Wilt Chamberlain Dead At 63

Photos:
RealVideo: See Wilt In Action On The Court
Quotes: About Wilt

LOS ANGELES, Updated 6:24 p.m. October 12, 1999 -- Basketball great Wilt Chamberlain's body was found Tuesday in his Bel Air home. The 63-year-old apparently died of cardiac arrest, police said.

Chamberlain was discovered about 12:35 p.m. in his home in the 15200 block of Antelo Place after police officers received a call from the groundskeeper who said Chamberlain was in his bed and not breathing, reports CBS 2 News in Los Angeles.

A crime scene was briefly set up while authorities determined that Chamberlain's death was from natural causes.

Family members told reporters the former Los Angeles Laker had not been feeling well lately and had lost about 50 lbs. in one month.

The 7-foot-1-inch Chamberlain is best known for being the only NBA player to score 4,000 points in one season. His record 100-point game against the New York Knicks in 1962 still stands.

Chamberlain's two brothers and sister were at his estate today to mourn his loss.

Barbara Lewis said her brother told her this weekend he was not feeling well after a recent dental surgery.

"He said he it was the worst pain. And I've never heard him complain about pain ever," Lewis told the television station.

Lewis remembers her brother as a wonderful person.

"He comes off one way, but he is a truly family-oriented person, a person who loves his friends and his friends love him," she said.

Earvin "Magic" Johnson told CBS 2 News' Jim Hill how he and Chamberlain met.

"He read one day (that) I idolized him, so he called me up and we chatted. This was early on when I was in college," Johnson said. "He really just gave me a lot of good advice. And then when I was in the NBA, he called me a couple of times. We actually had dinner together."

"So here was a man who took time for a little guy like myself who was trying to, in a sense, follow in his footsteps, especially here in Los Angeles," Johnson said.

Many say Chamberlain defined -- and redefined -- how basketball is played.

Wilt "The Stilt" Chamberlain began his basketball career at the University of Kansas where he lead the Jayhawks to the 1950 NCAA tournament finals. After briefly joining the Harlem Globetrotters, in 1959 Chamberlain, a native of West Philadelphia, suited up for the Philadelphia Warriors, where he was voted Rookie of the Year and received the MVP award in his first season.

Chamberlain joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 1968, playing in the NBA for 14 seasons before retiring in 1973.

During his career, Chamberlain won seven high-scoring titles, two NBA team titles and was named league MVP on four separate occasions. He was also a league all-star 13 times.

Lakers' Executive Vice President Jerry West told reporters today adding Chamberlain to the team helped revitalize his belief that the team could win a championship.

"He helped reinvigorate me personally, and helped us to get to our first championship here in Los Angeles," West said. "This is really a sad day for me personally."

According to the NBA, Chamberlain set several single-game records: Most points, 100; most consecutive field goals, 18; and most rebounds, 55. He averaged 50.4 points per game in the 1961-62 season and 48.5 minutes per game that same year.

Chamberlain stands behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in career points with 31,419. He still holds the NBA career record for rebounds with 23,924.

After retirement, Chamberlain coached the professional San Diego Conquistadors in the American Basketball League but he soon grew bored with the position, according to the NBA. Even when the legend reached his 50s, teams would often reportedly ask him to make a comeback, but he never took anyone up on the offer.

In 1984, Chamberlain took a turn at acting, co-starring in the movie "Conan the Barbarian" opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger.

No stranger to controversy, Chamberlain wrote a book a few years ago in which he boasted about thousands of sexual conquests.

Chamberlain was also known to criticize younger players, including Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal.

Compared to today's players, West defends Chamberlain's skills.

"When I listen to players today, some of the centers who play, who go, 'He couldn't play today.'" West said. "They wouldn't want to play against him now, trust me."

CBS 2 News reports Chamberlain was in the process of writing a screenplay about his life.

Photos:

RealVideo:

• See Wilt In Action On The Court (36 sec.)

Editor's Note: To participate, you'll need RealPlayer, a software download available free from Progressive at its www.real.com site. Select the RealPlayer option to receive both RealAudio 4.0 and RealVideo.