- The 100-point game on March 2, 1962. Kobe Bryant got 81 in a 2006 game against Toronto, but consider this: In order to beat Wilt’s record, Bryant’s production would have to increase by 24 percent. In today’s game, that simply is not going to happen.
- Wilt’s scoring average of 50.4 points in 1961-62. Think about that. There have been just two 50-point games this season. But this guy averaged 50. It’s mind-boggling. Obviously no one will ever do that again.
- This one is the best and favorite of almost all Wilt historians – 48.5 minutes per game. Yes, Wilt averaged more than a full game played for the season. He accomplished that because the Philadelphia Warriors played 10 overtime periods that season.
When you break that last one down, it gets even more amazing. The Philadelphia Warriors played 3,890 minutes that season, and Wilt was on the floor for 3,882 of them. So he missed eight minutes – all of them due to a fourth-quarter ejection. His average rest time for each game? Six seconds.
Wilt has many more records that will never be approached, such as: 
— Rebounds in one game: 55, on Nov. 24, 1960, vs. Bill Russell.
— Single-season rebound average: 27.2, in the 1960-61 campaign
— Career rebound average: 22.9.
But 100, 50.4 and 48.5 will always be my three favorites.
Obviously the game is much different now than it was during Wilt’s prime. The old NBA was much more of an offensive game. Consider that 1961-62 record-setting season. The Boston Celtics led the league in field-goal attempts with 9,109. Each of the nine teams that season took more than 8,300 shots.
At their current rate, the Denver Nuggets would have the most shots this season with 6,963 – more than 1,300 fewer than any team in 1961-62.
In that era, more shots led to more points, more misses and more rebounds. Still, no matter what qualifier you try and use, the stats Wilt built were phenomenal.
The Heat did a wonderful job of making Lakers fans and all those Lakers who were part of that team – like Pat Riley – nervous with that winning streak. That record proved, at least for one team during one season, to be approachable.
That’s not the case with Wilt, a man who died in 1999 but still seems bigger than life. His records are in another world, never to be visited by mere humans.
Jan Hubbard has written about basketball since 1976 and worked in the NBA league office for eight years between media stints. Follow him on Twitter at @whyhub.
Wilt was the greatest player of all time. Individually, no one comes close to his records. Russell couldn’t score nearly as well, Jabar couldn’t rebound as well. He did it all, while even leading the league in assist one year.
He comes from a High School/ Overbrook, in West Phila. Pa. that has sent at least 13 players to the NBA/ABA.
Michael Jordan scored 49 or more point 45 times in his career. Wilt did it 45 times in one season.
Blocked shots were not kept in record form when he and Russell played. But, a record was kept one night by a nenouned stat
atision where he had 28 blocked shots .
Great article, but just one minor issue: two players this season have, in fact, scored 50 or more points in a game. Kevin Durant with 52, and Stephen Curry with 54.
Nice catch. Fixed. Thanks.
Great article, but one omission: Wilt never fouled out of an NBA game. Other than that, brilliant. Over and out.
Don’t forget the double triple double game, where he scored 20 points, 20 rebounds and 20 assists.
Also, take a look at the game logs for the ’62 season. He averaged 48 minutes a game playing back-to-back-to-back-to-back games, where he drove a car from one game to the next.