Wilt Chamberlain lived large in every sense of the term. As an NBA star he scored a record 100 points in a game, and he was a multiple-time champion and MVP. Off the court he shocked people with the claim in his 1991 autobiography A View from Above that he had slept with 20,000 women in his life.
In 1972 the 7’1″, 275-pound center for the Los Angeles Lakers built a house which matched the proportions of his life—and lifestyle. And his new home, which he called Ursa Major (after one of his many nicknames, the Big Dipper) was featured in the March 24, 1972 issue of LIFE.
The magazine explained why Wilt the Stilt needed a special refuge:
Even when he isn’t on the court contending with the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain endures endless irritations—ducking through doorways, showering in a crouch, trying to sleep in beds designed for ordinary citizens. So in an understandable indulgence he has built a bachelor pad big enough “to really turn me on.”
He spent $1 million (the equivalent of about $7.2 million in 2023) building the Bel-Air home, which was photographed for LIFE by Ralph Crane, and from the moment you arrived, you had no doubt you were at Wilt’s house. The front door at Ursa Major was 14 feet high, and the swimming pool 15 feet deep. He had a wine rack built at his eye level. Then there was Wilt’s “X-rated” room, as LIFE termed it, with floor-to-ceiling mirrors and a fur-lined waterbed built into the floor.
If you want to hear more about the home from Wilt himself, he talked about Ursa Major in this video as a dream come true. Chamberlain died in 1999 of congestive heart failure at age 63, in bed at his Bel-Air home.
Wilt Chamberlain’s custom-designed home in Bel-Air was built on a World War II anti-aircraft gun sight, 1972.
Ralph Crane/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain outside his custom-built Bel-Air home, 1972.
Ralph Crane/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The dining area at Wilt Chamberlain’ Bel-Air home included a 16-foot chandelier made of Venetian glass and custom-made chairs that cost $17,000.
Wilt Chamberlain’s House
Wilt Chamberlain at his custom-designed Bel-Air home, 1972.
Ralph Crane/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Wilt Chamberlain’s housekeeper at work in the 25-by-6-foot cedar wardrobe closet in his Bel-Air home, 1972.
Wilt Chamberlain’s House
Wilt Chamberlain’s custom-designed home in Bel Air featured a bedroom with a retractable sliding panel above the bed, 1972.
Ralph Crane/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Wilt Chamberlain’s custom-built home in Bel-Air included an “x-rated room” paneled with mirrors, covered in purple velvet and dominated by a fur-covered waterbed, 1972.
Ralph Crane/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Wilt Chamberlain’s custom-built home included a wine rack placed at the eye level for the 7’1″ basketball star, 1972.
Wilt Chamberlain’s House
