I think you don't know who Wilt Chamberlain is, and how he absolutely has a GOAT case. Lemme shut all you haters and casuals up.
Wilt Chamberlain, as a matter of fact, did win twice. He won in '67, against the Celtics, and in '72, against the Knicks, and he was the best player on both teams. This is evidenced by the fact that he did win FMVP in '72 and would've won that in '67 w/ the Sixers with 28.5 rebounds, 17.7 points and 6.8 assists. And before you say, "But people scored more than him! This proves he's a fraud!" Wilt averaged 56% from the field and the other 4 averaged a combined 43%. They weren't efficient, they were the product of chucking.
And about other legends- oh ho, don't get me STARTED.
Jordan needed all the Lakers and Celtics and Pistons teams of the '80s to get old to win, in addition to the greatest coach ever and a number 1 masquerading as a number 2 to win. None of his finals wins were against the elite competition of the 80s. The 90s Lakers didn't have Worthy or Scott due to injury, and they were older, and even then, were COOKIN Jordan's Bulls until Pippen got there. The Blazers and Suns weren't bad teams, but not up to the level of the aforementioned 80's dynasties. After Jordan came back- the team had 55 wins w/out him, btw, and could've absolutely won some w/out him- they beat the Sonics-who didn't have a SINGLE 20 ppg scorer- and the no-depth Jazz, and Rodman and Pippen shut everyone down for Jordan.
LeBron had to go to MIAMI, pair with Wade, a consensus top 3 SG and someone who won BEFORE HIM, and Bosh to scrape a title, not to mention the coaching mastermind that is Spolestra. He came back to Cleveland with Kyrie and Kevin Love to win a title. The 2018 run was impressive, yes, but he ran through a pretty weak East as well, and got gobsmacked by the Warriors- although tbf, who wouldn't. He went to the Lakers, with a PRIME, TOP-5 AD and elite depth, and won a title there.
Kareem only got it done ONCE with the Bucks, with Dandridge and Robertson, and went to the Lakers- and oh, yes, he absolutely had help- Dantley, Wilkes, Goodrich, Nixon, etc. If he was a "superstar" why didn't he win before Magic on the Lakers?
Kobe had Shaq and Pau Gasol, with the greatest coach EVER when he could get it done. Without them? Nothing. Hakeem had Clyde, Vernon Maxwell, Horry, Kenny Smith, Thorpe, Ellie, and Cassell, and never got it done with Jordan. Duncan had a 7 year gap between his titles, despite elite help and playing in an elite basketball system.
So, yes, his claim is blasphemous.
Again, Wilt won in ‘72 as well. He has 2 rings, not 1.
Bill Russell got the job done because he had Heinsohn, Sanders, Hondo, Cousy, all those guys. Jordan, LeBron, Kareem, all of them never had to face a team of that caliber relative to era. Even those Warriors teams didn’t have as much top-end talent. And before you say, “oh but some dudes only averaged 6 ppg” remember, it was just like the Spurs, where it was about team basketball. Russell couldn’t beat Chamberlain individually, but the team was vastly better than Chamberlain’s teammates.
Remember, basketball is a TEAM sport, genius.
I was only refuting you, but you want stats? Here ya go casual:
Wilt Chamberlain averaged 25.7 points, 28.0 rebounds, and 4.1 assists on 50% in 49 games versus Bill Russell in the playoffs in his career. Still very good stats.
Bill Russell averaged 14.9 points, 24.7 rebounds, and 4.9 assists on 41% in 49 games versus Wilt Chamberlain in the playoffs in his career. Clearly, Russell was inferior, and the assists were only a product of how good teammates he had to pick up the slack.
About Billy Cunningham? Agreed, he was a Philly legend later on, but he averaged 51 TS% that year. So much for your “efficiency” argument. He was a good player, def starter level, but not a superstar just yet.
Wilt averaged 24, 24, and 8 on 68% FROM THE FIELD. He led the team in all categories that year. BILLY CUNNINGHAM, YOUR GOAT, TOOK MORE SHOTS AND ENDED UP WITH LESS POINTS. Wilt elevated that team to championship status, don’t get it twisted. 34-48 before him, 60 wins after.
A winner isn’t simply decided by rings doofus. Its about your impact on a team. Like legit, Wilt lost to the Celtics once because Hal Greer screwed up. He lost another time b/c the coach was so damn STUPID, keeping him off the bench.
About that impact:
Wilt carried a Warriors team to 48 wins. When he got traded? 17 wins. 31 win difference.
The Sixers went 34-48 without Wilt. Wilt’s first year? The NBA RECORD at the time, 68-14, and the championship. Next year? 62-20. That is a 34 win difference.
Rings do matter, but not 20%, as you claim. Its at MOST 5%. You can track winning impact in different ways.
I’ve already shown, he absolutely did get it done multiple times. It’s like you don’t have any expertise on the subject and you just try and ragebait without anything.
Its not his fault the team sucks in game 7s. Again, he had MULTIPLE GAME 7s vs the Celtics with a roster starting 35% Guy Rodgers. He averaged 25, 28, and 5 on 63% FROM THE FIELD IN GAME 7S. AGAIN, HONDO STOLE THE BALL, THE LAKERS BENCHING HIM, all those. Not his fault. Again, basketball is a TEAM SPORT, idiot. “Get it done Wilt.” Yeah, that just proves you don’t know the sport of basketball. It's not that simple. No one had to face the amount of HOFers Wilt had to take on with as bad of a roster as he had. Again, he WON when he had the chance to be on a team that had a REMOTE shot at triumphing them.
Every time, the Celtics were collapsing on Wilt every time he got the ball down low. Russ could rarely stop Wilt alone. In the 1961-62 Game 7 vs the Celtics, the team shot 17-55 outside of Meschery, which is a stinking 31%! They stunk. Check out Wilts games where he gets blamed for losing an elimination game.. Could Wilt have done more? Certainly. Could his mates just have been average? Certainly not!
Again: Jordan won when all the legendary 80s teams were old and got the greatest coach and another number 1 option. LeBron only won with the Heat w/ Wade, Bosh, and ELITE ROLE PLAYERS, the Cavs with Kyrie and Love, and the Lakers with AD and GENERATIONAL depth. Kareem only won with Oscar, Dandridge, Magic, all those guys. Duncan won with Robinson, Parker, Ginobilli, Kawhi, Bowen, all those guys, plus the greatest coach ever.
So like, you can’t just dismiss Wilt because he “didn’t get it done” when he faced more oppression than the other “GOATs” ever did.
Also, your argument that Wilt only chased stats? Okay buddy, this just SHOWS how little you know about the sport’s history. Just forget it.
When Wilt had to carry the trash Warriors squads? Averaged 50 and grabbed every rebound possible, on good efficiency. When Wilt actually had teammates that could score to save their life? Led the league in assists, still scored, but EXTREMELY efficiently, and still rebounded with the best of them. When Wilt was asked to be a system player? Okay. Still averaged 18, 19, and 5 on 60%. Not to mention, his last year, he put up 72% FG- a whopping 69% TS! For reference, Rudy Gobert, in his entire career, had a 67% TS!
Would MJ be willing to give up his scoring titles for his teammates? HELL NO! Wilt led the league in assists and was willing to defer. He wasn’t selfish at ALL.
So your statistics that you wanna use against Wilt? Okay. Dude would still average 38, on higher efficiency, while also grabbing a million more boards than Jordan, and having to cover for EVERYONE on defense in the interior. That would STILL WIN THE SCORING TITLE BY MILES!!! Remember, bigs matter a TON more than guards when it comes to defense. He also would’ve done EXPONENTIALLY more than Jordan if steals/blocks were ACTUALLY recorded. Wilt, in 112 games, blocked 986 shots. That was 8.8 bpg, plus a handful of steals and a TON more recorded. Plus, he had 8 more minutes. Jordan WOULDN’T have had the stamina to do that NIGHT in and NIGHT OUT. Not to mention, Wilt got those Warriors to basically 50 wins- remember, it was an 80 game season. Jordan? 40 and 42. And don't use ppg either, efficiency was the same. At least Jordan had Oakley. Wilt? Washed up Paul Arizin, who went 4/18 in Game 7 vs the Celtics in his final NBA game? (41.0% for the year) Also, you have to account for fatigue too. The higher pace doesn’t mean success on those, especially given that Wilt played 8 more minutes. You can’t just give Wilt the same amount of possessions as Jordan and expect everything to be happy-go-lucky, fool. Also, there’s a chance, with those possessions, Wilt would’ve been even MORE efficient with the extra rest he might’ve got. He HAD to play those minutes for those Warriors teams to carry them.
54% is BAD??? For a CENTER???? In the early 1960s (specifically the 1959-60 season), the average NBA center shot roughly 41.9% from the field. More points doesn’t equal better efficiency and chucking, son. Wilt also led the league in FG% 9 times. He was VERY efficient for his era. Not to mention, Wilt averaged 73%, 68%, etc. For context, Jokic’s career average is 56%. Great, yes, but he averaged 22 ppg, while Wilt? 30. Wilt Chamberlain became the first player in NBA history to shoot over 54% from the field, by shooting 68%. Wilt was the first player in NBA history to shoot 50% from the field, 60% from the field, and 70% from the field (all in different seasons). At the time, no one had a TS% over .600 and Wilt shot .637. Stop it if you wanna say Wilt was a chucker. Also, if you just had to be tall and strong, which is the standard you are holding him to, why is Swede Halbrook, a 7'5 center from the time, not mentioned in the GOAT convo?
And you wanna make the claim that Wilt wasn’t LEGENDARY. Okay…
Game 5 of the 1962 Eastern Division Semifinals against the Syracuse Nationals: 56 points and 35 rebounds. Still the most points in a single playoff game for the Warriors.
1960 Eastern Division Finals (Game 5): 50 points, 35 rebounds.
1964 NBA Division Finals (Game 7): 39 points, 30 rebounds, and 12 blocks (unofficial).
1967 Eastern Division Finals (Game 3): 20 points, 41 rebounds, and 9 assists.
1964 NBA Finals: 29.2 points and 27.6 rebounds per game over the series loss.
Game 2 of the 1967 Division Semifinals: 37 points, 27 rebounds, 11 assists.
He holds the record for the most points in a Finals elimination game with 45.
He is the only player to score 50+ points in a playoff elimination game multiple times (both were wins).
In his playoff career, he averaged 31.1 points and 25.7 rebounds in elimination games.
He is the only player to average a 20/20/600 (points/rebounds/FG%) in Finals elimination games.
Just SHUT UP.
You were talking about other legendary performances? Here.
1967 Eastern Finals (Game 5 vs. Boston): Up 3-1 against your beloved Bill Russell and his 8-time defending champion Celtics, Wilt didn't just close them out. He killed them with a triple-double: 29 points, 36 rebounds, and 13 assists.
1972 NBA Finals (Game 5 vs. New York): Up 3-1 and playing with a literally fractured right hand that was heavily wrapped, Wilt dropped 24 points, 29 rebounds, and 8 assists (and an unofficial 8 blocks) to win his second ring and Finals MVP.
Again, that should show you that he, in fact, wasn’t soft at ALL.
And again, I repeat:
Game 5 of the 1962 Eastern Division Semifinals against the Syracuse Nationals: 56 points and 35 rebounds. Still the most points in a single playoff game for the Warriors.
1960 Eastern Division Finals (Game 5): 50 points, 35 rebounds.
1964 NBA Division Finals (Game 7): 39 points, 30 rebounds, and 12 blocks (unofficial).
1967 Eastern Division Finals (Game 3): 20 points, 41 rebounds, and 9 assists.
1964 NBA Finals: 29.2 points and 27.6 rebounds per game over the series loss.
Game 2 of the 1967 Division Semifinals: 37 points, 27 rebounds, 11 assists.
He holds the record for the most points in a Finals elimination game with 45.
He is the only player to score 50+ points in a playoff elimination game multiple times (both were wins).
In his playoff career, he averaged 31.1 points and 25.7 rebounds in elimination games.
He is the only player to average a 20/20/600 (points/rebounds/FG%) in Finals elimination games.
So he wasn’t a choker after all, huh?
He did get it done, twice, and by himself. This is shown because he has 2 rings, one of them with an official FMVP and one he would’ve won if it existed.
Wilt shocked the world by beating those Celtics in 5 DAMN GAMES. He was an underdog. I’ve already shown you how good those performances were.
“Magic requesting a trade set the path up for Pat Riley to be hired. THEY'RE NOT WINNING THOSE RINGS WITHOUT PAT!” Except they did? In 1980? Doba.
Did Wilt have selfishness when he had to lead trash teams to the finals? Even if he did, it was damn sure successful.
You don’t get anywhere without hard work, plain and simple. The herculean effort Wilt put in to make sure he got there is sufficient enough.
Bro, you want to use OFF-COURT STUFF to dictate who is the GOAT. On the court is what matters, na?
So, at the end of the day, idiot, you don’t know basketball, and you aren’t qualified to talk about the glorious, rich nature of the sport.
Do NOT call me an idiot, a casual, etc. You don’t even know who the player is, lmao. He abso-freaking-lutely has a GOAT case.
Don’t trust his basketball opinion ever again.
Your man himself,
WiltTheFreakingGOAT.
🫳🏻🎤