Jordan or Chamberlin

[LethalWeaponCB4]

Who do you think is better.....I'll give u my answer when I see yours:P

[beau_boy04]

this has been asked way too many times and everybody knows Michael Jordan was:

1. A better player than Wilt.
2. A better team player than Wilt.
3. A far superior winner than Wilt.
4. And the most relentless competitor on the floor.

Had Wilt came across Michael Jordan way, he would have been destroyed by Air Jordan maybe not statistically but by the margin of wins. Michael Jordan knew HOW TO WIN AND SUCCEED, can't say the same about Wilt.

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

everybody knows

Everybody??? So there is not a single person in the entire globe that might say otherwise?

Have you ever SEEN Wilt play, by any chance?

[Bang]

We've had this discussion a billion times! AGH! Search for that post. BLEAH.

[Dreadnight]

You can't compare, different players, different positions, different eras, imo

[Kemp]

Is this man!

[kinokong]

ive said it b4 and ill say it again, do not compare a pussy that crapped the shit out of his pants against willis reed who couldn't walk to a competitor that hung 30 something points in a playoff game with a 38 degree fever... wilt is a great center but shows that he doesn't have the burning fire like mj...

[Jeffx]

everybody knows

Everybody??? So there is not a single person in the entire globe that might say otherwise?

Have you ever SEEN Wilt play, by any chance?

Thank you. Some of these MJ fans are something else.

[Shakes]

Who do you think is better.....I'll give u my answer when I see yours:P

History shows that Wilt got far more women, so he must be better.

We were talking about sex appeal, not basketball, weren't we?

[J@3]

May aswell talk about sex appeal, this argument has been done to death.

[Bang]

Well who knows if Jordan did have more women. I mean, he's Jordan. Seriously, would someone say no?
Wilt could have overestimated his numbers.
Also, is this why Wilt was so worn down in the playoffs and only won 2 championships?

[J@3]

Well assuming Wilt was like 30 years old at the time he claimed to sleep with 20,000 women (Don't know the exact age), assuming he lost his virginity at the age of 16 or so it basically means he must've slept with roughly 3.91 women a day every day for 14 years.

[Jackal_]

Well assuming Wilt was like 30 years old at the time he claimed to sleep with 20,000 women (Don't know the exact age), assuming he lost his virginity at the age of 16 or so it basically means he must've slept with roughly 3.91 women a day every day for 14 years.

I bet you Wilt had 3 dicks, by the time he was done having sex two died.
He makes Shawn Kemp look like a virgin.. man must of had like 900 pounds of sperm in a reserve tank in his body

[Jeffx]

http://www.ringsurf.com/info/Sports/Bas ... hamberlain


Still the Greatest!

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

http://www.ringsurf.com/info/Sports/Basketball/NBA/Featured_Article_NBA/Remembering_Wilt_Chamberlain


Still the Greatest!

Amen to that! Thanks for the great article, Jeff.

[Fenix]

I know the topic is not about that, but - how good of a psychical specimen was Chamberlain? I heard that he was 7'1 1/16'' with a wingspan of a condor, that he could bench 500lbs, that his vertical was off the charts (he won a couple of highjump competitions) and how he could outrun any of the guards on his team (he also competed in a few running competitions ). But are these just legends? Did he have Shaq's explosivness off the floor? Amare's legs? Has anyone seen him play (on tape)? I would love to have his scouting report.

"If you couldn't tell Chamberlain was strong, fast and agile from his basketball playing, you could look to his track and field performances. As a prep, he set Pennsylvania state records in the shot put and the 110-meter hurdles, and his scholarship to Kansas was for both basketball and track. He earned the track portion by winning three straight Big Eight high jump tittles." - ESPN

"After he retired from basketball, the Dipper transformed himself into a world-class volleyball player. For fun, he ran marathons. He also turned down offers to play pro football and box professionally." - ESPN

"Chamberlain was 7-foot-1, 265 pounds, perfectly proportioned then, not yet muscled up on weights. The Syracuse veteran Dolph Schayes called him “the most perfect instrument ever made by God to play basketball,” and Schayes was right. The Dipper was an aesthetically gorgeous athlete. He had been a track and field star in college, and now he was a basketball player of unprecedented skills. If you judge athleticism purely as a combination of size, speed, agility and strength then Wilt Chamberlain might have been the greatest pure athlete of the 20th century." - Gary M. Pomerantz, author of 'Wilt, 1962'

I wanna be like Wilt (20k isn't true, but still, he had an impressive life.)

[Andrew]

Aw man...I just did this in the Oscar Robertson thread. OK, I'll rant again.

Rarely, you will hear Wilt Chamberlain’s name mentioned consistently.

Rarely? With so many considering him the greatest, so many all-time lists placing him top five and all the attention he's been given on basketball documentaries, I think "rarely" is a bit of an exaggeration.

With all the achievements that Wilt ’The Stilt’ Chamberlain accomplished, it should be a clear no-brainer that Wilt Chamberlain was the greatest and most dominant basketball player that has ever played the game!

Here's the statistic I'm gonna keep bringing up until someone finally acknowledges it. Wilt's regular season career scoring average is 30.1. His playoff career scoring average is 22.5. Unstoppable? The most dominant ever? Why then, did he reach the postseason and experience a drop of 8 points? He rarely matched his regular season output in the postseason. That to me does not say he was unstoppable.

He was irrefutably basketball’s most awesome offensive force the game has ever seen. During his career, his dominance precipitated many rules changes. These rules changed included widening the lane, instituting offensive goaltending, and revising rules governing inbounding the ball and shooting free throws - Chamberlain would leap with the ball from behind the foul line to deposit the ball in the basket.

While his dominance might have inspired some of the rule changes, I think too much credit is given to Wilt and Wilt alone. I really wish I could find that quote from one of the directors at the Hall of Fame that commented on Wilt's assertion that he changed the rules of basketball, stating there were actually several factors. It's one of my old basketball magazines somewhere.

On the rule changes: the common cry is that the NBA changed the rules to slow Wilt down while changing rules to help Michael Jordan. That really doesn't make sense. Why would the NBA try to create another dominant player if it's something they tried to stop?

On March 2, 1962, Chamberlain set a record that may stand forever. In a game against the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pa., he scored 100 points in four quarters to help the Warriors win the game, 169-147. Despite the fact that Chamberlain had reportedly stayed out all night the previous evening, he obviously came ready to play against the Knicks. Chamberlain was so in the zone that he even made 28 of 32 free throws, despite being a career 50% free throw shooter. Over the course of the season, Chamberlain averaged 48.5 minutes, and a staggering 50.4 points, and 25.7 rebounds per game. He became the only player in history to score 4,000 points in a season. This was one of the greatest individual seasons in the history of sports.

There is no question of the amazing feats that season. But it's important to remember what that story lacks - team success. There is no tale of how he led his team to a triumphant victory in the NBA Finals. No heroic performances in the playoffs. Staggering numbers in the regular season yes, but ultimately Bill Russell got the glory.

Aside from the almost 8 point drop in his scoring average in the postseason, Wilt was never able to be the NBA's most overpowering offensive weapon - at least in statistical production - and a champion. In contrast, Jordan led the league in scoring 10 times, his Bulls winning the championship in six of those years. When we think of Wilt, we think of the 100 point game and all the points. Wilt couldn't be "Wilt" and win. Jordan could. Jordan sacrificed his scoring a little, but not to the extent Wilt had to. Jordan could be "Jordan" and still lead his team to victory.

What's also impressive about Jordan is that he dominated the league like only Wilt before him, even beating multiple defenders yet he was much smaller. Jordan was even smaller than the average NBA player. Wilt's accomplishments are too readily downplayed because of his size advantage. But what an advantage he had, a player of his talents of that size in the era he played in.

But ultimately, it's the way players like Jordan, Magic, Bird and Russell achieved in so many areas that make me rank them ahead of players like Wilt and Oscar Robertson. They've got the statistics, they've got the team success, they've got the undeniable basketball skills and talent, they've got inspirational stories that have become legend. There were times when they, along with their respective teams were running rampant over the league when you would think "There's no way he could get any better." Then they would add to the legend.

I posted a longer rant/take on the matter in the past, perhaps I'll dig it up and copy and paste it sometime.

[cyanide]

I know the topic is not about that, but - how good of a psychical specimen was Chamberlain? I heard that he was 7'1 1/16'' with a wingspan of a condor, that he could bench 500lbs, that his vertical was off the charts (he won a couple of highjump competitions) and how he could outrun any of the guards on his team (he also competed in a few running competitions ). But are these just legends? Did he have Shaq's explosivness off the floor? Amare's legs? Has anyone seen him play (on tape)? I would love to have his scouting report.

I saw him play briefly on ESPN Classic or Raptors NBA TV, and he is extremely mobile. He moves very well, and is a beast on the court in juxtaposition to the smaller guys around him. He picks rebounds like pulling cherries off a cherry tree. Like Shaq, he was dominant but can't shoot free throws.

[Indy]

Oh god... this thread AGAIN?!?!?!?!

[Jeffx]

But ultimately, it's the way players like Jordan, Magic, Bird and Russell achieved in so many areas that make me rank them ahead of players like Wilt and Oscar Robertson. They've got the statistics, they've got the team success, they've got the undeniable basketball skills and talent, they've got inspirational stories that have become legend.

But Andrew, Jordan, Magic, Bird & Russell played on better teams tham Wilt & Oscar. Remember how many playoff failures the Bulls had before they got the right supporting cast? Magic went to a seasoned team that already had Kareem, Norm Nixon, and Jamaal Wilkes. If Wilt and Oscar had the same cast(and coach) that Russell had(year after year), don't you think they'd have more rings?

[Bang]

Why would the NBA stop creating some dominant players, but create others?
It's simple.
The Fans.
Fans like guards much more than big men.
This is why they made rules to stop Shaq.
This is why they made rules to stop Wilt.
This is why they didn't make rules to stop Jordan.
Plus the NBA was in a different situation back then. The NBA was struggling when Jordan came into the league, so that's why they put rules to make Jordan better. Jordan was a marketing machine, but Wilt Chamberlain wasn't. In fact it was the opposite for Wilt. If I remember correctly, Wilt Chamberlain's comments were often critical of the league, which is why they wouldn't want him dominant. The dominant player represents the league. However, Jordan was a perfect player to model the league after.

I still think Jordan is better, but the argument that they made rules to stop Wilt but also made rules to make Jordan better IS valid.

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

But Andrew, Jordan, Magic, Bird & Russell played on better teams tham Wilt & Oscar. Remember how many playoff failures the Bulls had before they got the right supporting cast? Magic went to a seasoned team that already had Kareem, Norm Nixon, and Jamaal Wilkes. If Wilt and Oscar had the same cast(and coach) that Russell had(year after year), don't you think they'd have more rings?

Amen to that... If the Bulls' brass hadn't surrounded MJ with players like Pippen, Grant, Cartwright, Rodman, Kukoc, if Phil wasn't coaching, if the old Celts didn't have Big Red masterfully leading them, who knows what those teams and their individual leaders would accomplish?

I know, a whole lotta IFs, but one has to take the supporting cast seriously into consideration when comparing players from different eras. Wilt had nowhere NEAR the support MJ had, both in teh bench and on the court.

[Sauru]

imo the only thing wilt has over jordan was the ability to score at will. now he only had this for a few years while jordan did it for his entire bulls career. hands down jordan was better.

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

Hmmm, I'd like to see how consistent MJ's numbers would have been had he been triple teamed, sucker elbowed, and brutalized in the paint as much as Wilt was. And in an era where training science was not so developed.

[Sauru]

and in an era where he was about 4-5 inches taller than everyone(cept my main man bill)