Wilt Chamberlain: The center who decided scoring wasn't enough and the origins of All-Around Big Man
For much of his early career, Wilt Chamberlain was viewed through one overwhelming lens: scoring. And understandably so. He entered the NBA as an almost unprecedented offensive force. He averaged 37.6 points per game as a rookie, followed that with 38.4 in 1960–61 and then produced the legendary 50.4 points per game in 1961–62, including his 100-point game.
But there was a problem with that narrative. Wilt was becoming almost too associated with scoring. His enormous individual numbers were sometimes treated as evidence that he dominated the ball too much, while his teams repeatedly fell short of the championship.
Then came Philadelphia and coach Alex Hannum. 1966–67: Wilt changes his role
Hannum didn't simply ask Wilt to score more efficiently. He asked him to do less scoring.
That sounds strange for a player who had averaged 33.5 points the previous season, but it was deliberate. Philadelphia had other offensive weapons, including Hal Greer, Chet Walker and Billy Cunningham, so Hannum wanted Chamberlain to become a more complete hub of the offense.
The result was remarkable.
In 1966–67, Wilt averaged:
24.1 PPG
24.2 RPG
7.8 APG
68.3% FG
He didn't win the scoring title for the first time in his career. Instead, he led the league in rebounding, led the NBA in field-goal percentage and finished third in assists. Philadelphia went 68–13 and won the NBA championship. (NBA.com). Essentially Wilt Chamberlain discovered that he can vitally provide to his team's success without being the one to finish every possession
Then he took it even further. In 1967–68, Chamberlain turned the experiment into a statement.
He became the first — and still only — center to lead the NBA in assists.
He recorded:
8.6 assists per game
702 total assist
23.8 rebounds per game
24.3 points per game
59.5% from the field
And those 702 assists weren't merely the most by a center. They were the most in the entire NBA. Wilt finished ahead of Lenny Wilkens and Oscar Robertson in total assists, while Robertson led the league in assists per game at 9.7 because he played fewer games. (NBA.com)
In the bigger picture, Wilt was fighting his own reputation
Wilt's early career became synonymous to individual high-scoring performances but underwhelming end product, as his monstrous scoring wouldn’t land a championship, at least not before 1968, in which he proved to his critics he could also pass the ball, despite his height, and trust the ball with his teammates.
Wilt Chamberlain's imprint:
In David Hollander's book, "How Can Basketball Save the World: 13 Guiding Principles for Reimagining What's Possible", the author shares a lesser known story of Wilt Chamberlain which perfectly encapsulates his influence on other centers.
Before joining the NBA and becoming All-Star and All-Defensive player of the Year, Mark Eaton was a college student-player with the UCLA (University of California). His 7-foot-3 (2.24m) presence wasn't enough for him to help his university's endeavors. In his final year at UCLA, in 1982, Eaton was averaging only 1,3 points, 2 rebounds in only 3,7 minutes and just 11 games of playing. His stats were 50% worse than in the previous season. It was clear things were taking the wrong turn.
While Eaton was trying to catch on the side-line, he felt a hand touching his shoulder. It was Wilt Chamberlain, who five years after his retirement as a player, spoke wisdom to Eaton. He was seeing a big that had the power and the skills but he was using them wrongly. "First of all, you are never going to catch that petite player". Wilt made Eaton realise he shouldn't run around the court, trying to play defense on everybody. He took him back to the court, placed him in front of the basket, then showed the rim and said "your job is to prevent the opposing players reach here, grab the rebound and pass it to your guard to get the ball down". Later Wilt pointed the paint, showing Eaton his play area, and where he could become more useful for his team.
Chamberlain's words and guidance helped Eaton figure out his role. Utah Jazz chose him on the draft. He was one of the last players to receive the call - 4th Round, 72nd pick. Four years later, as author David Hollander says, "the player that was never moving off the bench at UCLA, but received Wilt's wisdom, led the league and broke the record for the most blocks in one season. He became an All-Star in 1989, and was awarded Defensive Player of the Year twice. Utah Jazz retired his jersey (No. 53) in 1995.
Comments