 Wilton Norman " Wilt " Chamberlain ( August 21 , 1936 – October 12 , 1999 ) was an American basketball player . He played for the Philadelphia / San Francisco Warriors , the Philadelphia 76ers , and the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) ; he played for the University of Kansas and also for the Harlem Globetrotters before playing in the NBA . The 7 foot 1 inch Chamberlain weighed 250 pounds as a rookie before bulking up to 275 and eventually to over 300 pounds with the Lakers . He played the center position and is widely considered one of the greatest and most dominant players in NBA history . 
