Wilt Chamberlain was considered arrogant and egotistical by many; however, the legend once took out time for a heart-warming gesture.
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We all know Wilt Chamberlain as one of the wildest athletes the sporting world has ever witnessed. The 7-foot-1 big man was not only one of the best centers ever but also one of the greatest players the league has ever come across.
The Hall-Of-Famer was a freak of nature, who reached the height of 6 feet when he was only 10 years old and 6-foot-10 when he was a freshman. He entered the league as a 250-pound beast, weighed around 300 pounds by the end of his magnificent career, and was rumored to have an 8-foot wingspan.
There have been several instances in Wilt’s career, which seem absolutely surreal to an NBA fan. Scoring his famous 100-point performance, and even averaging more than 50 points and 25 rebounds in a season, we’ve very well seen him stuff the stat sheet throughout the course of his career.
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While Wilt was a beast on the hardwood, off the court, Chamberlain was considered “arrogant, womanizing, superhuman through his media persona”. Despite having this nasty reputation, Wilt once took out time for an extremely heart-warming gesture.
“Wilt Chamberlain didn’t make any fanfare about it”: Jim Barnett
Despite his off-court antics, Chamberlain was the idol of numerous children across the globe. Being the global megastar he was, the 4-time MVP used to receive several fan letters. One of the many letters was from his former teammate, Paul Arizin’s granddaughter in 1993.
Years after receiving the letter, Wilt the Stilt learned that Stephanie, who was 16 at the time, had a brain tumor. Since then, the icon would call his fan every Friday for the rest of her life.
According to Stephanie’s father, “from the time they first spoke, Wilt called Steph every Friday night for the rest of her life.”
Jim Barnett also spoke about the relationship Wilt shared with Stephanie.
“Wilt got her Bill Russell’s autograph – and he wasn’t signing for anyone. But of course, Wilt went over and said, ‘Russ, this is for my friend’.”
Further, Barnett stated that Chamberlain never did any of these compassionate gestures for any publicity.
“That’s the kind of guy [Chamberlain] was,” Barnett explained. “And he didn’t make any fanfare about it, no one knew about it. He did this on his own because he cared. He was compassionate.”
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