Wilt Chamberlain will always be known as one of the most dominant forces in NBA history. Now Showtime will give fans a new documentary that brings the center’s full story to life.
GOLIATH is a three-part documentary series that details the life, career and impact of Wilt Chamberlain, who Showtime says is “one of the greatest, most emulated and most misunderstood athletes of all time.”
According to the release, the upcoming documentary will utilize AI to “recreate Chamberlain’s voice to narrate his own words and archival footage provided by the Wilt Chamberlain Estate.”
The series begins with Chamberlain’s life in high school in the 1950s and continues on through his passing in 1999. It covers his on and off-court presence, cultural impact and everything else that Chamberlain’s life consisted of.
“We are honored to team up with this group of talented filmmakers to bring the underexamined story of Wilt Chamberlain’s complex life to the masses,” said Stephen Espinoza, President, of SHOWTIME SPORTS. “Everybody knows Wilt for his legendary accomplishments on the basketball court – scoring 100 points in a game, averaging 50 points and 25 rebounds in a season – but there’s so much more to him than his stats. He was far ahead of his time in so many ways that will last infinitely longer than the numbers on a scoreboard.”
Espinoza is, of course, referring to Chamberlain’s legendary 100-point scoring performance as a member of the Philadelphia Warriors in a 169–147 win over the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962, in Hershey, PA.
While that might have been his greatest single performance, his pro basketball resume is an extremely lengthy and successful one.
Chamberlain was a 13x All-Star, 7x Scoring Champ, 11x Rebounding Champ, 4x MVP and 2x NBA Champion. He was also a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. And he accomplished all of those things while averaging 30.1 ppg and a ridiculous 22.9 rebounds per game over his 15-year NBA career with four NBA teams.
His dominance, especially on the glass, is not lost on other greats, including fellow Hall of Famer and Showtime host Kevin Garnett.
“It was an honor and privilege for my team and me to share Wilt’s incredible legacy with the world,” said Garnett. “Wilt’s cultural impact as a prominent outspoken African American athlete was revolutionary, especially during a time when social strength was not popular. There is no KG, [Michael] Jordan, Hakeem [Olajuwon], LeBron [James], Kobe [Bryant], or Shaq [Shaquille O’Neal] if Wilt doesn’t pave our way. We all stand on his strong shoulders. We all owe a very special thanks to Barbara Lewis and Wilt’s family for allowing us the full access and trust which was crucial to tell this extraordinary story. GOLIATH is not only a tribute to Wilt’s extraordinary career but also a celebration of the mark he left on and off the basketball court and the world.”
GOLIATH features insight from Garnett, Pat Riley, Rick Barry, Bill Walton, Lisa Leslie, Oscar Robertson, Jemele Hill, Jerry West and the late Jim Brown.
The series will debut on demand and on streaming on Friday, July 14 for all Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers before making its on-air debut on SHOWTIME® on Sunday, July 16 at 10 ET/PT, with episodes premiering each Sunday.
GOLIATH is produced by Village Roadshow Television and Gotham Chopra’s Religion of Sports in association with Kevin Garnett’s Content Cartel, Happy Madison Productions and Heeltap! Entertainment.
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