Philadelphia 76ers: 25 Best Players To Play For The 76ers

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NEW YORK – 1970: Wilt Chamberlain #13 of the Philadelphia 76’ers goes for a dunk against the New York Knicks during the NBA game at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photo by Walter Iooss Jr./ NBAE/ Getty Images) /

93. <strong>How acquired:</strong> Trade, San Francisco Warriors, Jan. 15, 1965.. C. . Wilt Chamberlain. 1. player

With a bad team and in financial trouble, the San Francisco Warriors did the unthinkable in January 1965, trading Wilt Chamberlain—the best player in the game—to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Connie Dierking, Paul Neumann, Lee Shaffer and a reported $150,000 cash.

For Chamberlain, it was a return to his hometown and to where his NBA career began.

PHI_01_CHAMBERLAIN /

He won three straight MVP awards for the 76ers in 1965-66, 1966-67 and 1967-68, was an All-Star three times and a four-time All-NBA selection.

He finished fifth in the MVP voting in 1964-65. He led the NBA in scoring in 1964-65 and 1965-66, was fifth in 1966-67 and fourth in 1967-68.

After finishing second in rebounding in 1964-65, he led the NBA three straight seasons and, for good measure, he was second in the NBA in assists in 1967-68 and third in 1966-67.

He also led the NBA in field-goal percentage all four seasons he was with the 76ers and in minutes per game three times, finishing second in 1964-65.

And in 1967, Chamberlain had his breakthrough, finally beating the Boston Celtics in the playoffs before going on to win his first title.

In the six-game NBA Finals victory over—coincidentally enough—the Warriors, Chamberlain averaged 17.7 points, 28.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 47.8 minutes per game, shooting 56 percent from the floor and 30.6 percent from the foul line.

After the 1967-68 season, Chamberlain asked for a trade and was sent to the Los Angeles Lakers for Archie Clark, Darrall Imhoff and Jerry Chambers.

In parts of four seasons in Philadelphia, Chamberlain averaged 27.6 points, 23.9 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 46.3 minutes per game, shooting 58.3 percent from the field and 45.6 percent at the line.

Chamberlain turned professional after his junior year at Kansas, playing a year with the Harlem Globetrotters before being taken as a territorial selection by the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1959 NBA Draft.

He was the NBA MVP and Rookie of the Year in 1959-60 and was a six-time All-Star with the Warriors, who moved to San Francisco in 1962, and was named All-NBA six times while leading the league in scoring every year and in rebounding four times.

With the Lakers, Chamberlain was a four-time All-Star, was All-NBA in 1971-72, named All-Defensive twice and earned Finals MVP honors in 1972 while leading Los Angeles to the title.

In September 1973, Chamberlain signed to play for and coach the expansion San Diego Conquistadors of the ABA. A court order blocked him from playing but he did coach the team (occasionally) to a 37-47 record, leaving the game after the 1973-74 season.

He is the NBA’s all-time leader with 23,924 rebounds and averages of 45.8 minutes and 22.9 rebounds per game, is seventh in league history with 47,859 minutes played, fifth with 31,419 points, 26th with a field-goal percentage of .540 and second with an average of 30.1 points per game.

Chamberlain was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979 and was named to the NBA’s 35th and 50th anniversary teams in 1981 and 1996, respectively.

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He was found dead at his Bel Air, Calif., home on Oct. 12, 1999, at the age of 63 from an apparent heart attack.