So often in the GOAT conversations or even the stats he put up the man is forgotten, reasons are found to negate what he did - 90% is the era and everything that comes with it - or just downplayed / explained as if it was pure an athletic advantage. Can someone explain to me why this is the case, because looking at the amazing body of work, the stats he put up and how crazy of an athlete he was - something praised when speaking of Dream, Lebron, Kobe, MJ - you’d think he should and would be considered top 5 / 3 or the GOAT. Would love to get some perspective on this
Level of competition and the fact that he consistently lost to the one other guy that was near his level physically. He's still usually mentioned in the top 5 all time, he isn't really forgotten.
It's simple. He only has 2 titles. I know it's a team sport yadda yadda but to be the GOAT you have to have it ALL, both individual and team success. That's good enough for him to be top 5 or top 10 at worst but at the very top of the mountain it's just so competitive that you need every single credential to be able to stand up to Jordan or LeBron or Russell or Kareem. Also, and this is just the personal opinion, I think that mid to late 60s basketball was disgusting because of the insane pace and style of basketball at the time. It was just perfect for accumulating stats. You'd have 5 dudes averaging double digit rebounds on 1 team where as now you barely have 1. That's kinda why I'm not too impressed by Oscar's triple doubles either.
But...he OUTPLAYED Russell in all their matchups. You can't overlook that. if its all about titles, Robert Horry > MJ. Anybody think that's true? If it were the era, why did no one else put up anything close to comparable stats? ?? People discounted and tried to discredit Wilt his whole career, long before any talk of titles, etc came up. He was Goliath....the large bully that you had to discredit. As far as having every single credential, no one else in BB history comes even remotely close to Wilt's stats, except for titles (which is a team stat). For example, let's compare Wilt vs the usual presumed GOAT. Scoring, about equal, although Wilt changed his game late in his career. Rebounding; Wilt, not even close Blocks: Wilt, not even close Assists: Fairly equal, although Wilt did lead the league one year, MJ never did. Steals. Relatively equal. So, just comparing the total player, Wilt >> MJ. Equal in a couple areas, MUCH better in the others. FWIW, Wilt would have CRUSHED MJ one on one. Perhaps literally if MJ talked too much trash. People don't understand how athletic he was. He was just as fast, or faster, than MJ (around a 4.5 40). The same (or some even say higher, repuputely 48" at 7'!") vertical leap. He was a world class 400 and high jump athlete, then on top of that one of the world's strongest athletes. He was a competitive shot putter, and long jumper. The one thing that MJ had, above pretty much any other athlete, was his just uber fierce competitiveness. That plays into things. But, Wilt had to worry about something Michael didn't....if he became too competitive, he might literally kill people on the court. He was also so much better than everyone, he didn't need to be uber competitive all the time. It would have just added to the Goliath image he so despised. Despite that, he still put up statistics that dominate the record books to this day. I do think SOME of the criticism of Wilt for not winning more titles is valid. Perhaps his play style, as well rounded as it was, led to more stats for him, but less team success. (I suspect it was probably more the Kobe factor---Wilt was just so much better than his teammates, they become passive). But, even when you factor that in, Wilt is STILL better than any other player that's ever played the game. He's the GOAT DESPITE not winning more titles. No one else comes close to populating the record books. No one else comes close to having so many rules put in specifically just to stop him. That's the one that finally shut MJ up when they spent the dinner during the 50 greatest NBA players ever presentation arguing about who was the GOAT. As they walked out the door after dinner, Wilt told MJ "Michael, they changed all the rules when you played to make it easier for you. They changed all the rules when I played to make it harder for me." MJ had nothing to say back to that. More than MJ, the one player that I think you could have a valid conversation around who was better than Wilt might be Kareem, who is also strangely absent from the GOAT conversation. But Wilt was a much better defender, shot blocker (who actually blocked Kareem's sky hook, the unblockable shot, many times).
Jordan Brand paying ESPN, Fox Sports hosts to promote Michael Jordan at every chance they get. Wilt Chamberlain could be the Greatest ever. I am curious how Hakeem Olajuwon would've played against Wilt. Wilt Chamberlain and Hakeem Olajuwon are the Fastest Centers ever. Wilt takes 5 huge steps and gets full court.
Wilt has 3 Championships, 1 with Golden State with Rick Barry, 2 with Jerry West. Bill Russell 11 Championships in 13 Seasons Dolph Schayes Hawks outplayed Bill Russell. To Win a Championship against Bill. Literally the only Player that outplayed Bill Russell. Dolph Schayes played tough and gritty similar to Ron Artest, Chuck Hayes types.
He's not overlooked and him along with Russell are truly great all time top ten players. But the short version is although he a deserving all time great, he was overrated for years due to pace, competition level, rules of the era, weaknesses in his game and not being as mentally strong as Russell. When I was a casual fan I used to be super impressed with Wilt's stats, but when you put him under a microscope, although great, he's not as impressive as other GOAT candiates. Russell was also much more impactful with his dominant defense than Wilt with his offense, and yes Russell was better.
Is this true? Interesting if it is. Bill Russell is probably the most woke hundred year old in the world.
He played selfishly and lost in many of the big games that counted. He's still one of the GOATs, but not the GOAT.
Yes he endorsed Nixon, and spoke at the 1968 Republican convention. An article about it https://www.google.com/amp/s/theund...t-chamberlain-richard-nixon-relationship/amp/
