Why would Lakers hand Wilt Chamberlain’s Jersey number to a new Signee

Retired on November 9, 1983 in honor of Wilt Chamberlain, a member of the 1971-72 championship team that won an NBA record 33 consecutive games and a then-NBA record 69 contests overall (averaged 14.8 points and team-leading 19.2 rebounds that season) …

named Most Valuable Player of the 1972 NBA Finals, when he averaged 14.7 points and 21.0 rebounds … led the NBA in rebounding on 11 occasions, including four times with the Lakers … averaged a Los Angeles franchise record 21.1 rebounds during the 1968-69 campaign and averaged over 18 boards four times with the Lakers … appeared in 13 NBA All-Star Games … entered the NBA Hall of Fame in 1978 … averaged an NBA record 50.4 points during the 1961-62 campaign … scored 50-plus points on 118 occasions … led the NBA in both scoring and rebounding (same season) on five occasions … earned NBA Most Valuable Player honors four times … was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history during the league’s 50th anniversary season in 1996-97 … ranks first overall on the club’s field goal percentage list (.605).