Wilt Chamberlain:

[bajaden]

I'm a day late with this, but better late than never. Yesterday, the 21st of august would have been Wilts 77th birthday, and I thought he deserved a mention. Several people have mentioned who they thought the greatest NBA player of all time was. And in my opinion, Wilt Chamberlain has to be in that small group of players. He's one of the greatest players that I personally ever saw play the game, and despite his team losing most of the head to head matches with the Celtics and Bill Russell, I think Russell, if asked would admit that Wilt was the better player of the two. The Celtics simply had the better team.

Lest some imply that Wilt was a great player in his day, but wouldn't be that great today because the players of today are superior athlete's, lets take a look at Wilts accomplishments. At Kansas as a member of the track and field team, Wilt, as a 7'1", 250 pounder, ran the 100 yard dash in 10.9 seconds. He threw the shot put 56 feet, and would later beat olympic legend Al Oerter. He triple jumped over 50 feet, and won the the track and field championship in the high jump three years straight. Although they didn't measure a players vertical in those days, it was reported to be over 40 inches. In short, Wilt was a freak of nature. He had a wingspan that is reported to be somewhere between 7'3"and 7'7". You choose.

Despite all his accomplishments, he only has two NBA championships to his credit. My opinion is that its part his fault, and part the fault of playing on less than great teams. He had the reputation early in his career of being a selfish player, and if he were here, he would probably admit to that. No one scores a hundred points in a game without being selfish. But its a feat that will probably never be matched. Will also had 50 rebounds in that game. The list of his records are far too long to list, but here are just some of them.
2 time NBA champion
4 time NBA MVP
13 time NBA All-Star
11 time NBA leading rebounder
9 time NBA leader in Field Goal Percentage
7 time NBA scoring champion
1960 NBA ROY
All time NBA leading rebounder
1968 NBA assists leader
He also holds the record for:
Most 50 points games in a season
Most 40 points games in a season
Most 30 points games in a season
Most 50 rebound games in a season
Most 40 rebound games in a season
Most 30 rebound games in a season
Most 20 rebound games in a season
His career averages are: 30.1 points per game, and 22.9 rebounds per game. Unfortunately they didn't keep track of blocked shots at that time and if they did, it would have been a battle between Wilt and Russell for the all time leader title

He's remembered more for his accomplishments toward the end of his career, which is ironic in a way, because he wasn't the same player. He struggled with sore knees and the grind of the NBA had taken its toll. In the 1972 playoffs, Wilt was again matched up against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had helped the Buck's dispatch the Lakers the year before by out playing Chamberlain. Jabbar was 10 years younger than Wilt, and was a rising superstar. This time around Wilt out played Kareem, and the Lakers advanced to take on the Knick's in the finals.

In game four, a tightly fought battle, Wilt crashed to the floor, and landed on his hand. It was thought at the time that he had sprained his wrist. He continued to play, and in overtime blocked two shots to help lead the Lakers to victory. It turned out that his wrist was broken, so he came out for game five with his wrist heavily padded. He refused a pain killer shot because he felt it would affect his touch with the basketball. The Lakers won game five and closed out the series. Will had 24 points, 29 rebounds, 8 assists, and 8 blocked shots.

After his NBA career, he went on to be in movies and he founded the International Volleyball Association, and one could argue that without his name attached to it, it wouldn't have reached the prominence it has. Wilt made himself into a world class volleyball player, and was actually name MVP one year despite lacking some of the technique of the top players. At age 45, while at a Laker practice, he was challenged to a one on one battle by Magic Johnson. Magic found out that Wilt still had a lot left in the tank as he was badly beaten by the big man.

Wilt had an effect on the rules of the NBA as well. The Lane was widened because of him. The thought being that the wider lane would keep him further from the basket. They also passed a rule that required a player to actually shoot the ball from the free throw line. Why? Because Wilt would simple jump from the freethrow line and dunk the ball. There was no rule prohibiting him from doing so. Big blow to Wilt, because his one big flaw was his poor free throw shooting. He had his best year at the line shooting underhand, but gave it up the next season because he said he felt like a pansy shooting it that way.

Wilt never fouled out of a game in his entire career despite being a terrific shotblocker and defender, and only averaged 2 fouls a game for his career. He was incredibly strong, and actually broke the wrist of a player that was trying to block his shot. He also had terrific endurance and averaged 45.8 minutes per game for his career. It's hard to pick out just one player as the greatest of all time because each player is so different and they play different positions that require different skills. But Wilt would have to be considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest center of all time. Just my opinion.....

 

[Larry David]

20,000 women

 

[macadocious]

in a row?

 

[bajaden]

20,000 women

While an incredible feat, its unsubstantiated so I decided to omit it from his other achievements.

 

[miltonap]

You saw him live? Did he just bulldoze and overpower people or do you think he had legit skill ?

 

[PurpleHaze]

You saw him live? Did he just bulldoze and overpower people or do you think he had legit skill ?

I actually saw Wilt play as well but late in his career when he totally changed his style to mesh with West, Goodrich, etc. in getting an NBA title in L.A. It was 1972 and Wilt was no longer just supreme post player dominating inside. He could still do it but pro game was changing and his once totally dominant skill on the decline as he was mid 30's by time on Lakers. They used him both in high-low post, setting screens, dishing for assists all of which he had done in somewhat limited fashion before but now it was necessity to win the title. Wilt had reputation as overpowering offensive machine but in 1972 it was just as much about his dominate defense with any scoring he provided merely secondary.

 

[63royals]

You saw him live? Did he just bulldoze and overpower people or do you think he had legit skill ?

I never saw him live, but many times on TV. There were many players he would just bulldoze because he was so much bigger than them, but he clearly had skills. He had a flip shot and a few other little tricks. He wasn't quick but he was so big you couldn't do anything about it -- Yao Ming was like that at times when he was healthy. Normally didn't shoot well from the outside, but the night he scored 100 he was making EVERYTHING. Couldn't make a fee throw to save his life.

 

[bajaden]

I never saw him live, but many times on TV. There were many players he would just bulldoze because he was so much bigger than them, but he clearly had skills. He had a flip shot and a few other little tricks. He wasn't quick but he was so big you couldn't do anything about it -- Yao Ming was like that at times when he was healthy. Normally didn't shoot well from the outside, but the night he scored 100 he was making EVERYTHING. Couldn't make a fee throw to save his life.

Well, having seen Wilt play many times along with my favorite player, yes, Bob Pettit, I can tell you that Wilt was quick. He was a freak athlete. No one can accomplish the things he did in basketball, and track and volleyball and not be a great athlete. People always want to think that today's athletes are superior to those in the past. overall, I might agree, but when it comes down to individuals, not so. I really didn't want this to turn into a "whose the best of all time" deal, but it is a fun discussion that no one can win.

Wilt was very talented and he was known for his fall away jumpshot which would remind some of Olajuwon. But yes, he could and would overpower other players at times. He was stronger, faster, and could jump higher than most players he came up against. Defensively the only player that gave him trouble, especially early in his career was Bill Russell. But Wilt also played against other great centers of the time like Nate Thurmond, Bob Lanier and Willis Reed, and of course later in his career Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Also early in his career his personality would remind most here of our own Cousins. As a result, Wilt was traded several times despite his immense talent.

Late in his career, when he had sore knees and was in his mid thirties he was asked to for go his offense in favor of defending and rebounding. Which he did. But he still averaged over 20 points a game without even trying. He outplayed Jabbar, in what was considered a classic battle at the time. The old guard against the new. At age 50, the Denver Nuggets offered Wilt a contract to come back and play center for them. Wilt, who was still in great shape at the time, thanked them, and said no.

As far at the greatest player of all time, if I had to choose. My choice would be the great Oscar Robertson. I've never seen a player that could do all the things Robertson could do at such a high level. At the time he played, there was the rest of the league, and then there was Oscar. Sorry Wilt!

 

[Kingster]

They don't make that kind of DNA anymore. No Wilt, no Kareem, no Walton, no Hakeem, no Lanier. That DNA factory shut down years ago.

 

[Tetsujin]

They don't make that kind of DNA anymore. No Wilt, no Kareem, no Walton, no Hakeem, no Lanier. That DNA factory shut down years ago.

Which is surprising, considering how much of a DNA factory Wilt purportedly was.

 

[bajaden]

They don't make that kind of DNA anymore. No Wilt, no Kareem, no Walton, no Hakeem, no Lanier. That DNA factory shut down years ago.

I might suggest that LeBron comes from that DNA factory. Of course he's not a center, but he's certainly quite a few steps up the ladder above everyone else.