 On October 24, 1959, Chamberlain finally made his NBA debut, starting for the Philadelphia Warriors. Chamberlain immediately became the NBA's best paid player, earning $ 30,000 (equal to about $ 244,000 today) in his rookie contract; in comparison, the previous top earner was Bob Cousy of the Boston Celtics with $ 25,000; in fact, Gottlieb bought the whole Warriors franchise for $ 25,000 seven years earlier.
