Wilt Chamberlain gained national attention while playing at Overbrook High School in West Philadelphia (1951-1955), leading his school to win the 1954 and 1955 City Championships.
He scored 90 points (with 60 in just 10 minutes) in the game to Roxborough High School. And today, you can see him here. Here are the printable Wilt Chamberlain coloring pages.
Free Wilt Chamberlain Coloring Pages
On August 21, 1936, Wilt Chamberlain was born in Philadelphia (United States). One of his nine children was born to Olivia Ruth Johnson, a domestic worker, and William Chamberlain, a welder.
After studying at the University of Kansas, where he excelled in athletics and basketball, he became a professional basketball player.
He retired in 1974 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1978. Wilt Chamberlain passed away in Los Angeles, California, on October 12, 1999.
He was signed by the Philadelphia Warriors, who selected him in the 1955 Draft. Regulations prohibited a player from entering the NBA before completing four years in college, so Chamberlain didn’t get in until 1959.
In that interval, Wilt played one season with the Harlem Globetrotters, in which he played as a point guard since his coach Abe Saperstein had two excellent centers.
So it was that Chamberlain played as a point guard and was able to show his excellent shooting ability, his passing ability, and his significant penetration to the basket.
In 1960 he played his first season with the Warriors, leading the league in scoring, averaging about 37.6 points per game, and in rebounds, with 27.
After scoring 25 points and grabbing 27 rebounds in the East’s victory over the West, he was named MVP of the All-Stars. He also became the first player to be named MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season.
With Chamberlain at the center, the Warriors went from being the worst in their division to having the best record in the NBA.
Although they would nevertheless be eliminated in the Conference Finals by the Bostons Celtics, it would happen many times in his career.
In 1963 the Warriors moved to San Francisco, and in ’64, Wilt and his San Francisco Warriors lost to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. After that season, Wilt was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Chamberlain was instrumental in the 1967 76ers induction of Hall of Fame inductees Greer and Billy Cunningham and other players such as Chet Walker and Luke Jackson.
In 1980, those Philadelphia 76ers were voted the best team of the first 35 years of competition, and Wilt himself announced that this was the best team ever. There Chamberlain received his third MVP.
In the 1967-1968 season, Chamberlain was named MVP for the fourth and final time while becoming the first center to lead all-time in assists, averaging 8.6 assists.
The 76ers had the best record in the league for the third consecutive year, although the Celtics would again eliminate them in the Conference Finals.
The following year, Wilt was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he would share the floor with Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, future members of the Hall of Fame, creating one of the most exquisite scoring machines of all time.
In 1971 the Lakers made an unprecedented move, signing former Celtics player Bill Sharman as a coach.
Sharman exploited Wilt’s defensive qualities and had him selected to the defensive quintet for the first time in his career.
In that season, the Lakers achieved 69 wins (33 in a row), the longest winning streak in NBA history.
Wilt won his first and only championship with the Lakers in 1972 (first season without Baylor). Wilt averaged 19.2 points per game and was elected MVP of the Finals in that team.