Regarding Wilt Chamberlain, different people hold wildly divergent views.
Although there were whispers that Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain didn’t get along, they were incredibly close friends off the court. In actuality, Wilt would pick Bill up, drive him to his mother’s house, and take on the role of host when the Celtics came to Philadelphia. Interestingly, Wilt’s mother noticed that Bill might not be able to eat so well because the Celtics were winning too much!
Bill Walton commended Wilt in an interview for his extraordinary friendliness and kindness. Walton claimed Wilt was like Magic Johnson in that he never spoke poorly of anyone. Walton did say that he would go out and get 70 points on a new player after Wilt had hailed his potential, presumably to prove that he was still “the Man.”
We don’t hear much of Wilt’s kindness and friendliness for whatever reason. Why not? As Wilt himself noted, though:
“No one cheers for Goliath.”
Rumors circulated that Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West didn’t get along, but West refuted them in an interview and highlighted Wilt’s friendliness:
Bill Walton commended Wilt in an interview for his extraordinary friendliness and kindness. Walton claimed Wilt was like Magic Johnson in that he never spoke poorly of anyone. Walton did say that he would go out and get 70 points on a new player after Wilt had hailed his potential, presumably to prove that he was still “the Man.”
We don’t hear much of Wilt’s kindness and friendliness for whatever reason. Why not? As Wilt himself noted, though:
Nobody supports Goliath.
Rumors circulated that Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West didn’t get along, but West refuted them in an interview and highlighted Wilt’s friendliness:
“He was truly exceptional. Contrary to popular belief, I got along just fine with him. He and I would have dinner together before or after a game throughout the last years we were together. I came to know him in a new way. He was misinterpreted greatly. It is unlikely that anyone truly got to know him. He would be quite cordial. It was a pleasure to be with him. I regret not getting to know him sooner. Instead of being teammates, he and I could have been friends.
Wilt was among the first NBA players to develop a strong connection with his primary adversary, according to Jerry West.
“Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell were two of the most stunning things I saw at the time since players didn’t communicate with each other off the court…They used to meet together for dinner a lot. And if you look closely, you’ll see that they didn’t get along because they would speak about how amazing Russell is and say derogatory things about Wilt. However, they were among the first two people to ever do so.
Jerry West held Wilt Chamberlain in the highest regard as a basketball player, teammate, and individual:
“Wilt was unstoppable, no matter how many players you put on him.” — West Jerry
In conclusion, Wilt was seen as nice and amiable by those who took the time to get to know him. However, he was misinterpreted a lot. Wilt has been called “selfish” for his high scoring totals, but we must keep in mind that over the course of 13 years, he led the NBA in field goal percentage nine times. Compared to his teammates and the rest of the league, Wilt made a greater percentage of his shots. Who would you want to shoot the ball if you were the coach? Wilt was also the best rebounder in the NBA, which meant that if he missed a shot, he had a higher chance of scoring than everyone else. It actually made total sense for Wilt to take as many shots as he could.
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