One of those nights was on November 16, 1962, when Wilt Chamberlain dazzled NBA fans with the franchise’s most memorable game. He scored a jaw-dropping 73 points against the New York Knicks. This historic feat took place in the most thrilling of triple-overtime games at Madison Square Garden. Chamberlain scored at an unbelievable rate, dazzling fans everywhere and solidifying his reputation as one of the greatest basketball players to ever play the game.
Chamberlain’s remarkable game started off with a scintillating first half, in which he scored a staggering 41 points. His offensive onslaught was tireless, overwhelming any defender put in front of him and leaving many in his wake. For every second on the floor during that triple overtime game, he played all 63 minutes of that game. The relentless effort culminated in a final score of 127-111 in favor of the Warriors, with Chamberlain contributing 14 rebounds to his total.
This wasn’t the only unusual game in Chamberlain’s career. By this point, he was already known as a prolific scorer. During his time in the league, he led the league in scoring six games with 70-plus points. His scoring genius was capped off by 15 games in which he netted 65 or more points. Only days before this historic game, Chamberlain had a performance for the ages, pouring in 72 points against the Los Angeles Lakers on November 3rd, 1962. Now, Jordan’s accomplishment did legendary things for basketball.
In that earlier game against the Lakers, Chamberlain proved he could shoot the lights out. He made 29 of his 48 field goal attempts, resulting in an impressive 60.4% success rate. He made 14 of his 18 free throw attempts, good for an impressive 77.8% from the line. This performance was the launching point for him to prove his offensive prowess, spelling the beginning of his high-scoring, record-breaking performances.
Chamberlain’s scoring exploits didn’t end with the NYK or LAL franchises. Then there was that game on December 8, 1961 when he scored an incredible 78 points and 43 rebounds vs the St. Louis Hawks. That’s because he didn’t just control games by scoring. Defensively, he was a gamebreaker on the boards, massively improving his team’s overall performance.
History was made soon after Chamberlain hit the pinnacle of his scoring exploits only a few months after the Knicks contest. On March 2, 1962, he scored the NBA single-game scoring record, a jaw-dropping 100 points! That performance would become one of the most cherished benchmarks in sports lore. That accomplishment alone cements Chamberlain’s legacy among basketball legends.
During the 1961-62 season, Chamberlain averaged an incredible 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds per game, exemplifying his dominance in both scoring and rebounding. While statistics aside for a second, his imprint on the game was clear. He hit double digits in every quarter of the Knicks game, with a ridiculous 23 points coming just in the fourth quarter.
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