Greatest Sports Legends: Wilt Chamberlain (Part 1)

ESPN Classic presents "Greatest Sports Legends", the legend of Wilt Chamberlain.

(This is Part 1 of 3)

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Greatest
• Sports
• Legends
• Wilt
• Chamberlain
• NBA
• Part
• ESPN
• Classic
• 100
• Points
• Bill
• Russell
• Celtics
• Lakers

[ATLballer03]

wilt chamberlain is the greatest player ever.

[Blackjesus3]

BEST CENTER OF ALL TIME

[CoolerKing37]

@Charlie100 Because the NBA players of today are so committed to defense? Hardly.

[EAchankre]

Thank you for posting this

[Charlie100]

@TheQuiggz i never said height was everything. but im just saying the way people would not know back in those days how to defend Wilt. Only Bill Russell was able to do it hence why he won so many duels against him.

Come on now...if Shaq or dwight howard was defending wilt he would not score more than 25 to 30. No way he would avg 50ppg during the entire season.

Players these days are much stronger and agile that they wont allow him to get easy and deep position like he would have. 

[TheQuiggz]

@Charlie100 We could make an easy argument that the centers of Wilt's era were superior basketball players(Bill Russell, Nate Thurmond, Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul Jabbar) all of them are in the Hall of Fame. I think if Wilt played now he would score more than 50 points per game. Wilt competed in the high jump in college, benched over 400 pounds and set all those records in CHUCKS. Manute Bol 7'7 an easy 5 inches taller than any other center in the league, sucked. Height is not everything charlie.

[Charlie100]

i think wilt would've been an all star and a franchise player for sure. BUT NO WAY IN HELL WOULD he EVERRR average those kinds of numbers in today's NBA. the NBA is filled with athletes and where teams actually scout players based on their ability to play defense as well as offense. Give an nba player an uncontested shot right under the rim with a midget guarding you and im sure they will average 50ppg.

[moviehypno23]

@TheArchangles982 that's a good point, but I meant more with the role-player types, like Sam and KC Jones (not related), Tommy Heinsohn, etc.

[TheArchangles982]

@moviehypno23 Not completely, John Havlicek would've still been the same great John Havlicek, Bob Cousy would've still been the same great pure point guard Bob Cousy.

[moviehypno23]

@TheArchangles982 True, but that was mainly because Russell knew how to make his teammates better

[TheArchangles982]

@moviehypno23 Russels team had 7 other guys who made it into the Hall of Fame.

[TheArchangles982]

@moviehypno23 Actually it's not LOL I've done my calcs and I think a little over 1 women a day every day since he was 18 then he very well coulda hit the 20K mark LOL