In sports, people often say that records are meant to be broken. However, some records are so outrageous that even thinking about coming close to them seems like a tall task. One such record in the NBA is the highest points scored in a game. Wilt Chamberlain created history in 1962 when he scored 100 points in a game. Since then, no one has come close to breaking the record. Recently, in his podcast, ‘Podcast P with Paul George‘, PG was asked about the 100-point game, resulting in an interesting conversation with his co-hosts.
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The conversation began with the likelihood of the record being broken in the future and which active player is more likely to achieve the feat. However, it took a quick turnaround when one of the co-hosts questioned the legitimacy of the record, as they had not heard anyone claiming to have watched the game in person.
As it happened in the early 1960s, there is no footage from the game as well. Paul George was more optimistic with his response saying,
“That part I wouldn’t get, why would they lie about it?”
The Los Angeles Clippers forward explained why he believed that the record could have been set and said, “I can see it happening, just because of that time period and how dominant he was.” The team quickly did a fact check on the internet and pulled out the statistics from the game.
Wilt had taken 63 shots and made 36 of them. He also shot 32 free throw attempts and made 28 of them. According to the stats, the Hall of Famer played all 48 minutes of the game.
Analyzing the statistics from the game, George felt that the record could have been broken as the player took an unexpected number of shots and free throw attempts. He said, “I don’t know man. I don’t know. That’s a lot of shots. You think about the free throws too. He shot 63 times but 32 free throw attempts? That’s another 16 shots.”
The co-hosts finally agreed on his dominance in that era and were impressed by the performance. However, the question remains. Is there someone who can break the record?
The impact of Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game
The hundred-point performance by Wilt Chamberlain may be the most amazing feat accomplished on the basketball court. However, the impact of the performance was not limited to the basketball court. In the 1960s, racism against the African American people was still prevalent in the United States of America.
It was considered a white man’s game and there were limited opportunities for the Black athletes. In the book, ‘Wilt, 1962: The Night of 100 Points and the Dawn of a New Era‘, the author, Gary M Pomerantz, wrote about the game and said,
“We remember Wilt’s 100-point game in part for its symbolism,” Pomerantz said in a telephone interview. “It symbolically exploded the racial quota N.B.A. owners had that limited opportunities for Black players. If this wasn’t the intended effect, it was the ultimate result: The N.B.A. would be a white man’s enclave no more.”
Chamberlain’s teammates, Alvin Attles and Tom Meschery, talked about sharing the court with the player during the 100-point performance and gave their account of the game, in an article by ‘The New York Times‘. Both of his teammates described their versions of the performance,
“”That jumper was not really Wilt’s strength,” Meschery said. “It was sort of a miracle. But the whole game was a miracle in a way.”
The kids are hollering out, ‘We want 100!’
“If you got the ball to Wilt, you stayed in the game,’ Attles said.
The announcer went on to say, “Happy to be with you on this historic occasion. The big man of the Warriors, and the big man of the league, has 92 points.”.
“Wilt loved to set up on the left block and then use that finger roll when he came across the lane,” Meschery said.
And then, finally, a few minutes later: He made it! He made it! He made it!
“One hundred points,” Attles said.
“Astounding,” Meschery said.”
That was that. Suddenly, the game had changed, and Chamberlain had put the country on notice. As mentioned by Pomerantz in his book, there was a positive shift toward African American athletes as more and more opportunities started to present themselves. It was not just a historic performance on the court but a moment etched in the history of the United States of America.
