Interviewed by Bob Costas in 1997, Wilt Chamberlain states that he would have ruled the 1990s.
Wilt Chamberlain, the Hall of Famer, has a reputation for first exaggerating his relationships, having previously stated he had slept with almost 20,000 women before later retracting those claims.
It comes as no surprise that when asked how he would have performed if he had played in the 1990s, he did not back down in a 1997 interview with NBC’s Bob Costas.
Naturally, Chamberlain went overboard.
“With the new rules, which are all slanted to help the offense, now when I get the ball, instead of having two or three people and [Bill Russell] all on me at the same time, I’m by myself with one guy,” remarked Chamberlain. “I would adore it. It would be so wonderful. 50, 60, or even 70 points in each game.”
Chamberlain serves as evidence that gamers from the 1960s and 1970s are no less critical of the game now than those from the 1980s and 1990s. The older generation appears to always believe that the old school was superior than the new one. Just have fun with any dispute involving LeBron James and Michael Jordan.
Playing in the NBA from 1958 to 1973, Chamberlain was arguably the most dominant player in history. It would have been intriguing to observe how he fared in that age against players like David Robinson, Shaquille O’Neal, Patrick Ewing, and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Chamberlain said, “It’s easier now,” at the time. “I was too strong and too quick. I am not going to be defeated by one guy in that specific manner. The 1950s and 1960s produced some of the greatest basketball players I’ve ever seen.”
