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With a dunk, immediately followed by a victorious celebration by the New York Knicks, Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA playing career was over. Fourteen seasons, four MVP awards, 13 All-Star appearances and two championships … all coming with a final curtain call May 10, 1973, at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

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A crowd of 17,505 was on hand 50 years ago today as Chamberlain’s Lakers bowed out 102-93 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. And as the Knicks celebrated the franchise’s second title, Chamberlain took it all in on the other side of the court, standing by himself frustrated and exhausted from a grueling 48 minutes of play.

That Thursday wasn’t the best day for the larger-than-life center who entertained the masses to the tune of 31,419 points, 23,924 rebounds and countless records across 1,205 regular-season and playoff games combined. And although he, Jerry West, Gail Goodrich and the rest of the Lakers failed to repeat as league champions, the end of Chamberlain’s NBA career marked a new beginning in a lot of ways.

“When Wilt retired, he owned over 100 records in the NBA,” said Sonny Hill, longtime broadcaster and childhood friend of Chamberlain. “He just stepped away. Another chapter in his life.”

Chamberlain, who died at 63 years old in October of 1999, was months away from his 37th birthday when he retired from the NBA. He had led the league in field-goal percentage for the ninth time in his career. He also had won his 11th league rebounding title. He still had something left in the tank physically, but Hill said Chamberlain’s decision was bigger than that.

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“I can only go in the mind of Wilt at that particular time, and I think what transpired was frustration,” Hill said. “The criticism which he had to go through, the mental anguish, the physical aspect of it. And I think only he actually knew what he was going to do after the game.

“I think that frustration, being in the championship round and losing, had just become unbearable. Think of all the pressure that went with the journey. He wasn’t like, ‘I have to worry about the next paycheck.’ He was wealthy … I mean, wealthy.”

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With a great player comes great expectations, so his final year — where he averaged only 13.2 points and 18.6 rebounds per game in the regular season — was viewed by some as a red flag. For his career, he averaged 30.1 points and 22.9 rebounds. Mathematically, his career rebounds tally was 76 percent of his career scoring tally.

Retiring opened up other opportunities for Chamberlain. He bought real estate. He owned a club in Harlem, Big Wilt’s Smalls Paradise. He remained a visible icon in television ads and billboards. He ventured into cinema in the 1970s and ’80s and ultimately took on the role of Bombaata in the 1984 movie classic “Conan the Destroyer,” starring alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger.

CONAN Off set photo of Arnold @Schwarzenegger with Wilt Chamberlain and Adre The Giant pic.twitter.com/gI9buEiLiI

— Francesco Francavilla (@f_francavilla) May 1, 2023

He was always in the news post-NBA, whether it involved his charisma or his famous (or infamous) claim to have slept with 20,000 women.

Basketball wasn’t shelved, either. After playing for the Lakers, Chamberlain chose to sign with the San Diego Conquistadors of the American Basketball Association for the 1973-74 season. A lawsuit by the Lakers, however, blocked Chamberlain from playing, as he reportedly owed an option year on his NBA contract. A judge restricted him from playing for the Conquistadors, but he was allowed to coach the team that season.

Years later, Chamberlain decided to play with longtime friend Meadowlark Lemon of Harlem Globetrotters fame. Chamberlain played with the Globetrotters in 1958 and 1959, and in 1980, he teamed with Lemon’s new exhibition squad — the Bucketeers.

“He wasn’t really through with basketball, because he went back to what he loved,” Hill said of Chamberlain. “He played with (the Bucketeers) for a number of games. I think what happened was in his mind, that was something that was much more relaxing and something he enjoyed.

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“Meadowlark and he had a very special relationship, and since Meadowlark left the Globetrotters and started up the Bucketeers, being his personal friend, (Chamberlain) wanted to give him an opportunity to promote the team, because Wilt was going to be playing some games with them.”

For Chamberlain and other Black players, playing in the NBA didn’t become a reality until 1950. Earl Lloyd, Chuck Cooper and Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton broke the color barrier that year. Hill and Chamberlain grew up wanting to play for the Globetrotters, and Globetrotters founder/owner Abe Saperstein signed Chamberlain in 1958, right after his junior year at the University of Kansas.

For Chamberlain, the NBA was icing on the cake – an already delicious cake. Retirement wasn’t a denouement; it was more of a plot of a twist for what was to come.

Hill has been in broadcasting for 54 years. He’s been with WIP radio (SportsRadio 94WIP) in Philadelphia for 36 years and hosts the “In The Living Room” show every Sunday. He has earned the nicknames “Mr. Basketball” and “The Mayor of Basketball” in and outside of the greater Philadelphia area.

Hill and Chamberlain were born in 1936. Hill is a month older than Chamberlain. The two grew up together in Philadelphia. Hill went to Northeast High School, while Chamberlain went to Overbrook High.

“I actually have known Wilt since we were about 12 years old,” said Hill, now 86 years old and still full of life and great basketball stories. “We both played in the old Baptist church leagues in the ’40s. I met him, and we interacted from that time until he passed away.”

Hill said Chamberlain was a 6-footer in elementary school. Hill refers to Chamberlain as “Dip,” which makes sense as one of Chamberlain’s many nicknames was “The Big Dipper.” Hill knew Chamberlain as someone who had to adjust to being the tallest in the room, physically and mentally.

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“You have to understand that in the ’40s, he was a different type of human being,” Hill said. “We didn’t have people who grew that tall with any consistency. When you were in that early stage of elementary school, kids would tease you if you were an oddity or if something was going on, just a way of having fun. Wilt was taller than everybody at that point, and the youngsters picked on him.”

Sports was an avenue to channel his feelings, and with him being 6-foot-3 in junior high school, basketball was an easy choice. He happened to have a tremendous support system, Hill said, as they all were raised by older guys who took interest in and supported them.

Among those individuals: Guy Rodgers and Hal Lear. Rodgers is considered one of the NBA’s greatest playmakers and assist leaders. Lear was a mentor who starred at Temple and was the Most Outstanding Player of the 1956 NCAA Tournament. Rodgers spent 12 years in the NBA; Lear had a shortened NBA career but was the No. 7 pick in the 1956 draft.

As Chamberlain continued to improve his game — and gain confidence — he parlayed his talent into a successful college career at Kansas, where he not only was dominant on the basketball court but also was a three-time Big Eight Conference track and field champion in the high jump. He eventually went on to produce his legendary NBA career.

If nothing else, Hill acknowledges and reiterates Chamberlain’s intelligence, on and off the court. Part of his ability to be so dominant as a center was his ability to apply basic instruction and turn it into lifelong learning experiences.

“The coach of the team in the Baptist church league told Wilt, ‘If you foul out of a game, you have no value to your team,’” Hill said. “To tell you how intellectual Wilt was, Dip never fouled out of a game in his history.

“He was challenged, but he always stepped up to the challenge. Where (teams) thought they had an advantage, they were at a disadvantage because he was already thinking ahead.”

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His contributions were rewarded with his inclusions in the NBA 35th, 50th and 75th anniversary teams. He was easy to root for (though he was quoted as saying “Nobody roots for Goliath“) and difficult to defend … a walking highlight wherever he was.

“He put the NBA game on the big map,” Hill said. “When he came through, they were not an attraction on the national (level). When he came through, he became that player who people could identify with.”

It’s amazing for some who have followed the NBA for decades to think Chamberlain’s last game was 50 years ago. But even that isn’t as shocking as the numbers he once put up as a pro.

His 100-point game in 1962, where he played against the New York Knicks as a member of the Philadelphia Warriors, is a legendary tale for those who weren’t around to witness firsthand. Chamberlain also had 25 rebounds in that game.

Simply put, Chamberlain, at 7-foot-1 and 275 pounds, was dominant.

“Modern individuals only know the name,” Hill said. “They see the legacy and they see all of these things that were transpiring. The numbers — he did this, he did that — they can’t fathom that he was better than the game.”

Game 5 against the Knicks in 1973 ironically was viewed as a pedestrian performance for the man Hill likes to call “Paul Bunyan” — for a variety of reasons. His 23 points came on 9-of-16 shooting. He only made 5 of 14 from the free throw line. Along with his 21 rebounds, Chamberlain had three assists, which was below his 4.4 assists-per-game career average.

But this is Wilt Chamberlain … and Paul Bunyan isn’t a nickname given to just anybody.

“When I’m doing conversations with people, whether it’s on the phone, on radio, whatever, in the case of Wilt, he’s Paul Bunyan, the mythical character,” Hill said. “Nobody believed in Paul Bunyan, because he was a mythical character. No one can believe what Wilt did, what he accomplished and how he was greater than the game itself.

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League rules were amended because of Chamberlain. Among them was altering how free throws were attempted. Chamberlain was said to jump from behind the free-throw line with the ball to drop it in the hoop.

So when Chamberlain walked off the Forum floor that final time 50 years ago, it was more of a blow to the fans than it was for himself. The NBA always was a want for Chamberlain. It never was a need.

“Wilt as an athlete was the highest-paid athlete in sports, not just basketball,” Hill said. “Financially, he was comfortable. He was a man who just loved life and enjoyed himself and went to the Olympics and traveled the world. The world was his.”

And with one final dunk at the Forum as time expired in Game 5, a new door opened for him to explore.

(Illustration: John Bradford / The Athletic: photos: Bettmann, George Long, Dick Raphael and Walter Looss Jr./ Getty Images)

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