One. Hundred. Points.
On this day in 1962, the Philadelphia Warriors’ Wilt Chamberlain set an NBA record that has yet to be threatened, scoring 100 points in a 169-147 win over the New York Knicks.
Chamberlain scored 23 points in the first quarter, 18 in the second quarter, 28 in the third quarter, and a then-NBA-record 31 points in the fourth quarter.
Chamberlain also set NBA single-game records for field goals made (36), field goals attempted (63), and free throws made (28, later tied by Adrian Dantley). Outside of Chamberlain, only four other players in NBA history have made at least 36 field goals and 28 free throws over a two-game span:
Elgin Baylor
Pete Maravich
Michael Jordan
Kobe Bryant
A notoriously poor free throw shooter, Chamberlain shot 87.5% from the charity stripe in this game. This was the only game in Chamberlain’s career in which he made at least 20 free throws (he made 19 once).
This was Chamberlain’s fourth consecutive 60-point game, the longest such streak in NBA history. No other player has even recorded two such games in a row. Chamberlain scored a total of 293 points in those four games, 68 more than any other player in NBA history over a four-game span (Kobe Bryant, 225).
Chamberlain recorded an NBA-record 45 50-point games that season, 14 more such games than any other player in NBA history has produced in their entire career (Michael Jordan, 31).
His career total of 118 50-point games is greater than that of the next five closest players combined:
118 — Wilt Chamberlain
31 — Michael Jordan
25 — Kobe Bryant
23 — James Harden
17 — Elgin Baylor
15 — Damian Lillard
Chamberlain finished the season with a scoring average of 50.4 PPG, the highest such figure in NBA history. He owns five of the six highest single-season scoring averages in NBA history (minimum 70% of team’s games):
50.4 — Wilt Chamberlain (1961-62)
44.8 — Chamberlain (1962-63)
38.4 — Chamberlain (1960-61)
37.6 — Chamberlain (1959-60)
37.1 — Michael Jordan (1986-87)
36.9 — Chamberlain (1963-64)
Chamberlain’s season low in points was 26 on Feb. 24, 1962 versus the Boston Celtics. He’s the only player in NBA history to score at least 25 points in each of his games for an entire season (80 games). The second-longest such single-season streak is 46 games by Oscar Robertson in 1963-64.
Chamberlain also averaged 25.7 RPG that season. He’s the only player in NBA history to average at least 25 RPG in a season, having done so three times.
Chamberlain’s season low in rebounds was 15 on Feb. 3, 1962 versus the Syracuse Nationals. He’s the only player in NBA history to record at least 15 points in each of his games for an entire season. Chamberlain did so in both the 1960-61 (79 games) and 1961-62 (80) seasons.