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“Wilt Chamberlain really had a quintuple-double?”: NBA fans stumped by Lakers and Sixers legend’s greatest unofficial statline of all time

Advait Jajodia
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“How did Wilt Chamberlain score only 4 points in a Finals game?!”: Wilt the Stilt once recorded single digit in points scored while playing alongside Jerry West and Elgin Baylor

Back in 1968, Wilt Chamberlain put up a once-in-a-lifetime type performance as he recorded the only quintuple-double in NBA history.

Long before the league was dominated by LeBron James in the 2010s or Kobe Bryant in the 2000s or Michael Jordan in the 1990s, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in the 1980s, it was Wilt Chamberlain who was absolutely terrorising the league on a nightly basis.

We all know just how dominant the great Wilt Chamberlain was. 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, and weighed around 300 pounds by the end of his magnificent career and was rumoured to have an 8-foot wingspan.

Also Read: Back when the Lakers superstar threw a ball at the Memphis Grizzlies’ reporters’ lights during his pregame session

There have been several instances in Wilt’s career, which seem absolutely surreal to an NBA fan. Apart from scoring his famous 100-point performance, we have very well seen him stuff the stat sheet throughout the course of his career. However, there is one particular accomplishment of his, among many others, which seems far from humanly possible – a quintuple-double.

 NBA Twitter reacts to Wilt Chamberlain’s surreal quintuple-double performance

Yes, you did read that correctly. Back on March 18th, 1968, the 13-time All-Star recorded the first and only one quintuple-double ever. Back then, the league didn’t use to keep track of the blocks and steals stats. However, it is believed that Wilt the Stilt put up 53 points, 32 rebounds, 24 blocks, 14 assists and 11 steals.

Yes, these numbers do look made up and impossible at a first glance. But what can we say, Chamberlain did humanly impossible things during the entire course of his 14-year amazing career.

As soon as his quintuple-double performances’ stats went viral, NBA Twitter was quite stunned. While a few fans were simply left in awe, there were a few who just wouldn’t believe it.

Also Read: Michael Jordan expected the Pistons to walk off following the Bulls sweep in 1991

About the author

Advait Jajodia

Advait Jajodia

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Advait Jajodia, a seasoned NBA journalist, has had a passion for the game for over a decade. His journey from admiring Kobe Bryant's precision to being in awe of Stephen Curry's long-range mastery instilled a profound understanding of basketball. With a background as a two-time National-level player, Advait uses his experience on the hardwood to offer insightful analysis. Over three years of dedicated sports journalism has equipped the 21-year-old with a unique perspective, reflected in his prolific portfolio of 3,350+ articles.

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