Wilt Chamberlain

Wilton Norman Chamberlain was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, into a family of nine children. A prodigy at Overbrook High School, Chamberlain possessed unprecedented athletic dimensions: standing 7 feet 1 inch with a 7-foot-8 wingspan, he could high-jump 6 feet 6 inches, run the 440-yard dash in 49 seconds, and bench-press over 500 pounds. After playing for the University of Kansas (leading them to the 1957 NCAA final) and touring with the Harlem Globetrotters, Chamberlain entered the NBA in 1959 with the Philadelphia Warriors.

Chamberlain's statistical dominance forced the NBA to widen the lane, institute offensive goaltending rules, and change inbounds passing. In his 1961–62 season, Chamberlain averaged an incomprehensible 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds per game while playing 48.5 minutes per game (meaning he played every minute of every game, including overtimes).

His defining milestone occurred on 2 March 1962 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, against the New York Knicks. Shooting 36 of 63 from the field and 28 of 32 from the free-throw line, Chamberlain scored exactly 100 points, famously photographed afterward holding a piece of paper with '100' scrawled on it. Moving to the Philadelphia 76ers, he led what was voted the greatest team of the NBA's first 35 years to the 1967 championship, and later anchored the 1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers on their historic 33-game winning streak to capture his second NBA title.