 The 1972 – 73 NBA season was to be Chamberlain 's last , although he didn 't know this at the time . In his last season , the Lakers lost substance : Happy Hairston was injured , Flynn Robinson and LeRoy Ellis had left , and veteran Jerry West struggled with injury . Chamberlain averaged 13 @.@ 2 points and 18 @.@ 6 rebounds , still enough to win the rebounding crown for the 11th time in his career . In addition , he shot an NBA record .727 % for the season , bettering his own mark of .683 from the 1966 – 67 season . It was the ninth time Chamberlain would lead the league in field goal percentage . The Lakers won 60 games in the regular season and reached the 1973 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks . This time , the tables were turned : the Knicks now featured a healthy team with a rejuvenated Willis Reed , and the Lakers were now handicapped by several injuries . 
