Wilt outperformed all other basketball players in practically every athletic category. He was acknowledged to be the strongest, far stronger than Shaq. He was one of the fastest ever. He played every minute of every game in a season—does this even sound plausible? He was an excellent speedster, outperforming Jimmy Brown, the best running back in NFL history. He was one of the top high jumpers and shot putters. And so on. His sole saving grace was that he was so much better. His statistics versus actual players like Russell appear to be like big fish stories that are too incredible to be true— Russell said they were even to him, but unless he was on the court with him, he wouldn’t believe how amazing he was very special.
How good was Wilt Chamberlain actually? Wilt was so skilled that he once won a game without shooting the ball at all. Wilt made a decision in 1967 to establish his case. In a 76ers game against the Warriors, he did not shoot the ball once. Keep in mind that he is a player who once averaged 50 points per game over a full season. Then the next year, he averaged 44 points each game. He could score at will.
So, why didn’t he shoot the game? Because of this, he was accused of scoring TOO much. And putting up meaningless score stats without involving his teammates. Remember the 1961-62 season, when he averaged 50 PPG? He also averaged only 2.4 assists per game that season.
So, during the 1967-68 season, Wilt decided to PROVE that he could do whatever he wanted on the basketball court. In the game against the Warriors, he had 18 rebounds and 13 assists. On 0 points, with a 0-0 FG. However, he did make one free throw. So he finished with exactly one point (I guess technically he did “shoot” the ball that game). And assisted the Sixers to a 7-point victory over the Warriors. (SIDE NOTE: He did have a game in 1973 where he shot 0-0 FG and 0-0 FT, finishing with 0 points. But Wilt did that toward the end of his career, and the Lakers lost that game by one.)
Remember how he tried to show a point in the 1967-68 season by passing more? He ended up leading the league in total assists that season. And he averaged 8.6 APG, which is far from the 2 or 3 APG he averaged during his high scoring years.
