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NBA Draft: 30 greatest draft picks in league history

By Josh Cornelissen

Larry Bird, Boston Celtics, Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers. (Photo by Tom Herde/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Larry Bird, Boston Celtics, Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers. (Photo by Tom Herde/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /
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Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Warriors
1962 – Philadelphia, PA: Close up of Wilt Chamberlain (#13), as he comes down with rebound and looks for teammate. Behind him are John Kerr (#10) of the Syracuse Nationals and Paul Arizin of the Philadelphia Warriors. Color slide. /

player. 41. . Center. Kansas Jayhawks, 1959 (Territorial). Wilt Chamberlain. 22

Greatest NBA Draft picks in league history: Wilt Chamberlain, Golden State Warriors

The name Wilt Chamberlain gains recognition even among non-basketball fans, many of whom were not born until after his career was long over. His impact as a player and his unique productivity launch him onto this list, even if much of his career was spent elsewhere.

A Philadelphia native, Chamberlain attended the University of Kansas and was a standout both on the basketball court and in numerous track and field events.

Opposing teams would develop specific tactics, many of them questionable in their legality and blatant in their rejection of the spirit of the game, trying desperately to stop him. A frustrated Chamberlain left college a year early and played for the Harlem Globetrotters for a year until he was eligible for the NBA.

The then-Philadelphia Warriors gained the rights to Chamberlain in the 1959 NBA Draft and he was an instant force on the court, averaging 37.6 points and 27 rebounds per game as a rookie. In his third season he set the NBA record — never approached since, let alone broken — by scoring 50.4 points per game, including one game where he dropped 100 points.

In five-and-a-half seasons with the Warriors, he averaged 41.5 points per game. For that span, Chamberlain was a six-time All-NBA selection, a six-time NBA All-Star and NBA MVP in 1960.

The Warriors were a team in flux even with the league’s most prolific player, moving to San Francisco, changing owners and often changing coaches. Chamberlain was eventually traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, leaving the Warriors with just those few years of unique dominance.