By Jon Atwood

I am taking a very huge risk in writing this article. I know that about ninety-five percent of the basketball fanfare is going to disagree with me. They all have been brainwashed by the influence of the media into believing the myth of Michael. That belief, simply stated, is that Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player to ever set foot on an NBA court. They see him play, they learn his accomplishments, they watch Nike commercials, and they think he has no rival, that he is the indisputable lord master of NBA history. Being an NBA fan who has not lost historical perspective on the sport and who can appreciate the great players from yesterday, I wholeheartedly disagree. In my judgement, the greatest player in NBA history is not number 23 of the Bulls. He is number 13 for the Warriors, Sixers, and Lakers. He is none other than the man they call "the Big Dipper", the late Wilton Norman Chamberlain (may he rest in peace).

    When I say this, I do not want to create the impression that I don't think Air Jordan was a great player. He has a reserved spot on anyone's top ten list of all-time greats. He may have been the most hyped athlete in the history of sports, which propelled him to the top spot in the fifty greatest athletes of all time list over, in my opinion, more deserving athletes like Jim Thorpe, Muhammad Ali, Babe Ruth, Wayne Gretzky, and Chamberlain, but his overall achievements in his twelve year pro career were, nevertheless, monstrous, to say the least. The 6'6 shooting guard ran away with the Rookie of the Year award in 1985, becoming the first rookie to start in an all-star game since Larry Bird. He captured the scoring title in each of his last ten complete seasons, a career record. His career points per game average (31.5), career playoff points per game average (33.4) and career playoff points (5987) are also records. In addition to being the league's most unstoppable scorer, Jordan was also one of its top defenders throughout his career. He is third all-time in career steals (2306) and steals per game (2.5.) He has been the league's leader in steals three times, which ties him for first all time with Alvin Robertson and Michael Ray Richardson. Jordan's knack for stealing the ball has lead to his election to the all defensive first team nine times, tied for the record with Gary Payton. In 1987, he was selected as the league's defensive player of the year, becoming the only scoring champ ever to receive that honor. MJ's superlative talents have led to his all-star selection in all twelve of his pro campaigns. His career all-star point per game average of 21.1 is the highest in league history, and he has been honored three times as the game's MVP, a feat matched only by Bob Pettit and Oscar Robertson. MJ's dominance over the league have led to five MVP awards and nine all NBA first team selections. Finally, we all have witnessed him lead the Chicago Bulls to six championships in eight years, winning the finals MVP each time.

    Now, I know you Jordan fanatics must be thinking, "How can anyone have a more prodigious career resume than that?" Just for a moment, take a look inside an NBA record book. You will find that one name appears quite more often than any other. The name you will find is not Michael Jordan. The name is Wilt Chamberlain. I am not sure of the exact amount, but I do know that Wilt holds or shares over seventy combined regular season and playoff records. Some of them are so astronomical that they will, in all likelihood, stand until far after I am dead.

    You can talk all you want about how Michael Jordan's career scoring average was higher than Wilt's. You can point out how Mike has won more scoring titles than Chamberlain. Let me tell you people something; Wilt's 30.1 career points per game average and his career total of 31,419 points do not do any justice in explaining just how great a point producer he was. The man was flat out the greatest scorer to ever shoot a basketball. To prove this point, all you have to do is read about his 1961-62 season. It was his third year in the league. It was also the year in which he shattered every single season scoring record. His most famous achievement, probably the greatest in sports history, was the 100 point game he had against the Knicks on March 2nd, 1962, but there were others: the highest single season scoring average (50.4), the most points scored in a season (4,029), and the most games with at least 50 points in one season (45) being the most prominent. Over the first seven years of his career, all in which he captured the scoring crown, he compiled a scoring average of 39.5. MJ's scoring average after seven seasons was 31.5. His Airness has an impressive record of scoring at least 50 points 27 times and at least 60 points 6 times in his career. Now compare that to 118 games of at least 50 and 32 games of at least 60 for the Big Dipper. To drive the point home, in 1964, the lane was widened from twelve to sixteen feet in an attempt to counter Wilt's dominance. He would continue to thrive, though, averaging 34.7 points in the 64-65 season and 33.5 points in the 65-66 season. Now do you think Mike could have been that successful if the refs had, say, called traveling a bit more often?

    As far as style and efficiency in getting the ball in the hoop, Wilt did it better than anyone. He is the record holder for most seasons leading the league in field goal percentage, with nine. No, he was not just a one dimensional dunker. Sure he dunked a great deal, but he also had a fade away jumper, which he shot better than any center, except Hakeem Olajuwon, ever has, and a finger roll, which he used against shorter players.

    Wilt Chamberlain did much more than just score points. Mike had his great defensive ability to go with his scoring. Wilt had more than that. He was a very good defensive player as well, being named to the all defensive first team in 1972 and 1973. He was also the greatest rebounder in NBA history. No one else even comes close. He holds basically every rebounding record in the book. He is tops all time in career rebounds (23,924), career rebounding average (22.9), rebounds in a season (2,149) rebounds in a game (55), and countless others. He had a higher vertical leap than anyone, was great at getting position, and had remarkable timing. His superlative rebounding talents earned him 11 career rebounding titles, also a record. In this category, Wilt the Stilt had no equal.

    I mentioned earlier that Wilt was the most dominating scorer in history during the first seven years of his career. The  reason that his scoring went down over the next few years is the very same reason that I selected him as the greatest player of all time. It was at the start of the 66-67 season that Wilt's game would undergo a dramatic evolution. The Sixers team was joined by stars such as Hal Greer, Chet Walker, and Billy Cunningham. He was told that it would help his team win if he dropped his scoring and concentrated more on passing. It is a very formidable task for someone who once averaged fifty points in one season to suddenly alter his game like that. MJ had the luxury of playing the same role throughout his career (relatively speaking). Well, Wilt not only played adequately well in his new role, he excelled. He still averaged a solid 24.1 points that year, but he also leaped to 3rd in assists, a truly astonishing feat for a big-man, while again leading the league in rebounding and field goal percentage. Playing more of a team game, the Sixers that year became perhaps the greatest single season team in history, posting a record of 68-13 and capturing the NBA title. The following year, Wilt lead the league in assists, which, for a center, is greatness beyond comprehension. It is, in my opinion, the greatest single feat that any player has ever accomplished. It proved that Wilt was so amazing and so versatile in his talents and so unstoppable on the court that he could adjust and expand his into completely different areas like not other player has ever done before.

    Now you guys are thinking, "If Chamberlain was better than Jordan, how come Jordan won more MVPs and championships?" (Wilt won four MVPs to Jordan's five, and two championships to Jordan's six.)  Statistics aside, I know that it is very hard to compare players of two different eras and two different positions. I am, however, entitled to make an educated assessment based on a few facts. During his career, Wilt played against 27 of the players that were selected to the fifty greatest players of all time list. Jordan played against 16 of those players. Wilt played against 7 centers on that list: Bill Russell, Kareem Abdual-Jabbar, Dave Cowens, Willis Reed, Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes, and Nate Thurmond. MJ has played against four such guards: Magic Johnston, John Stockton, Isiah Thomas, and Clyde Drexler. Back in Wilt's first seven seasons, there were 8 teams in the league. When he retired, there were 17. Therefore, the talent pool was much less spaced out back then than it is in today's 29 team league. This mean two things: 

    Number one; the teams were much more talented back then. You would not be able to just ride two individuals to a championship. You needed an entire team. The Boston Celtics' teams of the 60s, lead by Bill Russell, were always stocked with much more talent than the teams that Chamberlain was on. He was able to lead perhaps the two greatest single season teams in NBA history, the 66-67 Sixers and the 71-72 Lakers, to titles, winning the finals MVP in 1972. There were never any teams that Mike's Bulls had to face that were considered a challenge to the throne. I am certain that the 66-67 Sixers or the 71-72 Lakers could beat the 90s Bulls. 

    Number two; it meant that Wilt never had a day off. He had to face stiff competition every night. He played against Bill Russell, universally considered the top defender of all time, 142 times. He averaged 28.7 points and 28.7 rebounds in those meetings. that was just Bill Russell. I doubt that Mike has played against Magic, Thomas, Drexler, and Stockton a COMBINED 142 times. Considering that the league is filled with mostly slow centers past their prime, I believe that Wilt could average at least 30 points and 20 boards today.

    In the end, the question, "Who is the greatest?" is very subjective and cannot be proven. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and who knows, I might be wrong on the whole subject. All I know is that after watching the game today, reading about the history of the game, and learning all the facts, I have come to an educated conclusion; that Wilt Chamberlain is the greatest player in NBA history.

By Jon Atwood
 
7/27/2000

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