The question of who the greatest NBA player of all time is has come up, with The Last Dance at the epicenter of the sports world. Wilt Chamberlain is absent from it.
Due to the widespread recognition of players like Michael Jordan and LeBron James, the NBA’s discussion about who the “greatest of all time” is prone to recency bias. But it usually leaves out historical icons like Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Wilt is not only the most accomplished of the three, but he has also been underappreciated throughout history despite having an absurdly successful career.
Chamberlain was a code for cheating. At seven feet one inch, he had the power of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the athleticism of Zion Williamson, and the incredible ability to leap. In addition, Wilt scored 100 points in a game and led the league in assists in 1967–68.
The beginning of Wilt The Stilt apparently began his professional career under the name George Marcus. Under a false identity, Wilt signed with the Pittsburgh Raiders, a professional team, when he was sixteen years old. Take it for what it’s worth, but research on Reddit suggests that Chamberlain/Marcus dominated and scored more than 40 points in a game. He joined the Quakertown Fay at the age of 17, and among other incredible numbers, he averaged 40.5 points in 8 games.
The large man then signed on to play collegiate ball with the University of Kansas Jayhawks. Chamberlain got 29 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 42 points in his debut game. He averaged 30 points and 18 rebounds a game during the remaining two of his seasons there. The star spent a year with the Harlem Globetrotters after his final season at Kansas.
Hopefully, Wilt Chamberlain, the greatest mythological creature in basketball, has now piqued your interest. He played for the Globetrotters for a year before beginning his NBA career. The rookie big played all 48 minutes, pulled down 28 rebounds, and scored 43 points in his debut. For the big man, who holds 72 NBA records mostly for his incredible ability to score, rebound, and never require a break, that game would set the tone for an amazing career.
In his third season in the league, Wilt had maybe his best season. Wilt averaged 50 points and 26 rebounds per game in those days before steals and blocks were tallied. With a PER of 32, he had an absurd 17 offensive victory shares. Regretfully, Chamberlain’s lackluster supporting cast and matchup with Bill Russell’s storied Boston Celtics club prevented him from winning the NBA title that year.
