FOR the first time in NBA history, one player will lead the league in both assists and rebounds per game.
Rarely in the 53 years since he played his final NBA game has Wilt Chamberlain been mentioned as frequently as he was in 2025-26.
A month ago, Miami’s Bam Adebayo sparked all sorts of media mentions of Chamberlain’s legendary 100-point performance by scoring 83 against Washington. Two nights later, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored more than 20 points in his 127th consecutive game, breaking Chamberlain’s record of 126 set from 1961 to 1963.
Then there is the current Rookie of the Year race, as hotly contested as any in recent memory, pitting Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel vs. Dallas’ Cooper Flagg. The former Duke roommates are vying for, of course, the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy that accompanies the media-voted award to top newcomers.
Now, with the season’s statistical books set to close on Sunday, there’s one more Wilt connection: Denver’s Nikola Jokić is about to become the first player in NBA history to lead in both rebounds per game (12.9) and assists per game (10.9).
The only time even a variation of that occurred came in 1967-68 when… wait for it… Chamberlain led the NBA in both total rebounds (1,992) and total assists (702).
Totals carried more weight back then, with many players striving to appear in most or all of their teams’ games. For the record, Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson averaged the most assists (9.7) in 1967-68 but played only 65 games for Cincinnati to Chamberlain’s 82. He totaled 633 assists, 69 fewer than Wilt. — Reuters
