The scoring record was previously held by Bob Pettit at 20,880. Chamberlain would eventually finish his career with a total of 31,419 points, which currently ranks him fourth all-time.
Since retiring, Chamberlain’s point total has been surpassed by only Michael Jordan (32,292), Karl Malone (36,928) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387). Kobe Bryant (30,913, as of February 13, 2013) is the only active player close to surpassing Wilt Chamberlain on the NBA career scoring leaders list.
Chamberlain holds numerous NBA all-time records in scoring, rebounding and durability categories. He is the only player to score 100 points in a single NBA game or average more than 40 and 50 points in a season. He also won seven scoring, nine field goal percentage, and eleven rebounding titles, and once even led the league in assists. Chamberlain is the only player in NBA history to average at least 30 points and 20 rebounds per game in a season, a feat he accomplished nine times. He is also the only player to average at least 30 points and 20 rebounds per game over the entire course of his NBA career.
Although he suffered a long string of professional losses, Chamberlain had a successful career, winning two NBA championships, earning four regular-season Most Valuable Player awards, the Rookie of the Year award, one NBA Finals MVP award, and being selected to 13 All-Star Games and ten All-NBA First and Second teams. Chamberlain was subsequently enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978, elected into the NBA’s 35th Anniversary Team of 1980, and chosen as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History of 1996.
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