Wilt Chamberlain Shot Chart + Various Stats

[PHILA]

I realize this is a small sample size. But it is all that is available, unless someone can upload the 1973 game that was recently shown on MSG Network. I have used the following games:


1964 NBA Finals Gm. 4 Celtics vs. Warriors (2nd Half)
1967 EDF Gm. 4 Sixers vs. Celtics (2nd Half)
1969 NBA Finals Gm. 7 Celtics vs. Lakers (4th Quarter)
1970 NBA Finals Gm. 5 Lakers vs. Knicks (Incomplete)
1970 NBA Finals Gm. 7 Lakers vs. Knicks
1971 WCSF Gm. 6 Lakers vs. Bulls
Jan 9, 1972 - Lakers vs. Bucks
1972 NBA Finals Gm. 5 Knicks vs. Lakers (Incomplete)




Adjusted for 2012-13 pace (92.0), this is what Wilt averaged in the specified games above:

17.3 pts, 16.8 rbs, 4.2 ast, 3.6 blk, 2.3 tov, 63.4 FG%, 39.5% FT, 59.5 TS%



Charts:

At Rim: 42/51 FG (82.4%)
In Paint (Overall): 42/61 FG (68.9%)
Midrange: 3/10 FG (30.0%)
Slam Dunk: 18/19 FG (94.7%)








Some of the stats I kept track of:


Fouls Drawn
With Ball: 18
Loose Ball & Off Ball: 8
Shots Created: (Passes leading to clean shots & fouls, including direct half-court passes, outlet passes, and hockey assists) *Not all assists are necessarily counted as shots created, and vice versa.
Total Fouls Called: 5
Outside Paint- 30
In Paint - 19 (At Rim) - 15
Half Court Touches: 172
Turnovers: 14
Team Offensive Possessions: 568
Blocks: 22
Assists: 26
TO's Forced: 13
Steals: 4
FT: 17/43
Total Rebounds: 104
Off: 34
Def: 70




Adjusted for 2012-13 pace per 48 min (92.0), this is what Wilt averaged in the specified footage above:

17.3 pts, 16.8 rbs, 4.2 ast, 3.6 blk, 2.3 tov, 63.4 FG%, 39.5% FT, 59.5 TS%

[LAZERUSS]

Interesting stuff, but unfortunately, none of those games were anywhere close to a typical "scoring" game for Chamberlain. His '64 Finals game was his only game of that group in which he took a reasonable amount of shots, going 12-23 (and 3-8 from the line.)

I always found it fascinating that there is footage of both game five and game seven of the '70 Finals, but nothing on game six, in which Wilt scored 45 points on 20-27 shooting.

Incidently, I believe one of those "3-for-10" shots was a desperation shot as the shot-clock expired.

In any case, it's just too bad that there is not footage of even one, of his 271 40+ point games.

But, there is some footage of this game...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8Woc6rabeE

That was the '62 All-Star game, in which Chamberlain scored 42 points on 17-23 shooting (to go along with 24 rebounds.)

[Psileas]

I realize this is a small sample size. But it is all that is available, unless someone can upload the 1973 game that was recently shown on MSG Network. I have used the following games:


1964 NBA Finals Gm. 4 Celtics vs. Warriors (2nd Half)
1967 EDF Gm. 4 Sixers vs. Celtics (2nd Half)
1969 NBA Finals Gm. 7 Celtics vs. Lakers (4th Quarter)
1970 NBA Finals Gm. 5 Lakers vs. Knicks (Incomplete)
1970 NBA Finals Gm. 7 Lakers vs. Knicks
1971 WCSF Gm. 6 Lakers vs. Bulls
Jan 9, 1972 - Lakers vs. Bucks
1972 NBA Finals Gm. 5 Knicks vs. Lakers (Incomplete)




Adjusted for 2012-13 pace (92.0), this is what Wilt averaged in the specified games above:

17.3 pts, 16.8 rbs, 4.2 ast, 3.6 blk, 2.3 tov, 63.4 FG%, 39.5% FT, 59.5 TS%



Charts:

At Rim: 42/51 FG (82.4%)
In Paint (Overall): 42/61 FG (68.9%)
Midrange: 3/10 FG (30.0%)
Slam Dunk: 18/19 FG (94.7%)








Some of the stats I kept track of:


Fouls Drawn
With Ball: 18
Loose Ball & Off Ball: 8
Shots Created: (Passes leading to clean shots & fouls, including direct half-court passes, outlet passes, and hockey assists) *Not all assists are necessarily counted as shots created, and vice versa.
Total Fouls Called: 5
Outside Paint- 30
In Paint - 19 (At Rim) - 15
Half Court Touches: 172
Turnovers: 14
Team Offensive Possessions: 568
Blocks: 22
Assists: 26
TO's Forced: 13
Steals: 4
FT: 17/43
Total Rebounds: 104
Off: 34
Def: 70




Adjusted for 2012-13 pace (92.0), this is what Wilt averaged in the specified footage above:

17.3 pts, 16.8 rbs, 4.2 ast, 3.6 blk, 2.3 tov, 63.4 FG%, 39.5% FT, 59.5 TS%

With how many blocked shots did you credit Wilt with in each game?
Here's approximately what I remember from these games:

1964 NBA Finals Gm. 4 Celtics vs. Warriors (2nd Half): I don't remember any blocked shots.

1967 EDF Gm. 4 Sixers vs. Celtics (2nd Half): 4 blocked shots in the 2nd half, some source estimates around 8 total.

1969 NBA Finals Gm. 7 Celtics vs. Lakers (4th Quarter): 1?

1970 NBA Finals Gm. 5 Lakers vs. Knicks (Incomplete): I think I saw 2 in some highlight segments.

1970 NBA Finals Gm. 7 Lakers vs. Knicks: 2?

1971 WCSF Gm. 6 Lakers vs. Bulls: I remember 4. I also remember they inflated his rebounds and assists totals.

Jan 9, 1972 - Lakers vs. Bucks: 6. I remember they deflated his rebounding numbers and inflated Kareem's rebounding and blocked shots numbers.

1972 NBA Finals Gm. 5 Knicks vs. Lakers (Incomplete): 6 or 7.

[Psileas]

Speaking about rebounds: It's interesting to look at rebounding totals of his games and see whether rebounds were really correctly counted and what his rebounding rates are. In that game vs Chicago, they credited him with 33 rebounds. I counted about 27. However, I remember having counted all the rebounds of the game, and his rebounding rate was still very impressive (something like 25%).

[ShaqAttack3234]

Interesting stuff, thanks. Kind of looks like Shaq's shot chart as far as the percentages in the paint and at the rim. By the way, what were his overall numbers for those games not adjusted for pace?

Interesting stuff, but unfortunately, none of those games were anywhere close to a typical "scoring" game for Chamberlain. His '64 Finals game was his only game of that group in which he took a reasonable amount of shots, going 12-23 (and 3-8 from the line.)

I always found it fascinating that there is footage of both game five and game seven of the '70 Finals, but nothing on game six, in which Wilt scored 45 points on 20-27 shooting.

Incidently, I believe one of those "3-for-10" shots was a desperation shot as the shot-clock expired.

In any case, it's just too bad that there is not footage of even one, of his 271 40+ point games.

But, there is some footage of this game...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8Woc6rabeE

That was the '62 All-Star game, in which Chamberlain scored 42 points on 17-23 shooting (to go along with 24 rebounds.)

I would really like to see one of his better '67 games(something like game 1 vs Boston in particular, or one of those high-scoring games vs the Royals) as well as something from his '62 season in an actual regular NBA game. Anything from the '62 EDF would obviously be great, but that 73 point game Bill Simmons apparently watched is really interesting.

[LAZERUSS]

Interesting stuff, thanks.



I would really like to see one of his better '67 games(something like game 1 vs Boston in particular, or one of those high-scoring games vs the Royals) as well as something from his '62 season in an actual regular NBA game. Anything from the '62 EDF would obviously be great, but that 73 point game Bill Simmons apparently watched is really interesting.

Well, as you can see in the limited footage of that '62 ASG, Chamberlain was hitting fade-away shots from as far as near the FT line. And judging from his college and early NBA career highlights that CavsFan has unearthed, Wilt had excellent range, at least early in his NBA career.

Having said that, though, from the mid-60's on, and from what I have seen, he was much selective...which obviously accounts for the rise in his FG%'s. He still had that fade-away bank shot (there is footage of him shooting it in the early 70's), but he no doubt was scoring from much closer to the basket from the mid-60's on.

As for Simmons' "73 point game", I really don't know. Years ago I read accounts of there being footage available at a public library which supposedly featured high-scoring game by Chamberlain.

BTW, (and as I am sure you know), Wilt had two 73 point games...one against Bellamy, with a stat line of 73 points, on 29-48 shooting, with 36 rebounds. Arguably the most dominant game by an all-time great against another all-time great (although outrebounding Russell 55-19 in a game has to be another one.)

[PHILA]

Incidently, I believe one of those "3-for-10" shots was a desperation shot as the shot-clock expired.

Yes, though he had a much better touch in his younger years. Look at his release point on this hook shot below. It doesn't look like much, until you notice where the basket is. He is almost shooting it down into the rim.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wsEE9oivvM&t=14m38s


This is the only jump hook I have ever seen him take in any video footage anywhere.

By the way, what were his overall numbers for those games not adjusted for pace?

13.4 pts, 13.0 rbs, 3.2 ast, 2.8 blk, 1.8 tov, 63.4 FG%, 39.5% FT, 59.5 TS%


I have watched footage from 8 games, though it's misleading to do per game averages since most of them are incomplete. The 1970 Game 5 footage is basically a highlight film. I'm not sure if I should have even included it.

With how many blocked shots did you credit Wilt with in each game?

I didn't keep track by game. But I will watch again. Plus focus more on defense this time.

[LAZERUSS]

Yes, though he had a much better touch in his younger years. Look at his release point on this hook shot below. It doesn't look like much, until you notice where the basket is. He is almost shooting it down into the rim.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wsEE9oivvM&t=14m38s


This is the only jump hook I have ever seen him take in any video footage anywhere.




13.4 pts, 13.0 rbs, 3.2 ast, 2.8 blk, 1.8 tov, 63.4 FG%, 39.5% FT, 59.5 TS%


I have watched footage from 8 games, though it's misleading to do per game averages since most of them are incomplete. The 1970 Game 5 footage is basically a highlight film. I'm not sure if I should have even included it.






I didn't keep track by game. But I will watch again. Plus focus more on defense this time.

I'm just curious...

Adjusted for pace? Care to explain the formula? And did you take the game totals (e.g, his 27 point, on 12-23 shooting, 38 rebound, game four of the '64 Finals), or did you just make adjustments based on the quarters and halves that you had footage for?

I have said it before, but if you fail to adjust FG%'s, the offensive numbers will be considerably lower than their "adjusted" numbers. If you reduce the '62 NBA season's FGA and FTA's down to say 2000 levels, the average '62 team will score about 86 ppg in 2000 (when the average team was scoring 98.) To even out the numbers, you have to adjust the '62 FG% to the '00 eFG%.

In any case, those games in which you tracked his shots were, once again, nowhere near even an average, "scoring" Wilt game, and certainly light years below his best games.

Having said, though, I applaud the work.

[fpliii]

I'm surprised that a torrent/YouTube hasn't gone up yet for 1973 Finals Game 5.

Regarding Bill Simmons, I just did a quick search to find his quote:

Hard to take those numbers at face value, right? And that's before factoring in offensive goaltending (legal at the time), the lack of athletic big men (significant) and poor conditioning (which meant nobody played defense). I watched a DVD of Wilt's 73-point game in New York and two things stood out: First, he looked like a McDonald's All-American center playing junior high kids; nobody had the size or strength to consider dealing with him. Second, because of the balls-to-the-wall speed of the games, the number of touches Wilt received per quarter was almost unfathomable. Wilt averaged nearly 40 field goal attempts and another 17 free throw attempts per game during his 50-point season. Exactly forty years later, Shaq and Kobe averaged a combined 52 points a game on nearly the same amount of combined field-goal/free-throw attempts.2 Things leveled off once teams started taking defense a little more seriously, although it took a full decade to slow down and resemble what we're seeing now statistically (at least a little). Here's a snapshot every four years from 1962 on. Notice how possessions, rebound totals and point totals began to drop; how shooting percentages kept climbing; and beyond that, how the numbers jumped around from '62 to '74 to '86 to '94 to '04 to '08.

link

So it appears he's talking about the game on 11/16/1962. If he saw it on DVD (and isn't fabricating his viewing), doesn't there have to be some mention of it somewhere on the web? From my understanding, the game of the week almost always involved the Celtics back then, so this might be the only thing out there, if it indeed exists. I know that it'd probably be fruitless, but perhaps a bunch of us should simultaneously contact him about the game tape, and see what we can learn?

EDIT: Just did a quick search, happened upon this site:

http://rolandopastor.com/nba.html

He claims it's a sports video trading site. He lists a couple of high scoring Wilt games:

1962 PHILADELPHIA vs NEW YORK ** WILT CHAMBERLAIN 100 POINTS! HIGHEST GAME EVER!!! (RARE) (7)

1961 PHILADELPHIA vs L.A ** WILT CHAMERLAIN 78 POINTS (RARE) (7)

Though the site doesn't seem legit/trustworthy.

EDIT 2: Just reread. It has to be a fake site, since he claims to have tape of a game that wasn't recorded (100pts).

[PHILA]

Adjusted for pace? Care to explain the formula?

In 2012-13, the league average pace was 92.0. An estimate of possessions per 48 minutes, since more games end in regulation than in OT, it is basically possessions per game. In the game footage I saw there were 568 possessions. So knowing he scored 107 pts in 568 possessions, you ask yourself how many points did he score per 92 possessions. That would be 17.3. I personally do not like these linear comparisons across eras, but I know there are others who do.

And did you take the game totals (e.g, his 27 point, on 12-23 shooting, 38 rebound, game four of the '64 Finals), or did you just make adjustments based on the quarters and halves that you had footage for?

Just based on the footage I saw. How else would I count the possessions?

In any case, those games in which you tracked his shots were, once again, nowhere near even an average, "scoring" Wilt game, and certainly light years below his best games

Yes, it was more to show his (still) dominant rebounding and low turnover averages. On other boards there are numerous fans who have declared him turnover prone for no apparent reason at all, when all the video footage actually indicates the opposite.

[PHILA]

So it appears he's talking about the game on 11/16/1962.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/...211160NYK.html

The game was played on Friday. From my understanding, all the ABC games were shown on weekends. But did the NBA even have a TV contract with ABC yet, or was that the next season? Perhaps he found a archived copy from the local TV stations? Though given some of the other lies in his book, I wouldn't be surprised if he made it up.

[fpliii]

http://www.basketball-reference.com/...211160NYK.html

The game was played on Friday. From my understanding, all the ABC games were shown on weekends. But did the NBA even have a TV contract with ABC yet, or was that the next season? Perhaps he found a archived copy from the local TV stations? Though given some of the other lies in his book, I wouldn't be surprised if he made it up.

No clue. I'm pretty skeptical at this point, but I'm holding out hope that the DVD does exist. As unlikely as it is, perhaps it's part of the collection of footage to be digitalized that you've posted articles about before. Pretty weird stuff.

[LAZERUSS]

In 2012-13, the league average pace was 92.0. An estimate of possessions per 48 minutes, since more games end in regulation than in OT, it is basically possessions per game. In the game footage I saw there were 568 possessions. So knowing he scored 107 pts in 568 possessions, you ask yourself how many points did he score per 92 possessions. That would be 17.3. I personally do not like these linear comparisons across eras, but I know there are others who do.



Just based on the footage I saw. How else would I count the possessions?



Yes, it was more to show his (still) dominant rebounding and low turnover averages. On other boards there are numerous fans who have declared him turnover prone for no apparent reason at all, when all the video footage actually indicates the opposite.

I completely understand how you reached your numbers, but here again, they were not even for full games. For example, I recall the 4th quarter of game four of the '64 Finals, and while I don't remember the number of shots he took, it was not many. Instead, it was Guy Rodgers repeatedly flashing down the floor, out of control, and throwing up wounded ducks that had no chance of going in.

And, as you and I both know, aside from his only poor performance in the '67 ECF's (which, of course, is the only known game of that series with any footage), the rest of those games involved a past his prime Wilt (and most of those were after his knee surgery.)

Here again, I am not knocking the bulk of your post, but I don't really see any reason to factor in pace in your evaluations. The real shame is that there is really no known footage involving a Wilt in even one of his typical games, much less one of his many spectacular one's.

And, of course, you are absolutely right about Wilt's reputation as some kind of a turnover machine. Just like the flat lies that claim that Wilt didn't play defense when he was in foul trouble (which, BTW, was so very rare anyway...the man averaged 2.0 fouls per game...and playing 46 mpg in the process.)

Anyway, Ihope you were not taking offense at my reply. Once again, I applaud your research.

[CavaliersFTW]

http://www.basketball-reference.com/...211160NYK.html

The game was played on Friday. From my understanding, all the ABC games were shown on weekends. But did the NBA even have a TV contract with ABC yet, or was that the next season? Perhaps he found a archived copy from the local TV stations? Though given some of the other lies in his book, I wouldn't be surprised if he made it up.

Simmons is the most vocal-dick head towards Wilt Chamberlain I know of. Based on the description he gave alone, I doubt he's seen sh*t - he literally talks like a 15 year old kid who's never seen much footage of Wilt. He's the same guy who wants Bill Russell to be heralded as the GOAT (which I have NO problems with) yet he counter-productively never hesitates to slam Wilt every chance he gets including Wilt's competition? ? I feel like someone needs to tell him that's the same competition Bill Russell played against Their greatness is co-dependent. The way he approaches the subject is awful, what he does is analagous to calling Larry Bird the GOAT yet slandering the abilities / talents of Magic Johnson and throwing Magic's "competition" under the bus. One can't be great without the other.

[AngelEyes]

Simmons is the most vocal-dick head towards Wilt Chamberlain I know of. Based on the description he gave alone, I doubt he's seen sh*t - he literally talks like a 15 year old kid who's never seen much footage of Wilt. He's the same guy who wants Bill Russell to be heralded as the GOAT (which I have NO problems with) yet he counter-productively never hesitates to slam Wilt every chance he gets including Wilt's competition? ? I feel like someone needs to tell him that's the same competition Bill Russell played against Their greatness is co-dependent. The way he approaches the subject is awful, what he does is analagous to calling Larry Bird the GOAT yet slandering the abilities / talents of Magic Johnson and throwing Magic's "competition" under the bus. One can't be great without the other.

True. Simmons is a clown and his bias is glaring.