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Why Was the Greatest NBA Player by Steve Smith / February 26, 2009

One of the most common types of articles on this site is a comparison between players and teams. Which can certainly be a fun way to pass some time.

There have been numerous articles (generating thousands-upon-thousands of comments) contemplating who is the better player. or LeBron James.

There have been an even greater number of articles wondering whether Kobe deserves to be ranked with Jordan which at times sparks so much controversy that it makes you wonder whether those commenting on it all are even out of grade school.

Most of the questions on the “Short List” are comparisons just such as this (one of them asking “Jordan or Russell?”) And there are even some articles questioning who is the greatest player of all time with being the de facto answer of a majority of those that I see.

Other players are always mentioned when a list of the greatest players in NBA history are worked up including , , , Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, , and more recent players such as , , Paul Pierce, and .

While there are valid arguments to be made that all of these players should be considered among the best players in NBA history, their accomplishments one-and-all pale in comparison to Wilt Chamberlain’s who is (hile mentioned among them) relegated far too often to second-string.

Even I myself have been guilty of not always giving The Big Dipper (and don’t call him "Wilt-The- Stilt”; he hated that nickname) his due. But I’ve begun to revisit some of the history of the game and have found I can no longer condone such galling inaccuracy. Wilt Chamberlain was the greatest player in NBA history bar none (with no offense meant to Michael Jordan).

1

Many Reasons Why Wilt Is Never Given His Due

There is a constant stream of idiocy concerning Wilt Chamberlain and the era in which he played found on message boards and blogs throughout the Internet, in articles and columns both online and in print, and through the television sports news media.

Myth One: Wilt Was Shut Down by

One misconception among some is that Bill Russell shut Wilt down. I think this myth can only be explained by the fact that Bill Russell’s Celtics were so often successful against Chamberlain’s teams. However, many of Wilt’s teammates during that era were anything but Hall-of-Famers whereas Bill Russell shared the court with seven of them.

Certainly the Celtics won the battles against Wilt’s early -San Francisco Warriors, , and teams. But those battles were ferocious and hard fought with four of the six series going the full 7 games and one of the others going to 6 games. Wilt, without a great supporting cast, nearly defeated some of the greatest “teams” in NBA history merely on the strength of his own ability.

And how did Wilt fare against his great nemesis Bill Russell throughout his career in head-to-head matchups? Was he shut down as some claim? Hardly.

According to Philadelphia 76ers stat man , Chamberlain and Russell played head-to- head a total of 142 times. In those matchups, Wilt averaged 28.7 PPG and 28.7 RPG. Russell, on the other hand, averaged 23.7 PPG, and 14.5 RPG.

What’s of note is that Chamberlain’s career rebounding average (against all teams) was 22.9 RPG while Russell’s was 22.5 RPG. It appears that Wilt destroyed Bill on the boards any time he faced him.

Also of note is the fact Wilt scored 62 points in a game against Russell on January 14, 1962 in Boston and scored more than 50 points against him in 6 other games. The most points that Russell ever scored against Wilt was 37. Also, Russell only scored more than 30 against Wilt 2 other times.

Of further note is the fact Wilt set an NBA record grabbing 55 rebounds against Russell in a game on November 24, 1960 and grabbed more than 40 rebounds against Bill in 6 other games.

His dominance of Russell was simply a fact and was profound. If it wasn’t for the fact Russell had Hall of Famers surrounding him his entire career, Wilt’s teams would have certainly won at least two or three of those titles Bill and the Celts have.

Myth Two: Wilt Played Against Midgets

One of the most common is the idea that Wilt Chamberlain’s incredible statistical dominance during his playing days was due to the “fact” he was a “giant among Lilliputians” who played against centers who were typically 6'6" or 6'7". But nothing could be further from the truth.

Wilt Chamberlain ended his playing career at nearly 300 lbs. and played a good portion of his latter career at around 275 lbs. He entered as a rookie at only 250 lbs. and remained at that weight or thereabouts (260 lbs.) for at least his first 7-or-8 seasons.

2 And while some who are ignorant have listed him as 7'2" in height in articles or blogs or comments they’ve written on the subject, Wilt was never over 7'1" in his life and was actually closer to 7'0" when he first entered the NBA (despite being listed at 7'1").

Besides Bill Russell (who was 6'10" and 220 lbs.) and the few other centers who are constantly mentioned in order to back up this erroneous myth, such as (who was 6'9" and 230 lbs.), (who was 6'9" and 240 lbs.), and (who was 6'7" and 245 lbs.), there were numerous other centers throughout Wilt’s career who he played against who were anything but Lilliputian.

Following is a list of some of them:

Walter Dukes (7'0", 220 lbs.) (7'3, 235 lbs.) (7'0", 265 lbs.) (6'11", 265 lbs.) (6'10", 220 lbs.) (6'11", 210 lbs.) Sam Lacey (6'10", 235 lbs.) George Johnson (6'11", 245 lbs.) Paul Ruffner (6'10", 230 lbs.) Dick Cunningham (6'10", 245 lbs.) (6'11", 225 lbs.) Leroy Ellis (6'10", 210 lbs.) (6'11", 235 lbs.) Mel Counts (7'0", 235 lbs.) Nate Bowman (6'10", 230 lbs.) (6'10", 210 lbs.) (6'11", 230 lbs.) Henry Akin (6'10", 225 lbs.) Hank Finkel (7'0", 240 lbs.) Lew Alcindor aka Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (7'2", 225 lbs.) (6'10", 220 lbs.) Elmore Smith (7'0", 250 lbs.) Jim McDaniels (6'11", 230 lbs.) LaRue Martin (6'11", 215 lbs.) (6'10", 225 lbs.) Conrad Dierking (6'9", 225 lbs.) Johnny “Red” Kerr (6'9", 230 lbs.) (6'9", 220 lbs.) (6'9", 230 lbs.) Rick Roberson (6'9", 230 lbs.) Luke Jackson (6'9", 240 lbs.) Duke Hogue (6'9," 240 lbs.) (6'9", 230 lbs.) Len Chappell (6'9", 240 lbs.) (6'9", 235 lbs.) Hub Reed (6'9", 220 lbs.)

3 So why is it then if there were all these very big guys playing in the NBA during Wilt’s illustrious career that Chamberlain was able to dominate the game so completely? For instance, why didn’t the much taller Swede Halbrook dominate Wilt rather than ride the bench behind Johnny “Red” Kerr?

The answer is very simple. Height doesn’t equate to dominance. There is far more to a player than his height. This is why Nate Robinson is able to dominate games at times despite being a player who would look more comfortable playing in a midget league than running around among the 'Redwood Trees' that are typical NBA players.

It’s why the Miami Heat’s All-Star guard, Dwyane Wade at 6'4" is able to dominate most shooting guards in the NBA despite the fact many of them are 1, 2, or even 3 inches taller than he is.

It’s why “giants” of the game such as George Muresan (7'7"), Shawn Bradley (7'5"), Manute Bol (7'6"), (7'5"), Randy Breuer (7'3"), and even (7'3") were never dominating scorers.

In fact, they weren’t even good scorers (Mark Eaton is slightly forgiven for this due to his defensive dominance; 5-time first-team and second-team All-Defensive Team and 2-time Defensive Player of the Year) which is something that doesn’t seem possible considering some of them could dunk the ball without even jumping.

The simple fact is Wilt Chamberlain was great because he was great. He was an incredible specimen of height, strength, agility, and leaping ability. He could leap higher than many can imagine today and was stronger than most would ever believe.

Myth Three: Wilt Couldn’t Dominate Today

Like many of the ignorant things that are said about Wilt Chamberlain by fans of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, etc. around the idea that he wouldn’t have dominated in the '80s, '90s, or even today. This is based on nothing but false assumptions and ignorance.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Wilt “The Big Dipper” Chamberlain would have feasted on centers today and would have dominated thoroughly almost all of the centers through the '80s and '90s.

[StealthSkater note: Wilt was such an unstoppable force in the NBA that the League widened the foul lines (i.e., the "paint") to keep him out per the 3-second "in the lane" rule. Else nobody could defend him.]

Wilt vs. Shaq?

As a Miami Heat fan who will be forever grateful to Shaq for helping to bring a title to M-Town and who loves Shaq, I still have to say Wilt in a landslide. Not even a contest.

While many think of Wilt as simply a skinny version of Shaq, this is absolute nonsense. Shaq certainly has the bulk to seem like Superman. But while photos of Wilt give the impression he was some “beanpole” with not much real power, Chamberlain would have beaten O’Neal in any feat of strength without even trying hard.

Many don’t know it. But Wilt used to lift weights with Arnold Schwarzenegger and got his bench press up to over 500 lbs. He has been credited by many as having been able to bench as much as 500 4 pounds even during his college days. But there are not very many credible sources for this. He was a world class track-and-field star during those days though, competing in the 440 shotput, broad jump, and high jump.

As K.C. Jones once put it in describing Wilt’s power: "He stopped me dead in my tracks with his arm, hugged me, and lifted me off the floor with my feet dangling. It scared the hell out of me. When I went to the free-throw line, my legs were still shaking. Wilt was the strongest guy and best athlete ever to play the game. [source: "Goliath's Wonderful Life", Hoop Magazine, May 1999; Chris Ekstrand]

Paul Silas gave an even more impressive impression of Wilt’s strength and power when he once said: "One time when I was with Boston and he was with the Lakers, Happy Hairston and I were about to get in a scrape. All of a sudden, I felt an enormous vise around me. I was 6'7", 235 lbs. and Wilt had picked me up and turned me around. He said 'We're not going to have that stuff.' I said 'Yes, Sir.' "

Even long after his playing days, his strength was apparent as is seen in the following story:

Several years after Wilt stopped playing, he toyed with the idea of a comeback. On the day he visited the Knicks' offices in Madison Square Garden; he talked to and then strode out to the elevator. When it opened, 2 deliverymen were struggling with a dolly piled high with boxes of office supplies (mostly letterheads and envelopes).

The load was so heavy, the elevator had stopped maybe 4 inches below the floor level. The deliverymen were huffing and puffing. But they couldn't raise the dolly high enough to get it on the floor level.

After maybe 2 minutes of the deliverymen's huffing and puffing, Wilt with his biceps bulging in a tank top peered down at them and intoned: "Gentlemen, maybe I can help."

They stepped back, he stepped into the elevator, grabbed each end of the rope slung under the dolly and without much exertion, and quickly lifted the dolly onto the floor level.

Looking up in awe, the deliverymen said "Thank you." Wilt said "You're welcome."

Wilt stepped into the elevator and rode down to the street level as another witness followed the 2 deliverymen toward the Knick offices and asked "How much does all this weigh?"

They quickly surveyed the stack of big boxes of office supplies. "Close to 600 pounds," one said.

[source: "The Good Natured Giant Wasn't Belligerent", Sports of the Times, Oct 13, 1999; Dave Anderson]

Billy Cunningham tells of one incident during his playing days that truly sums up The Big Dipper’s awesome power:

"The greatest play I've ever seen was one of the last games of the 1966-67 season and were playing Baltimore. We [Philadelphia] were going for the best record in NBA history.

"There was a play earlier in the game where had dunked one over Wilt. Gus was a very strong player. I weighed 220 pounds and Gus could push me out of the lane

5 with just one hand. The man was a physical specimen [6-foot-6, 230 pounds], all muscle. He loved to dunk and was a very colorful player.

"When he slammed it on Wilt, he really threw it down and you could tell that Wilt didn't like it one bit.

"Later in the game, Gus was out on the fast break and the only man between him and the basket was Wilt. He was going to dunk on Wilt again. Gus cupped the ball and took off. He had a perfect angle for a slam.

"Wilt went up and with one hand he grabbed the ball cleanly! Then he took the ball and shoved it right back into Gus drilling Gus into the floor with the basketball.

"Gus was flattened and they carried him out. It turned out that Gus Johnson was the only player in NBA history to suffer a dislocated shoulder from a blocked shot."

[source: , Tall Tales (by Terry Pluto), p. 236]

Another story comes from Wilt’s greatest rival Bill Russell who knew only too well how powerful Chamberlain was. As he puts it: “I still remember the time when one of our strongest men, Gene Conley, decided to fight Chamberlain for the ball. He [Conley] grabbed it and hung on and Chamberlain just lifted him and the ball right up towards the rim.” – Bill Russell, Go Up for Glory, p. 126.

And Wilt wasn’t only a powerful player. Most think of Chamberlain as nothing but a dunking machine scoring the vast majority of his points on thunderous dunks over smaller opponents. Again, nothing could be further from the truth.

Chamberlain came into the NBA with a very polished jumper. His strongest signature moves were not dunks but fadeaway jumpers and finger rolls. As put it: “Yes, Wilt hit on those jumpers… Wilt did come into the League with a good touch from the outside which made his early scoring that much more significant. He wasn’t just dunking the ball then.” – Red Holzman, A View from the Bench, p. 70.

Another thing many don’t realize is that Wilt was in far better shape than most NBA players today. Most would think that with the training regimens of today’s players, they would be able to run circles around The Big Dipper. But not so.

Wilt was a world-class athlete who came out of college as a 440-yd champion track star as well as a basketball phenom. Anyone who knows the history of the NBA knows that during the 1960s, the pace of basketball was frenetic with players running up-and-down the court all game long (half- court basketball being almost anathema to the League at the time).

During this era, Wilt once averaged more than 48 minutes a game for an entire season. That in and of itself testifies to the incredible stamina that he possessed and what great shape he was in. Most of the centers through the '80s, '90s, and even today wouldn’t stand a chance trying to run with Chamberlain.

Alex Hannum illustrated Wilt’s athletic and running ability well when he said: "When I coached the San Francisco Warriors, I thought was the fastest guy on our team by far. We used to gamble a lot on which player could jump the highest and run the fastest. So I set up a series of races 6 baseline-to-baseline. In the finals, it was Wilt and Al Attles and Wilt just blew past him. I'm convinced that Wilt Chamberlain is one of the greatest all-around athletes that the World has ever seen." – , Tall Tales, (by Terry Pluto) p. 327.

Another thing that should be remembered but is all but forgotten whenever a discussion of Wilt Chamberlain vs “Anyone” is brought up is the fact Wilt faced much greater defensive pressure than centers do today. Opponents were literally allowed to mug Chamberlain at will without getting a foul called on them. Yet Wilt still dominated.

As Al Attles (one of Wilt’s teammates) once put it:

"I would talk to Wilt about all the players pounding on him. Sometimes, he said he didn't notice it. H was so strong. But I also believe that there were 2 sets of rules.

"By that, I mean because Wilt was so strong, the officials let the man guarding him get away with more. They were almost trying to equalize the game. I also believe that Wilt just took it because he didn't want to get thrown out and because it had always been like that with him.

"But I'd watch it and I'd get mad. It takes me a while to get my temper going. But when it does, look out! I'd see what the other players were doing to Wilt and what the officials were allowing. I'd be more than upset if it were happening to me.

"So I jumped in there. It wasn't that Wilt couldn't defend himself. If he ever got really hot, he'd kill people. So he let things pass. But I didn't have to worry about that. I was strong for my size. But I was not about to do anything like the kind of damage Wilt would."

[Source: Al Attles, Tall Tales, (by Terry Pluto) p. 242]

In fact, Chamberlain was so brutally treated by defenses that many feared he would retire after his first year as he had hinted at just that after the year was over. He stated that he feared that if he played another season, he might be forced to retaliate and he didn’t want to do that.

Thankfully, he was able to control his emotions and gave fans throughout the years some of the greatest entertainment that one could imagine. It would have been a true shame if he would have retired after only that inaugural season.

Most amazing about all this is that in his great and lengthy 14-year career, he never once fouled out of a game. I mean just imagine what that must have taken in terms of control. Despite all of the rough treatment by opposing defenses, he was able to control himself enough to never receive enough fouls to be tossed from a game.

I believe he’s the only player in NBA history with any significant playing time to ever accomplish that feat, which is one of his greatest.

[StealthSkater note: former Celtic admitted that every other foul that they inflicted on Wilt would be call a deliberate "hard foul" in today's era and an automatic 2 free throws. Wilt never fouled out of a game in his entire career (albeit it did cause him to play more conservative at times). ]

7 Myth Four: Wilt Was One-Dimensional

The most telling thing about Chamberlain’s dominance was his passing ability. Wilt is the only center in NBA history to have led the League in assists.

Many fans of Michael Jordan when discussions of Wilt vs. Michael are brought up will quickly mention that Michael had a slightly higher career scoring average than Chamberlain. This fact is supremely deceiving. If Wilt had wanted to, he could have ended his career with a scoring average 10 points-or-more higher than it was. [StealthSkater note: In fact, he averaged 50.4 ppg during one season! Nobody else even averaged 40ppg in a season.]

However, he was the consummate team player who was more than willing to sacrifice personal numbers for the betterment of the team. Michael, in contrast, as great as he was, would never think of sacrificing his numbers for the sake of the team. Many stories abound about how Jordan complained when his numbers went down.

During the 1966-67 season, Philadelphia76ers Coach Alex Hannum asked Wilt to pass the ball more. Chamberlain was more than willing and for the first time in his career didn’t win the NBA scoring crown, averaging only 24.1 ppg.

However, he recorded the League’s (and his personal) best FG percentage (.683); still grabbed the rebounding title with a 24.2 RPG average; and most importantly, was third in the NBA in assists averaging 7.8 APG.

Think about that. Most guards today would dream of averaging 7.8 APG for a season. Wilt was a center and did it with ease. In fact, he did it so easily that he followed that season up with an even better one averaging an incredible 8.6 APG. Again. Can you imagine?

His sacrifice paid off, too, as the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers posted a then NBA-Record 68-13 win- loss record and went on to win the title against the San Francisco Warriors having nearly swept the defending NBA champion in the Eastern Conference Finals (4-1).

The 1967-68 season was nearly impressive with the 76ers posting a 62-20 win-loss record and losing to the eventual NBA Champion Boston Celtics in a ferociously fought 7-game Eastern Conference Finals series (4-3).

[StealthSkater note: Wilt had his critics, though. The Celtics' said that he held the ball too much unlike Russell who was adept at the quick outlet pass to trigger the fast break. Wilt was always a low post center unlike Russell who positioned himself at the foul line. and that because of Wilt clogging up the lane, they couldn't drive to the basket as much. West thought Wilt's 76ers team with great outside shooters like complimented him better.]

His sacrifice of his personal scoring numbers throughout the rest of his career paid off even more dividends as he led the Los Angeles Lakers (whom he was traded to before the 1968-69 season) to 4 NBA Finals in the 5 seasons he was with them including a title (beating the Knicks 4-1 in the Finals) during the incredible 1971-72 season in which they broke the single-season win-loss record of his former Philadelphia team (going 69-13).

Despite Wilt only averaging 14.8 ppg, 19.2 rpg, and 4.0 apg while shooting 64.9 percent from the field that season, his team’s dominance was one of the greatest we’ve ever seen from a team in the 8 NBA. They averaged 121 ppg as a team while only allowing their opponents 108.7 ppg. That is a margin of victory of 12.3 ppg (the greatest in NBA history).

That 1971-72 Lakers squad led by Wilt also posted the longest winning streak in NBA history that year winning 33 games in a row between November 5, 1971 and January 7, 1972 which is 11 full games ahead of the second longest streak by the 2007-08 who won 22 in a row between January 29, 2008 and March 18, 2008.

As Bill Russell tells it when describing how much of a team player Wilt had become: "Wilt is playing better than I used to passing off, coming out to set up screens, picking up guys outside, and sacrificing himself for team play." – Bill Russell, Great Moments in Pro Basketball, (by Sam Goldaper) p. 24.

Myth Five: Wilt Didn’t Play Defense

Another myth about Wilt’s game that is constantly heard is the idea he didn’t play defense. Again, nothing could be further from the truth. While Bill Russell is universally considered the greatest defensive center of his era, in reality Wilt was at least his equal when it came to defending.

One story that illustrates this poignantly is told about an incident that occurred between rising star center Walter Bellamy of the Packers (now the Washington Wizards). Bellamy was a 6-11 245 lb. behemoth who averaged 31.6 ppg and 19.0 rpg that season (second only to Wilt in scoring).

The first time they played against each other, Bellamy is said to have approached Wilt saying: “Hello, Mr. Chamberlain. I’m Walter Bellamy.” Wilt returned his greeting, shaking his hand and saying: “Hello, Walter. You won’t get a shot off in the first half.”

And Wilt was true to his word, going out and blocking Bellamy’s first 9 shots.

When the second half started, Wilt is said to have told Bellamy: “Okay, Walter, now you can play.”

This sort of playfulness is something Wilt was famous for, being a truly gentle giant in many respects. He was never one to look for a fight and quite often had to avoid them at all costs since he would likely kill any player he ever really got into a fight with.

A rather funny tale about Wilt illustrates this as well:

In a game against the Seattle Supersonics, one of the Sonics players, a former teammate of Wilt’s named , was in the lane trying to score. He first committed 4 ball fakes and then attempted a shot. Chamberlain blocked it easily. When Meschery got it back in the lane, he tried more ball fakes, and attempted another shot which Wilt again blocked.

Meschery, angry and frustrated, ran at Chamberlain swinging. In a hilarious scene straight out of a comedy film, Wilt placed his hand on the 6'6" forward’s head and let him swing. After a few swings, Wilt is said to have then looked down at Meschery and state: “That’s enough.” Meschery, of course, stopped.

Myth Six: Wilt Was Tall, But He Wasn’t Superman Like

9 Wilt’s leaping ability was incomparable. His “Sergeant” or 48" vertical leap was higher than Michael Jordan’s. Chamberlain had won the Big 7 High Jump championship in his junior year of college.

There are great leapers today even among centers including the self-proclaimed “Superman” Dwight Howard. However, while Dwight is a great leaper, his ability doesn’t equal The Big Dipper's.

Many tales have been told over the years of players leaping up and touching the top of the backboard including tales of feats involving players grabbing money from atop the board.

However, as Chamberlain himself once said about all these claims: "I defy anyone to say they took change off the top of the backboard while standing still. I could. Someone would put a quarter up and I'd snatch it down. I've heard stories about Jackie Jackson doing it. But I've never seen anyone (but myself) come close."

Of note is the fact that there have been only three 7-footers in NBA history who have led the League in rebounding. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it one time in his career. also did it once (although Hakeem Olajuwon missed qualifying for the title by 5 boards and claims himself he’s only 6'11"). Wilt? He did it an astounding 11 times!

In Summary

I could go on and on recounting the feats of 'The Big Dipper'. But this article is already longer than I had originally intended it to be.

However, I do believe posting some of his many accomplishments to end this piece would be in order. I believe they fully reveal what an amazing player he was and illustrate why I believe he was the greatest player the NBA has ever seen or ever will see.

Over the course of his career, Wilt Chamberlain averaged 30.1 ppg, 22.9 rpg, 4.4 apg while shooting 54 percent. He almost certainly would have eclipsed by a mile the blocks-per-game average of today’s great centers if such statistics had been kept back then as there are many historians who have stated he averaged double-digit blocks over the course of some seasons.

Chamberlain ended his career with a total of 31,419 total points which at the time was an NBA record. (Those who have scored more played many more years than Wilt.) He also ended his career with 23,924 total rebounds which is still an NBA record. His 4,643 career assists are the most for an NBA center and many of his scoring records will simply never be touched.

Probably his greatest scoring feat (far more impressive even than his 100-point game against the Knicks) is the fact that he scored more than 60 points 32 times. That is more times than every other player who’s scored 60+ points in NBA history combined.

Wilt was a 2-time NBA Champion winning titles with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1967 and the Los Angeles Lakers in 1972 and led his teams to the NBA Finals 6 times. In 5 other campaigns, he reached the Division (now known as the Conference) or Conference Finals losing each time to the eventual NBA Champion Boston 4 times and Milwaukee once.

In 7 of the 11 Division (Conference) or NBA Finals appearances, his teams took the series to seven games 7 times and another two to 6 games. His teams were never swept out of those Division (Conference) or NBA Finals. 10

And while some may see his only having two titles over his 14-year career as a shortcoming of Wilt's, I can only say they need to remember that basketball like any of the 4 major professional sports, is a team game and no one player can win titles by himself (although Wilt came close).

The many teams he played on that failed to win the title were hardly comprised of Hall-of-Famers as the teams they lost to like the Boston Celtics and the 1970-71 were (Milwaukee had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then known as Lew Alcindor, as well as Oscar Robertson, John McGlocklin, Greg Smith, , and ).

Wilt was a 4-time NBA Regular Season MVP Award Winner (1960, ’66, ’67, and ’68) including winning this illustrious award in his rookie season of 1959-60 in which he also won Rookie of the Year. Only Wes Unseld has ever done the same winning both the Rookie of the Year and MVP honors for the 1968-69 season.

Wilt was a 2-time First-Team All-Defensive Player in his career making the team in 1972 and 1973.

His one NBA Finals MVP Award was won in his 13th season as he led what is still considered by many to be the greatest team in NBA history (the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers) to their title of that year averaging nearly 20 ppg and over 20 rpg in the Finals.

Although his Game 3 performance in that NBA Finals was impressive scoring 26 points and grabbing 20 boards, his most impressive performance during that 1971-72 NBA Finals came in Game Five which no one thought he would even play in.

Chamberlain had broken his hand late in Game 4 (although it was called a ‘sprain’ by the team) and it needed to be wrapped heavily for him to even take the court.

Take the court he did and then proceeded to show exactly why he was considered such a force among his peers scoring 24 points and grabbing 29 rebounds as the Lakers demolished the Knicks 114- 100.

Also to be remembered from that years’ playoffs was the matchup Wilt’s Lakers had with the reigning NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the Western Division Finals. The matchup had been hailed by Life magazine as the greatest matchup in all of sports.

Chamberlain is remembered most in that series for his performance in the decisive Game 6 which the Lakers won 106-100. Trailing by 10 points late in the fourth quarter, Wilt led them back to the victory scoring 24 points and grabbing 22 rebounds. He played the entire 48 minutes of the game (not taking a single rest) and ran the 11-year younger Abdul-Jabbar into the ground beating him on several Lakers fast breaks late in the game.

Jerry West said it was “the greatest ball-busting performance I have ever seen.” Time magazine said of it: “In the NBA’s Western Division Title series with Milwaukee, he [Chamberlain] decisively outplayed Basketball’s newest giant superstar…”

Throughout his 14-year career, Wilt was voted to the NBA All-Star Game 13 times winning the All- Star Game MVP in 1960 (his rookie season) after scoring 23 points and grabbing 25 rebounds. That, however, wasn’t even his most impressive All-Star Game performance.

11 In his third year in the league (1961-62) -- one in which he averaged an amazing 50.4 ppg for the season and in which he had his 100-point game -- he came into the All-Star Game and scored an incredible 42 points on 17-of-23 shooting while snatching 24 rebounds.

Other Notable Accomplishments

And finally, I’m just going to list some of the other amazing accomplishments Wilt had without elaborating on them. I think they speak for themselves.

Only player in NBA history to score more than 4,000 (4,029) points in a season (50.4 ppg in the 1961-62 season) while also averaging 25.7 rpg that year (2,052 total rebounds)

Only player in NBA history to score more than 3,000 points twice in a season (3,033 in 1960-61 season for a 38.4 ppg average and the aforementioned 4,029 points in 1961-62 season). And the only player in NBA history to grab more than 2,000 rebounds in a season (2,149 in 1960-61 season for an average of 27.2 rpg, and 2,052 in 1961-62 as stated above)

Only player in NBA history to average more than 48 minutes per game over a season (48.5 minutes per game in the 1961-62 season).

Led the League in scoring 7 years in a row. He was the League’s top rebounder in 11 of his 14 seasons.

Most 60-point games (32). Most 50-point games (118). Most consecutive games with at least 40 points (14). Most consecutive games with at least 30 points (65). Most consecutive games with at least 20 points (126). Highest rookie scoring average (37.6 ppg). Highest field-goal percentage in season (.727).

Averaged over 27 rpg his first 2 seasons and more than 25 rpg his first three. Also averaged over 24 rpg 6 times; more than 22 rpg 9 times; and more than 21 rpg 10 times.

Scored 1,708 points and averaged 32.8 ppg over 52 playoff games in his first 6 playoff appearances. Grabbed 1,372 rebounds and averaged 26.4 rpg over those same 52 games in first 6 playoff appearances.

First 6 Playoff Appearances:

First appearance (9 games in 1959-60 season as rookie) averaged 33.2 ppg and 25.8 rpg in playoffs.

Second appearance (3 games in 1960-61 season) averaged 37 ppg and 23 rpg in playoffs.

Third appearance (12 games in 1961-62 season) averaged 35 ppg and 26.6 rpg in playoffs.

Fourth appearance (12 games in 1963-64 season) averaged 34.7 ppg and 25.2 rpg in playoffs.

Fifth appearance (11 games in 1964-65 season) averaged 29.3 ppg and 27.2 rpg in playoffs.

Sixth appearance (5 games in 1965-66 season) averaged 28.0 ppg.

12 [StealthSkater note: When Wilt graduated from college, his first year as a professional basketball player was not in the NBA but rather with the . Else his career stats would surely have been much higher. Plus he only played 15 years. More on Wilt's years with the Los Angeles Lakers is at => doc pdf ]

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2017/02/04/basketball/nba/barnett-recalls-legends-russell-wilt- barry/

...... Decades before he became an authoritative voice on 21st century powerhouse teams, had a close-up view of all-time legends Bill Russell (his first coach) and Wilt Chamberlain.

As a rookie, he developed a great appreciation for what Russell meant to the Celtics and the NBA. He cited Russell’s 11 titles in 13 years and the fact that Russell’s Celtics never lost a Game 7 in a NBA final.

“You can’t get a more fierce and better competitor than Bill Russell night in and night out,” said Barnett who entered the NBA when there were 10 teams. He witnessed the on-court clashes of Russell and Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers an estimated 18-20 times that rookie year.

Barnett described what he saw as Russell “going against the most fierce, dominating, strongest versatile big man in Wilt Chamberlain in the history of the League including Shaquille O’Neal or anybody else you may want to name. He’s the most dominating player in the history of the League including Michael Jordan. And I’m not saying he’s better than Michael Jordan. Just the most DOMINATING. Michael Jordan at his size is probably the most incredible, fierce competitor I’ve ever seen and maybe the best all-around basketball player for his size.”

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