What's “This figure falls 19,659” referring to in this context?

Question

Former Detroit Pistons center Jason Maxiell revealed to a national television audience that he has slept with 341 women before and during his marriage to high school sweetheart Brandi Maxiell. This figure falls 19,659 shy of the number of women NBA legend and lifelong bachelor Wilt Chamberlain claimed to have bedded in his 1991 book “A View From Above,” but that was no consolation to Brandi.

I'm not sure what "This figure falls 19,659" is referring to. It is unbelievable if that figure (19,659) is the times that Jason Maxiell had sex with women, which is still shy of the number of Wilt Chamberlain's.

What's "This figure falls 19,659" referring to exactly?

The full source.

Answer 1

The phrase is "falls shy of". Wilt Chamberlain claimed, in a book he wrote, to have slept with 20,000 women. Jason Maxiell claims to have slept with 341. That figure "falls" 19,659 "shy of" (less than) Chamberlain's claim. To "fall shy of" usually means to "be slightly less than" some greater figure, quantity, etc, which makes me think its use here is either an error or is intended to be humorous.

The Sexual Prowess of Wilt Chamberlain: 20,000 Women?

shy of something

slightly less than, slightly earlier than, or a short distance from something

They scored just shy of 100 goals last year.

I called him only two minutes shy of midnight.

Shy of something