Wilt Chamberlain is still all over the NBA record book, with about 72 records, including 68 he holds alone. For a couple of easy examples, in 1961-62, he averaged 48.5 minutes per game, due in part to overtimes. For another, in a career that stretched from 1959-1973, he never fouled out.
That’s 1,205 games. And in those games, he averaged 46 minutes per game. It really is astonishing to think that he played that many minutes and never once fouled out.
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One stat that there is no way of knowing with certainty is how many shots Chamberlain blocked. In this video, the presenter tries to make a rational statistical argument for his potential total.
He factors in a number of things, including a knee injury that Chamberlain suffered in November, 1969, when his shotblocking fell sharply. He tries to account for both his youth and age.
He cites a number of statistical sources to get a workable number, uses several models to approximate what he did in his peak and later years, and the numbers are truly astounding.
In one newspaper article, the reporter said Chamberlain blocked 23 shots in one game. Alonzo Mourning blocked 28 in high school, but 23? In an NBA game?
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Ultimately, his best estimate worked out to 8.7 blocks per game over Chamberlain’s career, and a total of 9,058.
To put that in perspective, the official NBA record is held by Hakeem Olajuwon, with 3,830 over 20 years.
Chamberlain did his damage in 14 years, and he missed 70 games due to his knee injury.
Really, his stats are almost cartoonish, including 55 rebounds in a single game.
Quite simply, he was certainly the most gifted big man in NBA history, and is on a very short list of the finest athletes to ever play in the league. His vertical is estimated to have been between 48-50 inches. Here’s a good example from later in his career.
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