"I'm used to being great at what I do, whether it's basketball, volleyball, sex" – Wilt Chamberlain on the one sport he could never dominate
The late great Wilt Chamberlain took great pride in being a multi-sport athlete. Apart from basketball, The Big Dipper was also a legend in track and field and a decorated professional volleyball player.
However, despite his multifaceted greatness, Chamberlain admitted to failing to excel in one sport — tennis. According to the seven-time NBA scoring champion, it wasn’t like he was awful with the racquet. In fact, Wilt was unsurprisingly confident that he could have done better if it hadn’t been for Father Time.
In his 1991 book, “A View From Above,” Chamberlain candidly reflected on how playing tennis made him realize that, despite being a great athlete, there would come a point where his body could no longer keep up.
“I’m used to being great at what I do, whether it’s basketball, volleyball, sex, whatever… But now, walking onto a tennis court is a different story. I’m good. I’m not being overly humble here — but I’m not great. I’m not the best,” Chamberlain wrote.
Tennis humbled Wilt
Knowing Chamberlain’s brimming confidence and self-esteem, he had the courage to play against some of the best tennis players in the world at the time, such as Jennifer Capriati, Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras, and Boris Becker.
Even though these legendary tennis players were unsurprisingly cooking him, Wilt The Stilt believed that he could match their skill level at some point. However, the NBA icon eventually came to the conclusion that it might never happen. Instead of pushing himself to the limit, the ever self-assured Wilt was humbled by tennis.
Despite that, Chamberlain didn’t feel ashamed of underperforming. If anything, The Big Dipper was glad to realize that there was something in this world that could slow him down and help him thoroughly assess his limitations.
“It makes you stop and think,” he confided. “At least, it makes me stop and think.”
Wilt Chamberlain, who never scored 100 points in tennis, and Björn Borg. pic.twitter.com/gJCTpnrkED
— Rob Klippel (@robklippel) July 9, 2019
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Wilt had nothing else to prove
After all, Chamberlain was still a generational athlete. As a basketball player, he was a four-time champion, two-time MVP and 13-time All-Star, among others. In volleyball, Wilt was an International Volleyball Association All-Star MVP and Hall of Famer. He was also recognized for his achievements in track and field.
Regardless of how Chamberlain performed in his tennis experiment, that doesn’t take away anything from his status as a legendary athlete. In fact, Wilt’s bold and genuine admission even proved that despite his flamboyant personality, he knew how to accept his failures.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Dec 3, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
