Wilt Chamberlain signed a $600,000 contract to be a player-coach for an ABA team but never suited up for even a single game
Advertisement
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.
Even Chamberlain’s off-court decisions were pretty wild, like the one time he signed a contract to be a player-coach for an ABA team… while being a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Wilt Chamberlain was sued by the Los Angeles Lakers for his ABA contract
Back in 1973, during the dying days of his NBA career, Wilt the Stilt had signed a bizarre $600,000 with the San Diego Conquistadors, an ABA team, where he didn’t even suit up for a single game.
It didn’t take the Lakers long before they took legal actions against the 7-footer. Peculiarly, according to the court’s ruling, Chamberlain wasn’t permitted to play basketball for any other organization apart from the LA-based franchise. However, the ruling allowed him to continue to be the head coach for the Conquistadors.
However, Wilt was barely available on duty. According to the then-assistant coach Stan Albeck, the “coach” would sometimes be more focused on his personal things than actually being with the team:
“Chamberlain … has a great feel for pro basketball … [but] the day-to-day things that are an important part of basketball … just bored him. He did not have the patience.” The players were split on Chamberlain, who was seen as competent, but often indifferent and more occupied with the promotion of his autobiography Wilt: Just Like Any Other 7-Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door than with coaching. He once skipped a game to sign autographs for the book.”
Truly, we are yet to witness a player, rather an individual quite like Wilt Chamberlain.
