 Chamberlain 's impact on the game is also reflected in the fact that he was directly responsible for several rule changes in the NBA , including widening the lane to try to keep him farther away from the hoop , instituting offensive goaltending and revising rules governing <unk> the ball and shooting free throws ( such as making it against the rules to inbound the ball over the backboard ) . Chamberlain , who reportedly had a 50 @-@ inch vertical leap , was physically capable of converting foul shots via a slam dunk without a running start ( beginning his movement at the top of the key ) . When his dunks practically undermined the difficulty of a foul shot , both the NCAA and the NBA banned his modus operandi . In basketball history , pundits have stated that the only other player who forced such a massive change of rules is 6 ' 10 " Minneapolis Lakers center George Mikan , who played a decade before Chamberlain and also caused many rule changes designed to thwart so @-@ called " big men " . 
