Question of the Week

Tony, Yakima, WA
Subj: Wilt the Stilt
Is it true that Wilt Chamberlain almost retired after his first season in the NBA?

That’s correct, Tony. The Big Dipper nearly hung up his size 19-shoes because he was frustrated with the way rival teams manhandled him beneath the basket. Former Celtics forward Tommy Heinsohn still recalls how he and his teammates would hammer Chamberlain in the post. "We tried to send him to the foul line, and in doing that he took the most brutal pounding of any player ever,” Heinsohn says. “I hear people today talk about hard fouls. Half the fouls against him were hard fouls." Luckily for fans, Chamberlain’s friends and family convinced him to give the league another shot and he went on to enjoy 13 sensational seasons before retiring in 1973.

Question of the Week

Jim, Aberdeen, SD
Subj: The greatest team of all time
Hey Ryan, could the Harlem Globetrotters beat an NBA team?

Absolutely, Slim Jim. Although most observers dismiss the Globetrotters as being a bunch of oversized clowns, it’s important to remember that their roster has included basketball royalty like Wilt Chamberlain, Connie Hawkins and Meadowlark Lemon. While the Trotters have traditionally beaten up on patsies like the Washington Generals, they have also fared well against real competition like the world champion Minneapolis Lakers, whom they beat twice in two exhibition games in 1948 and 1949. Granted, they’d have their hands full against today’s Lakers, but you can never underestimate how a well-timed bucket of confetti can disrupt a team’s rhythm.