“Knicks would do dumb things to stop me from scoring 100 points”: Wilt Chamberlain was flabbergasted at New York not focusing on winning the game

Wilt Chamberlain broke down how the Knicks were only trying to stop him rather than winning themselves a ball-game. 

Wilt Chamberlain is widely regarded as one of the most dominant players to have ever graced NBA hardwood. Shaquille O’Neal may have something to say about that but the two goliaths are definitely in a league of their own when it comes to this category. 

Chamberlain however, wasn’t just brute strength the way Shaq was. He was a track athlete before joining the NBA, had a vertical good enough to win any Dunk Contest, and was agile enough to contort his body for various offensive and defensive plays.

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Of course, Wilt Chamberlain wasn’t just a physical specimen. His level of skill and touch around the rim was something the league had never seen before. ‘The Big Dipper’ does not get enough credit for making the ‘fall-away’ shot a staple of mid-range shooting to create enough space to get a shot off. 

Combine all of these skills and physical gifts and a 100-point game is something that is very much achievable. 

Wilt Chamberlain on how the Knicks focused on only trying to stop him from scoring. 

March 2nd, 1962 was a day that rests in the pantheons of NBA lore as it was the day Wilt Chamberlain torched the New York Knicks for 100 points in a 169-147 victory. Audio from the game suggests that Chamberlain and his Philadelphia Warriors were put through quite the hellish game when it came to the fouls.

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At around half-time, Wilt entered the locker room with 41 points. This wasn’t that big of a deal as that season saw him have 30 to 35 points by half-time night in and night out. However, Guy Rodgers was intrigued by the number and told the rest of the Warriors to start feeding Chamberlain the ball as he wanted to see how many points he could get. 

Well, 59 in the second half was how many he scored, bringing his total to 100. When talking about that, Chamberlain said:  

“The Knicks were trying their best to keep me from scoring any points at all. They would do things like foul the other teammates, freeze the ball for as long as they could; they would do all sorts of dumb thing. They weren’t even trying to win the game. They were just trying to keep me from scoring 100.”