Dunks and Don'ts: Five Other Facts About Wilt Chamberlain

1 year ago

Wilt set scoring records, and voted for Nixon...twice

Today the sports world is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of NBA Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game. He accomplished the feat in the 1962 season as a member of the Philadelphia Warriors in a game against the New York Knicks. In addition to scoring 100 points, he also set five other all time records in the same game. In fact, he broke his own record of scoring 78 points in a game which was the highest total up until that day.

Wilt is also known for another infamous number, 20,000. The life long bachelor who fathered no children claims to have slept with that many women during his time on Earth, a number that has been mocked, admired and disdained all the same. For the man to have lived 63 years there has to be more to him right? Did you know who he voted for? Did you know who he had beef with? Did you know how he even arrived at that 20,000 number?

Today as everyone is buzzing about "Wilt the Stilt," Loop 21 wanted to share five other facts about him:

1. WILT DUNKED HIS FOUL SHOTS
Back in the day, players were allowed to get a running start before shooting their foul shots. So, as long as you didn't go across the free throw line, everything was fair game. Wilt however, was so big and fast that he would get a running start, jump from the free throw line and dunk the ball in. Yes, he dunked his free throws. Eventually, they changed the rules to what you see today. Wilt's dominance also forced the league to widen the painted lane area from 12 feet to 16 feet.