100 points in a match

On March 2, 1962. Wilt Chamberlain achieved the impossible: scored 100 points in a game, the most legendary record in American basketball. To celebrate the anniversary of this legendary achievement, Basket USA is publishing an article honoring this feat, but of course this man, disappeared in 1999.

Wilt Chamberlain, a phenomenon

Born on August 21, 1936Wilt Chamberlain (2m16, 125kg) was drafted in 1959 by the Philadelphia Warriors after the tour of the Harlem Globe Trotters. He starts his career on October 24 and finished his rookie season with 37.6 points and 27.0 rebounds per game!

Obviously, he was chosen as the Rookie of the Year, as well as the MVP. First in history (Wes Unseld will be the second to achieve this feat in 1968/69). The following season, Wilt Chamberlain scored 38.4 points and grabbed 27.2 rebounds per game. Then we realize that this interior will leave its mark on this sport…

His third season will be the apotheosis of his career from an individual point of view, with a simply astonishing average of 50.4 points per game, along with 25.4 rebounds! But, a small paradox, he will not be chosen as MVP, his colleagues (the players then voted) prefer his nemesis, Bill Russell…

So here we are in 1962. Before this famous March 2nd, he had already scored 60 points or more on 17 occasions, including 78 points in triple overtime against the Lakers! This is an NBA record.

An evening of history

On March 2, 1962, Wilt and his Warriors hosted the New York Knicks in Hersey, Pennsylvania. After one quarter, Stilt Rider (his nickname) had already scored 23 points, and at halftime he had 41 points. It’s huge, but in line with its usual boxes. Except the second half will put him in the history books…

A quarter and 28 points later, he is at 69 points. He is therefore only 9 units away from his previous record (78 points), which is also the record in the history of the league at that time. Since then, viewers have become impatient. How high will Wilt Chamberlain take this record? “Give it to Wilt!” » echoes throughout the hall and the Philadelphia players will follow suit…

Finally, he reached 100 points on a dunk. At that moment, the crowd, small with only 4,124 present in the room, stormed the field and overwhelmed it. Still, there were 46 seconds left to play.

We don’t know if these last seconds were played. Today, more than 60 years later, it doesn’t matter: the show is here. Verification is impossible, because there is not only a recording of this match radio recording available. His coach Frank McGuire testifies: ” I always thought it was inevitable that he would. But when he did, I stopped: I couldn’t believe it. »

In the end, the Warriors won this match with 169-147, and Wilt Chamberlain broke all records: 100 points (with 25 rebounds anyway), but also 63 attempts and 36 rebounds, not forgetting 28/32 on free throws. That’s a huge performance for him, as he will have “only” 50% of his appearances in his career…

Two more records also fell that night: 59 points in a half and 31 in a quarter. The first one is still valid, On January 22, 2006, Kobe Bryant scored “only” 55 points. The second one was first won by George Gervin and then by him Carmelo Anthony with 33 pointsand at the end of Klay Thompson with 37 points in 2015.

A huge legacy

Today, his record still stands. Only the late Kobe Bryant came close on Jan. 22, 2006 with 81 points against the Raptors. Even if this feat went almost unnoticed at the time, its impact today is enormous: it is the most symbolic record in the league, and the photo of Wilt Chamberlain with his “100” sign remains in people’s minds.

The man who designed this little poster died in 2015 At 93, Harvey Pollack worked for the NBA in his first season. Despite this success, Wilt Chamberlain will admit that this match is not his favorite. He prefers his 55-rebound performance (also an NBA record) against Bill Russell, his arch nemesis.

Finally, for an anecdote, know that this record “The Stilt” may not be the most unbeatable of all. In the same season, 1962, he played 3,882 minutes in 80 matches. That is 48.5 minutes per match, even though the match lasts 48 minutes! This can be explained by the number of overtime games the Warriors played that year and the fact that he apparently hardly ever left the court…

https://vvv.youtube.com/vatch?v=LkMeEzhvNRs

How to read statistics? MJ = matches played; Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / attempt 3 points; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive jump; Tot = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; Points = Points.