatening injury ''himself'' – was too quickly forgotten.

In the 1970–71 NBA season, the Lakers made a notable move by signing future Hall-of-Fame guard Gail Goodrich, who came back from the Phoenix Suns after playing for L.A. until 1968. Chamberlain averaged 20.7 points, 18.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists, once again led the NBA in rebounding and the Lakers won the Pacific Division title. After losing Elgin Baylor to an Achilles tendon rupture that effectively ended his career, and especially after losing Jerry West after a knee injury, the handicapped Lakers were seen as underdogs against the Milwaukee Bucks of freshly crowned MVP Lew Alcindor, better known under his later Muslim name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and veteran Hall-of-Fame guard Oscar Robertson in the Western Conference Finals. Winning the regular season with 66 wins, the Bucks were seen as favourites against the depleted Lakers; still, many pundits were looking forward to the matchup between the 34-year old Chamberlain and the 24-year old Abdul-Jabbar. In Game 1, Abdul-Jabbar outscored Chamberlain 32–22, and the Bucks won 106–85. In Game 2, the Bucks won again despite the Lakers center scoring 26 points, four more than his Milwaukee counterpart. Prior to Game 3, things became even worse for the Lakers when Keith Erickson, West's stand-in, had an appendectomy and was out for the season; with only rookie Jim McMillan easing the scoring pressure, Chamberlain churned out a 24-point-24-rebound effort in Game 4 to a Lakers win, but finally the Bucks soundly defeated the Lakers 116–98 at home. Although Chamberlain lost, he was lauded for holding his own against MVP Abdul-Jabbar, who was not only 10 years younger but still had two healthy knees.

After the 1971 playoffs, Chamberlain had an offer to fight heavyweight boxing legend Muhammad Ali. The 15-round fight would have taken place on July 26, 1971 in the Houston Astrodome but Chamberlain finally refused the match. In an 1999 interview, Chamberlain stated that boxing trainer Cus D'Amato wanted to train him for the fight, and they offered Ali and him $5 million each to battle each other. However, after checking back with his father, Chamberlain finally said no.

In the 1971–72 NBA season, the Lakers hired former Celtics star guard Bill Sharman as head coach. Sharman introduced morning shoot-arounds, in which the perennial latecomer Chamberlain regularly participated (in contrast to earlier years with Dolph Schayes) and transformed him into a defensive-minded, low-scoring post defender in the mold of his old rival Bill Russell. Furthermore, he told Chamberlain to use his rebounding and passing skills to quickly initiate fastbreaks to his teammates, forwards Happy Hairston and MacMillian, guards Goodrich and West, and bench players Flynn Robinson and LeRoy Ellis.

While no longer being the main scorer, Chamberlain was named the new captain of the Lakers: after his Achilles tendon rupture, perennial captain Elgin Baylor had ended his career, leaving a void the center now filled. Initially, Sharman had wanted Chamberlain and West to share this duty, but West declined, stating that he was injury-prone and wanted to solely concentrate on the game. Chamberlain accepted his new roles and posted an all-time low 14.8 points, but also won the rebound crown with 19.2 rpg and led the league with a .649 field goal percentage. Powered by his defensive presence, the Lakers would embark on an unprecedented 33 game win streak en route to a then-record 69 wins in the regular season.

In the post-season, the Lakers defeated the Chicago Bulls in a sweep, then went on to face the Milwaukee Bucks of young superstar center and regular-season MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar again. The matchup between Chamberlain and Abdul-Jabbar was hailed by ''LIFE'' magazine as the greatest matchup in all of sports. Chamberlain would help lead the Lakers past Jabbar and the Bucks in 6 games. Particularly, Chamberlain was lauded for his final Game 6 performance, which the Lakers won 106–100 after trailing by 10 points in the fourth quarter: he scored 24 points and 22 rebounds, played a complete 48 minutes and outsprinted the younger Bucks center on several late Lakers fast breaks. Jerry West called it "the greatest ball-busting performance I have ever seen." Chamberlain performed so well in the series that ''TIME'' magazine stated, "In the N.B.A.'s western division title series with Milwaukee, he (Chamberlain) decisively outplayed basketball's newest giant superstar, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, eleven years his junior."

In the 1972 NBA Finals, the Lakers again met the New York Knicks; the Knicks were shorthanded after losing Willis Reed to injury, and so, undersized 6'8" Jerry Lucas had the task to defend against the 7'1" Chamberlain. However, prolific outside shooter Lucas helped New York to win Game 1, hitting 9 of his 11 shots in the first half alone; in Game 2, which the Lakers won 106–92, Chamberlain put Lucas into foul trouble, and the Knicks lost defensive power forward Dave DeBusschere to injury. In Game 3, Chamberlain scored 26 points and grabbed 20 rebounds for another Lakers win, and in a fiercely battled Game 4, the Lakers center was with playing with five fouls late in the match. Having never fouled out in his NBA career – a feat he was very proud of – he played aggressive defense despite the risk of fouling out, and blocked two of Lucas' shots in overtime, proving those wrong who said he only played for his own stats; he ended scoring a game-high 27 points. But in that game, he had fallen on his right hand, and was said to have "sprained" it; in fact, it was broken. For Game 5, Chamberlain's hands were packed into thick pads normally destined for defensive linesmen in American Football; he was offered a painkilling shot, but refused because he feared he would lose his shooting touch if his hands became numb. In Game 5, Chamberlain recorded 24 points, 29 rebounds, 8 assists and 8 blocked shots. (While blocked shots were not an official NBA stat at that time, announcer Keith Jackson counted up the block shots during the broadcast.) Chamberlain's outstanding all-around performance helped the L.A. Lakers win their first championship with a decisive 114–100 win. Chamberlain was named Most Valuable Player of the NBA Finals, and was admired for dominating the Knicks in Game 5 while playing injured.

The 1972–73 NBA season was to be Chamberlain's last, although he did not know this at the time. In his last NBA year, the Lakers had lost substance: Happy Hairston was injured, Flynn Robinson and LeRoy Ellis had left L.A., and veteran Jerry West struggled with sensitive hamstrings. Chamberlain averaged 13.2 points and 18.6 rebounds, still enough to win the rebounding crown for the 11th time in his career. In addition, he shot with an all-time NBA record .727 accuracy from the field, bettering his own mark of .683 from the 1966–67 season—neither percentage has been topped by any other player. It was the ninth time Chamberlain would lead the league in field goal percentage. The Lakers won 60 games in the regular season and reached the 1973 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks. This time, the tables were turned: the Knicks now featured a healthy team with a rejuvenated Willis Reed, and the Lakers were now handicapped by several injuries.

In that series, the Lakers won Game 1 with 115–112, but the Knicks won Games 2 and 3; things worsened when Jerry West injured his hamstring yet again. In Game 4, the shorthanded Lakers were no match for New York, and in Game 5, the valiant, but injured West and Hairston had miserable games, and despite Chamberlain scoring 23 points and grabbing 21 rebounds, the Lakers lost 93–102 and the series. Chamberlain did not yet know that this loss was the last professional game of his career.

San Diego Conquistadors (1973)

In 1973, the San Diego Conquistadors of the NBA rival league ABA signed Chamberlain as a player-coach for a $600,000 salary. However, the Lakers sued their former star and successfully prevented him from actually playing, because he still owed them the option year of his contract. Barred from playing, Chamberlain mostly left the coaching duties to his assistant Stan Albeck, who recalled: "Chamberlain... has a great feel for pro basketball... [but] the day-to-day things that are an important part of basketball... just bored him. He did not have the patience." The players were split on Chamberlain, who was seen as competent, but often indifferent and more occupied with promotion of his autobiography ''Wilt: Just Like Any Other 7-Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door'' than with coaching. In his single season as a coach, the "Qs", as the Conquistadors were colloquially called, went a mediocre 37–47 in the regular season and lost against the Utah Stars in the Division Semifinals. However, Chamberlain was not pleased by the meagre Qs' attendance: the crowd was an average 1,843, hardly filling half of the Qs' small San Diego 3,200-seat sports arena. After the season, Chamberlain retired from professional basketball.

Post-NBA career

After his stint with the Qs, Chamberlain successfully went into business and entertainment, made money in stocks and real estate, opened a popular Harlem nightclub, Big Wilt's Smalls Paradise, and invested in broodmares. Chamberlain also sponsored his personal professional volleyball and track and field teams, and also provided high-level teams for girls and women in basketball, track, volleyball and softball, and made money by appearing in ads for Drexel Burnham, Le Tigre Clothing and Foot Locker.

After his basketball career, volleyball became Chamberlain's new passion: being a talented hobby volleyballer (albeit due to lack of technique, not as excellent as volleyball All-American Lakers team mate Keith Erickson) during his Lakers days, he became board member of the newly founded International Volleyball Association in 1974 and became its president one year later. As a testament to his importance, the IVA All-Star game was televised only because Chamberlain also played in it: he rose to the challenge and was named the game's MVP. He played occasional matches for the IVA Seattle Smashers before the league folded in 1979. However, Chamberlain had promoted the sport so effectively that he was named to the Volleyball Hall of Fame: he became one of the few athletes who were enshrined in different sports.

In addition, Chamberlain played a villainous warrior and counterpart of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film ''Conan the Destroyer'' (1984), where his most remarkable spoken phrase is "thieves should be hanged": This caused his physician, Dr. Lorber, to jokingly greet Chamberlain with "thieves should be hanged" whenever they met. When million-dollar contracts became common in the NBA, Chamberlain increasingly felt he had been underpaid during his career. A result of this resentment was the 1997 book ''Who's Running the Asylum? Inside the Insane World of Sports Today'' (1997), in which he harshly criticized the NBA of the 1990s for being too disrespectful of players of the past.

Even far beyond his playing days, Chamberlain was a very fit person. In his mid-forties, he was able to humble rookie Magic Johnson in practice, and even in the 1980s, he flirted with making a comeback in the NBA. In the 1980–81 NBA season, coach Larry Brown recalled that the 45-year-old Chamberlain had received an offer from the Cleveland Cavaliers. When Chamberlain was 50, the New Jersey Nets had the same idea, and Chamberlain declined again. However, he would continue to epitomize physical fitness for years to come, including participating in several marathons.

In 1992, Chamberlain was briefly hospitalized for an irregular heartbeat. According to those close to him, he eventually began taking medication for his heart troubles. On October 12, 1999, rescuers found him dead upon being summoned to his Bel Air, California, home. His agent reported, after speaking with Chamberlain's cardiologist, that Chamberlain died of congestive heart failure, his health having deteriorated rapidly during the month preceding his death.

Legacy

The 7-foot-1, two-time NBA champion Chamberlain is universally regarded as one of the most extraordinary and dominant basketball players ever. The 1972 NBA Finals MVP is holder of numerous official NBA all-time records, establishing himself as a scoring champion, all-time top rebounder and setting yardsticks in field goal accuracy. He was also responsible for several rule changes, including widening the lane from 12 to 16 feet, as well as changes to rules regarding inbounding the ball and shooting free throws. Chamberlain's main weakness was his notoriously poor free throw shooting, where he has the third lowest career free throw percentage in NBA history (based on a minimum of 1200 attempts). He later acknowledged that he was a "psycho case" in this matter.

For his feats, Chamberlain was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, ranked #2 in ''SLAM Magazine''s Top 50 NBA Players of all time and #13 in the ESPN list "Top North American athletes of the century" and voted second best center of all time by ESPN behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on March 6, 2007. His on-court rivalry against Bill Russell is acknowledged as one of the greatest NBA individual rivalries of all time.

In political philosophy Chamberlain is known for the so-called "Wilt Chamberlain Argument." Libertarian philosopher Robert Nozick states that if fans agreed to pay to see him play, then Chamberlain was entitled to a greater amount of resources because the inequality will have resulted from a free exchange of resources. Nozick used Chamberlain as a real-life example to argue that non-entitlement theories of justice were inherently unjust.

Personal life

See also

List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career rebounding leaders

List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff rebounding leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff assists leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association players with most points in a game

List of National Basketball Association players with 50 or more points in a playoff game

List of National Basketball Association players with most rebounds in a game

List of National Basketball Association players with most assists in a game

List of National Basketball Association top individual scoring season averages

List of National Basketball Association top rookie scoring averages

List of National Basketball Association top individual rebounding season averages

List of National Basketball Association top rookie rebounding averages

List of National Basketball Association top individual field goal percentage seasons

List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 30 or more rebounds in a game

List of basketball players who have scored 100 points in a single game

Notes

Further reading

External links

University of Kansas Men's Basketball

NBA History: Wilt Chamberlain Summary

4th Quarter Radio Broadcast of Wilt's 100 Point Game

"Wilt's Big Night," Weekend America, American Public Media, June 4, 2005, How the 100-point game almost went un-recorded.

Pomerantz, Gary M. (2005). Excerpt: Wilt, 1962: The Night of 100 Points and the Dawn of a New Era.

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Category:1936 births Category:1999 deaths Category:African American basketball coaches Category:African American basketball players Category:African-American volleyball players Category:American basketball players Category:American volleyball players Category:Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Category:Basketball players from Pennsylvania Category:Cardiovascular disease deaths in California Category:Centers (basketball) Category:Harlem Globetrotters players Category:Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players Category:Los Angeles Lakers players Category:National Basketball Association players with retired numbers Category:National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Category:NBA Finals MVP Award winners Category:People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Philadelphia 76ers players Category:Philadelphia Warriors draft picks Category:Philadelphia Warriors players Category:Player-coaches Category:San Diego Conquistadors coaches Category:San Diego Conquistadors players Category:San Francisco Warriors players Category:Sportspeople of multiple sports Category:University of Kansas alumni

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