"Goliath" Looks To Find The Real Wilt Chamberlain

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Wilt Chamberlain Holding Two Basketballs
(Original Caption) 6/18/1958-New York, NY- Wilt "The Stilt" Chamberlain, twice All-American at the University of Kansas, bedazzles Harlem Globetrotters' boss Abe Saperstein (R) with his basketball palming technique, after it was announced that Chamberlain had signed to play for the famous all-Negro team for a record high of $65,000 for one season. Chamberlain, who passed up his remaining year of eligibility at Kansas, becomes the draft choice of the pro Philadelphia Warriors next season.
A new documentary is on the way about the NBA legend.

Showtime is set to release Goliath, a three-part series about NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain. Chamberlain is one of the most fascinating people to have played basketball and in many ways is more myth than legend. The 100-point game no one watched because it happened at a time when people cared more about college ball than pro play. The prolific womanizing, with Wilt claiming he had a body count of over 20,000.

But who was he really? That's what Showtime set out to ask, and hopefully answer. The series is meant to strip away the myth to highlight the mortal that lay beneath it. Executive-produced by Kevin Garnett, the show looks at Chamberlain's life from the lens of basketball, psychology, and society. However, it also appears to make a number of choices that some may find controversial.

"Goliath" Explores Chamberlain's Life Through His Own Words

Per the official release for the show, “Utilizing groundbreaking artificial intelligence to recreate Chamberlain’s voice to narrate his own words and archival footage provided by the Wilt Chamberlain Estate, GOLIATH tells the definitive story of Chamberlain’s remarkable life and how he fits into the fabric of American history. The series invokes a variety of voices from sports, media, entertainment and academia to place Chamberlain’s life in both historical and contemporary contexts, highlighting his unparalleled athleticism, trailblazing achievements, personal magnetism and introspective nature.”

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Yup, Goliath has reportedly utilized AI to bring Chamberlain's voice back to life. The real Wilt Chamberlain died in 1999 and while his estate is reportedly okay with his, audio AI is still a very murky topic for many people. Meanwhile, the three-part series will balance AI Chamberlain-narrated footage with standard documentary talking heads. Seen in the trailer are the likes of Kevin Garnett, Pat Riley, Rick Barry, Jackie MacMullan, Bob Ryan, Tom Meschery, Dr. Todd Boyd, Jemele Hill, Jerry West, and clinical psychologist Orna Guralnik. Goliath will premiere for Paramount+ subscribers on July 14 and receive a full release on Showtime on July 16. Will you be watching? Let us know in the comments.

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About The Author
Ben Mock
Benjamin Mock (they/them) is a sports and culture writer working out of Philadelphia. Previously writing for the likes of Fixture, Dexerto, Fragster, and Jaxon, Ben has dedicated themselves to engaging and accessible articles about sports, esports, and internet culture. With a love for the weirder stories, you never quite know what to expect from their work.
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