Wilt Chamberlain would have been a trending subject all the time if he had played in the Twitter era. Pedro Gomez would have stayed at his locker every day if ESPN had been around when he was a reporter for the four-letter network, as he did when he was following Barry Bonds. (Wilt would have spoken with him; that is the only difference.)
However, Chamberlain’s fame has partially faded because he was around long before 24-hour news cycles, 140-character wisdom, first-time callers/long-time listeners, and—fortunately for him—Skip Bayless. For crying out loud, there isn’t even a video of his March 1962 100-point performance—all that exists is some shaky audio of the late Bill Campbell calling the plays.
Of course, other videos still exist, but word-of-mouth has spread most of what we know about Wilt’s prowess.
The kids like to say, “OMG.”
Now pay attention, you whippersnappers (and get off my lawn): this man may be the all-time best basketball player in addition to being the Ultimate Philly Athlete.
You say, blasphemy. Everyone is aware that Shaquille O’Neal—rather than Wilt—is the greatest big man of all time, and that Michael Jordan retired that trophy a long time ago.
I’m not claiming that one of those statements is untrue, so put your hands away from the keyboard and back away gradually. Simply put, neither is a clear-cut case. that the information must be heard, and it must come from some of Wilt’s peers.
Do you know what Jordan’s average was throughout his career? 30.12.
Are you aware of Wilt’s? 30.07.
You know how many records Wilt holds or shares now, 42 years after his career ended, and 16 after his death? Seventy-one, according to NBA.com.
You know how many Jordan holds? fifty-eight.
Naturally, this is where we start talking about ring-counting. Wilt only had two championships, Shaq four, and Jordan six. If that’s a gauge of individual brilliance, then, isn’t Wilt’s longtime rival Bill Russell the most equitable of them all? Ultimately, with the Celtics, he won 11 championships.
Over the course of 14 seasons, Wilt averaged over 31,000 points and over 23,000 rebounds. He started his professional career in 1959 with the Philadelphia Warriors and later played for the Sixers for three and a half seasons. He still has five of the top six scoring seasons ever, with his absurd 50.4 average in 1961–1962 being the highest. He still owns six of the top seven seasons in history for rebounds. He played 48.5 minutes a game on average one year. (For those who aren’t hoops fans, a typical NBA game lasts 48 minutes.) He had the most assists in the league one more year. Additionally, he recorded 55 board grabs in a single game, defeating none other than Mr. Russell.
Fred Carter used to refer to him as “the Colossus of Rhodes.”
When I interviewed Carter for a book I co-wrote, 100 Things 76ers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die (published by Triumph in November), he stated, “There’s only one Big Fellah.” “Everyone else was simply tall. When I hear guys claim that Shaq is the most dominant player in history, I respond, “Father, pardon them; they have no idea what they’re talking about.”
Carter is hardly an unbiased source on this subject because he is a Philadelphia native and his eight-year career (1970–1977) partially coincided with Chamberlain’s. After spending more than five seasons as a player for the Sixers (he was most known for being the MVP of the legendary 9-73 squad in 1972–73), Carter became the team’s head coach for just over a year (1992–94).
