On Th
ursday December 4, 2014, the United States Postal Service did something they’ve never done before. They released a new set of USA Forever stamps that feature the great Wilt Chamberlain, who played 14 dominant seasons in the NBA.
Chamberlain, who was draft by the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1959 NBA Draft, also played in San Francisco for the Warriors when the team moved there in 1962, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers. He holds multiple records individually, from all-time rebounding leader to the most points scored in a single game.
“Wilt the Stilt” holds the record for most points scored in a game when he dropped an astonishing 100 points in a 1962 matchup against the New York Knicks. He was a member of the Philadelphia Warriors at that time, and was 36-of-63 from the floor and went to the line 32 times, only to knock down 28 of them.
The 7-foot-1 center seemed to be a giant amongst men on the court. And he was.
Chamberlain went on that same year he scored 100 points in a game in 1962 to score a ridiculous 50.4 points per game. Of course, that is a record that is still held that will never be broken. He was the first player to ever score 4,000 points in a season in that year as well when he finished with 4,029. Oh, and he’s the all-time leading rebounder in NBA history and in per game averages, is fifth on the all-time scoring list (Kobe just passed him), and could very well be the best player to ever play the basketball depending on who you talk to.
You get it.. The list goes on and on. And on.
“The Big Dipper” is the only NBA player ever to be featured on postage stamps. It’s a great deal to be the only one ever, and is really awesome for Wilt and the NBA as a whole. The USPS released the images of the stamps on Thursday night, which you can see below.
The image of Wilt in his Philadelphia Warriors uniform, who he spent the first three years of his career playing for from 1959-1962.
The other choice? Wilt in his Los Angeles Lakers uniform where he played five seasons from 1968-1973 and won an NBA title in 1972. He also won a championship with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1967.
The book of 18 stamps features them in the middle of the pane, with a photo of him leaping on the right pane in his Philly jersey, and script that runs vertically on the left pane that reads “Wilt Chamberlain 1936-1999”.
The backside of the book is filled with biographical information about Chamberlain. The stamps themselves are also considerably larger in height than regular postage.
Having a family member that works in the Post Office, I’ll be sure to have him bring plenty of these home. Why wouldn’t you want to pay bills and send thank you cards with Wilt on the front of them?
All stats via NBA.com.
That Philadelphia Warriors stamp is the worst likeness of Wilt Chamberlain I’ve ever seen. Who was the artist, Stevie Wonder? That stamp looks like J.J. Walker from “Good Times.”