50 free Wilt Chamberlain trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Wilt Chamberlain holds 72 NBA records, and the NBA Guide, as Billy Cunningham put it, reads like his personal diary. He scored 100 points in a game, pulled down 55 rebounds in another, averaged 50 a night for a season, never fouled out, and still spent most of the 1960s losing to Bill Russell's Celtics before finally winning with the 1967 Sixers and the 1972 Lakers. These 50 questions go well beyond the 100-point night. The easy tier covers the nickname he actually liked, the teams, the rivalry and the famous numbers. The middle asks about Overbrook and Kansas, the triple-overtime loss to North Carolina, the Globetrotters' tour of the Soviet Union, the rule changes he forced, the 1967 Sixers, Jack Kent Cooke's contract and the 33-game winning streak. The hard end goes to George Marcus, Kutsher's Hotel, B. H. Born, the Look magazine story, Hershey's shooting line, the Ali fight that never happened, the San Diego Conquistadors, the International Volleyball Association, Ursa Major and Conan the Destroyer. Every answer is cited to a page we checked and comes with a short explanation. Play it solo or print it for a basketball night.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01How many points did Wilt Chamberlain score in his record game on March 2, 1962?
100
He shot 36 of 63 from the field and, unusually for him, made 28 of 32 free throws.
Q 02In which Pennsylvania town was the 100-point game played?
Hershey
It was a neutral-court game against the New York Knicks.
Q 03Which nickname did Chamberlain prefer?
The Big Dipper
Friends coined it watching him dip his head through doorways; he disliked names that mocked his height.
Q 04What was Chamberlain's listed height?
7 ft 1 in
He was already 6 feet tall at age 10 and 6 ft 11 when he entered high school.
Q 05Which Philadelphia high school did Chamberlain star for?
Overbrook
The Hilltoppers went 56-3 over his three seasons and won two city titles.
Q 06Who was the Kansas coach who recruited Chamberlain, then retired before he could play varsity?
Phog Allen
Allen turned 70 and had to retire under KU rules; Chamberlain got on poorly with his successor Dick Harp.
Q 07Kansas lost the 1957 NCAA final to North Carolina after how many overtimes?
Three
It remains the only national final to go to triple overtime; Chamberlain called it the most painful loss of his life.
Q 08Despite losing the 1957 final, what honour did Chamberlain receive?
Most Outstanding Player
He had 23 points and 14 rebounds while being triple-teamed all night.
Q 09Which Tar Heels coach sent his shortest player to jump against Chamberlain at the 1957 tip-off?
Frank McGuire
Tommy Kearns took the tip, and the Tar Heels triple-teamed Chamberlain for the rest of the night.
Q 10Chamberlain sold a story about leaving college to which magazine for $10,000?
Look
It was titled Why I Am Leaving College; NBA players then earned about $9,000 a season.
Q 11Which team did Chamberlain play for in 1958-59 before he was eligible for the NBA?
Harlem Globetrotters
They toured the Soviet Union in 1959 and were greeted by Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow.
Q 12Which Soviet leader greeted the Globetrotters before a 1959 game in Moscow?
Nikita Khrushchev
In one skit Chamberlain tossed Meadowlark Lemon in the air and caught him like a doll.
Q 13Under what pseudonym did the teenage Chamberlain play semi-pro games to protect his amateur status?
George Marcus
He used it for the Pittsburgh Raiders in 1952 and the Quakertown Fays in 1954-55.
Q 21How many seasons did Chamberlain average 30 points and 20 rebounds, a feat no one else has managed?
Seven
He also once averaged 50 points and 48 minutes in the same season.
Q 22Which Celtics center was Chamberlain's great rival?
Bill Russell
Chamberlain outscored him 30-28 in their first meeting, but Boston won, setting the pattern for a decade.
Q 23Which team did Chamberlain win his first NBA title with, in 1967?
Philadelphia 76ers
That Sixers team went a then-record 68-13, including a 46-4 start.
Q 14Which NBA team did Chamberlain debut for in October 1959?
Philadelphia Warriors
He was a territorial pick; the franchise moved to San Francisco in 1962.
Q 15Which two awards did Chamberlain win in his first NBA season, 1959-60?
Rookie of the Year and MVP
He averaged 37.6 points and 27.0 rebounds and broke eight NBA records as a rookie.
Q 16What was Chamberlain's record-setting rookie salary?
$30,000
Bob Cousy had been the top earner at $25,000, the same sum Eddie Gottlieb paid for the whole Warriors franchise in 1952.
Q 17Which Celtics forward did Chamberlain punch, injuring his own hand, in the 1960 playoffs?
Tom Heinsohn
Red Auerbach had ordered Heinsohn to foul and shove Chamberlain to slow him getting back on defence.
Q 18What is Chamberlain's NBA single-game rebounding record, set in November 1960?
55
It came in a home loss to Bill Russell's Celtics.
Q 19How many times did Chamberlain foul out of an NBA game?
Never
It is one of the durability records no one has touched; blocks were not even counted in his era.
Q 20How many NBA records does Chamberlain hold, according to the article?
72
Billy Cunningham said the NBA Guide reads like Wilt's personal diary.
Q 24What regular-season record did the 1966-67 Sixers set?
68-13
It included a record 46-4 start; the team is ranked among the best in NBA history.
Q 25In 1968 Chamberlain led the NBA in which unusual category for a center?
Assists
Under Alex Hannum he had shifted his focus to team play, averaging 24.3 points and 23.8 rebounds that year.
Q 26Which ex-soldier and crafty psychologist coached Chamberlain on the Warriors and the 1967 Sixers?
Alex Hannum
He was not afraid to stand up to Chamberlain, who would not communicate with coaches he disliked.
Q 27The 1968 Lakers deal for Chamberlain was the first time what had happened?
A reigning MVP was traded
Owner Jack Kent Cooke then paid him $250,000 after taxes, far beyond Jerry West's $100,000.
Q 28Which Lakers owner gave Chamberlain his unprecedented $250,000 after-tax contract?
Jack Kent Cooke
Cooke later tied a record deal to Chamberlain giving up what he called this boxing foolishness.
Q 29Which boxer did Chamberlain challenge to a fight after the 1971 playoffs?
Muhammad Ali
Ali responded with Timber! and The tree will fall!; the Astrodome bout never happened.
Q 30Who trained Chamberlain for his planned 15-round bout with Ali?
Cus D'Amato
Joe Frazier's win over Ali gave Chamberlain a contractual escape from the fight.