The 50th anniversary of arguably the greatest single-game performance in NBA history is right around the corner and the Sixers -- in their ever increasing awareness of Philly’s basketball past -- are making sure the floor where that record happened doesn’t wind up in a scrap yard somewhere and instead winds up in the hands of Sixers fans.
On March 2, 1962 Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in the Philadelphia Warriors' 169-147 win over the New York Knicks. Only 4,000 or so fans witnessed the monumental moment, which occurred in Hershey (where the Warriors played some home games) rather than Philly.
Fifty years later, fans in Philly should finally get a chance to feel a little closer to the great moment.
Per the 76ers’ Twitter account:
We are bringing the court that Wilt Chamberlain scored the only ever 100-point game in history back to Philly! http://pic.twitter.com/fWNYvlHu
The Sixers even posted YFrog video of the wooden court being forklifted onto a waiting truck to be taken back to Philly.
It was originally unclear what the Sixers planned on doing with the court but with the Golden State Warriors (the Warriors moved west after the '62 season) coming to town on the exact 50th anniversary of Wilt draining 100 points -- including 28 free throws made and 36 field goals made -- the Sixers had an idea.
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In partnership with NBC Sports Philadelphia
Every fan who attends the Sixers March 2 game against the Warriors will receive a specially-mounted 2X2 piece of the actual court.
"We cannot stress enough how excited we are to have found the original court on which Wilt once soared," said Sixers CEO Adam Aron. "Preserving the court in Philadelphia, in Hershey and at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is a thrill. So, too is sharing a little bit of this rich history with our fans attending the 50th Anniversary of the greatest scoring performance of all-time in the NBA."
In unrelated -- but still intriguing -- Sixers news, a tweet Sunday by Aron left open the door for a possible return of former mascot Big Shot.
"Been a surprising ground swell for Big Shot. Do you want Big Shot back... Yes or No? RT @alex_ep what up with bigshot? U bringing him back?"
Crossing Broad is even asking readers to tweet Aron to give their vote for bringing back Big Shot.
For now, though, we will defer to what the Sixers told NBC10 when asked whatever happened to the mascot search that yielded three underwhelming candidates.
“At this time, we do not have any announcements planned, nor made any final decisions, regarding the Sixers mascot,” Sixers Public Relations Director Michael Preston said early last month.
