Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain

By Truman Robbins

Wilt Norman Chamberlain was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He had nine people in his family. In his young years he wasn’t interested in basketball, he was interested in track and other sports. He was very good at track. Basketball was cool in Philadelphia so he eventually turned to the sport.

          He was 6 feet 11 inches going into high school. In high school he played for the Overbrook Panthers. He had a very big advantage over most of the kids because he was so tall.

          In college he went to and played for KU. He played until his junior year and was mad about his junior year so he didn’t play his senior year. The NBA at the time didn’t allow players who didn’t play four years in high school so he joined the Harlem Globetrotters.

          He then joined the NBA and he played for the Warriors. It was originally in Philadelphia and then they changed to San Francisco. He played there 1959-1965. He then played for the Philadelphia Sixers 1965-1968.  He then played for the Los Angeles Lakers 1968-1973. He gained a few NBA records in his year including a scoring champion, and all time top rebounder.

          He signed a coaching job with the San Diego Conquistadors after his NBA career. Wilt Chamberlain died October 12, 1999 from congestive heart failure. Wilt Chamberlain was a big legend.