Wilt Chamberlain Photo in 4th Grade: NBA Player Twice the Size of Classmates
A new photo of legendary NBA player Wilt Chamberlain has surfaced, offering proof that the player has towered over his competition for years.
The photograph, taken in fourth grade and dug up by Sports Illustrated magazine, shows Chamberlain in a class picture. It is no wonder how the player later became known as "Wilt the Stilt." In the photo, Chamberlain is standing at the center back of his class. A hard sight to miss, he's more than twice the size of some of his classmates and maybe even as tall as his teacher, although he is only nine years old in the picture.
A nearly 20 minute compilation video of "Wilt the Stilt" surfaced on YouTube last month, causing large reaction. In the video, the legendary NBA player can be seen playing the last five games of his sophomore year at Kansas University in 1957. In the first game alone, Chamberlain puts up 40 points, 14 rebounds and 12 blocks. In four NCAA tournament games that season, Chamberlain averaged 30.3 points and 15.5 rebounds.
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Following his college years, Chamberlain would go on to play more than 15 years in the NBA. Measuring 7'1 and up to 300 pounds towards the end of his career, Chamberlain played for the San Francisco Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers before ending his NBA career with the LA Lakers. He is considered one of the most dominant players to have ever played in the NBA and is often compared to other greats, including Shaquille O'Neal.
While Chamberlain and O'Neal would never play on the same court together, comparisons between two of the NBA's greatest players could easily be made, according to Phil Jackson, who spoke during a "Live Talks Los Angeles" event last month. Both players, who played the same position, had one of the same pitfalls although they excelled in different places, Jackson said Wednesday night.
"Shaquille didn't have quite the same athleticism that Wilt had," Jackson said according to the L.A. Times. "He had the bounce and he had the speed, but he didn't have the endurance."
Even without the endurance however, O'Neal was always quick on his game.
"Shaq was a post sprinter. He'd go and get in the lane," Jackson explained.
"Wilt was never much of a post sprinter. He used to take his time. When he rebounded, a lot of times he'd make the guards come back to him to get the ball - so he'd be down there when the ball got to the other end of the court."
