Why Wilt Chamberlain is the top player of all time.

[ShaqAttack3234]

Wilt's selfishness ruined his chance to be the best of all time. In his first 7 seasons he was content with putting up a ridiculous amount of shot attempts and not winning much. As a result he had 7 scoring titles, but only 1 50 win season and 1 finals appearance. By the time he changed his style in 1968 he was over 30 years old, but the results speak for themselves. Wilt's 76ers won 68 games and a championship team. Wilt also showed that he was one of the best passing big men to ever play the game. They rightfully went down in history as one of the greatest teams in NBA history. But it made you wonder how good he could have been had he played unselfish his whole career. The next season while he didn't win a championship, he did lead his team to 62 wins again. But once again Wilt's selfishness came back into play. He passed up shots, even some that he shouldn't have to prove he could lead the league in assists.

That was Wilt's last season in Philly and then he went to Los Angeles where Wilt did continue to play unselfishly. He didn't score much, but he played like a bigger, stronger, version of Bill Russell who could score when he wanted. The result was another one of the all time great teams. The 1972 Lakers won 69 games, a record 33 games in a row and of course a championship The following year the Lakers won 60 games again, but lost in the finals.

So despite the numbers, Wilt wasn't playing up to his true potential as a basketball player early in his career. He always had the ability to make everyone else better, but he didn't realize it or didn't care until the last half of his career. If he always played like he did in the last half of his career then he may have challenged Bill Russell's Celtics for a lot more championships.

The greatest center ever is Kareem because his longevity is unmatched, his prime is comparable to Wilt's and Shaq's and his team success beats either of theirs. There's a reason why Kareem was one of only 4 players to win a scoring title and championship in the same season.

The second greatest center ever is none other than Shaquille O'Neal because he dominated the game like only Michael Jordan has in his prime, he has as many rings as Hakeem and Wilt combined, his finals performances are greater than any center and he's still going strong at 37. Not to mention he's also one of just 4 players to win a scoring title and championship in the same season(Jordan, Mikan and Kareem are the others).

Wilt is the 3rd greatest of all time.

[Butters]

Wilt,Kareem,Shaq=russell

[CB4GOATPF]

Wilt's selfishness ruined his chance to be the best of all time. In his first 7 seasons he was content with putting up a ridiculous amount of shot attempts and not winning much. As a result he had 7 scoring titles, but only 1 50 win season and 1 finals appearance. By the time he changed his style in 1968 he was over 30 years old, but the results speak for themselves. Wilt's 76ers won 68 games and a championship team. Wilt also showed that he was one of the best passing big men to ever play the game. They rightfully went down in history as one of the greatest teams in NBA history. But it made you wonder how good he could have been had he played unselfish his whole career. The next season while he didn't win a championship, he did lead his team to 62 wins again. But once again Wilt's selfishness came back into play. He passed up shots, even some that he shouldn't have to prove he could lead the league in assists.

That was Wilt's last season in Philly and then he went to Los Angeles where Wilt did continue to play unselfishly. He didn't score much, but he played like a bigger, stronger, version of Bill Russell who could score when he wanted. The result was another one of the all time great teams. The 1972 Lakers won 69 games, a record 33 games in a row and of course a championship The following year the Lakers won 60 games again, but lost in the finals.

So despite the numbers, Wilt wasn't playing up to his true potential as a basketball player early in his career. He always had the ability to make everyone else better, but he didn't realize it or didn't care until the last half of his career. If he always played like he did in the last half of his career then he may have challenged Bill Russell's Celtics for a lot more championships.

The greatest center ever is Kareem because his longevity is unmatched, his prime is comparable to Wilt's and Shaq's and his team success beats either of theirs. There's a reason why Kareem was one of only 4 players to win a scoring title and championship in the same season.

The second greatest center ever is none other than Shaquille O'Neal because he dominated the game like only Michael Jordan has in his prime, he has as many rings as Hakeem and Wilt combined, his finals performances are greater than any center and he's still going strong at 37. Not to mention he's also one of just 4 players to win a scoring title and championship in the same season(Jordan, Mikan and Kareem are the others).

Wilt is the 3rd greatest of all time.

[ShaqAttack3234]

Now what on earth are you laughing about, Sir Charles? Ranking Wilt as the 3rd greatest center makes sense. Kareem and Shaq both have better team success and longevity, plus they dominated in a similar way in their primes. Kareem is defintley the greatest center of all time.

[ZaaaaaH]

Wilt's selfishness ruined his chance to be the best of all time. In his first 7 seasons he was content with putting up a ridiculous amount of shot attempts and not winning much. As a result he had 7 scoring titles, but only 1 50 win season and 1 finals appearance. By the time he changed his style in 1968 he was over 30 years old, but the results speak for themselves. Wilt's 76ers won 68 games and a championship team. Wilt also showed that he was one of the best passing big men to ever play the game. They rightfully went down in history as one of the greatest teams in NBA history. But it made you wonder how good he could have been had he played unselfish his whole career. The next season while he didn't win a championship, he did lead his team to 62 wins again. But once again Wilt's selfishness came back into play. He passed up shots, even some that he shouldn't have to prove he could lead the league in assists.

That was Wilt's last season in Philly and then he went to Los Angeles where Wilt did continue to play unselfishly. He didn't score much, but he played like a bigger, stronger, version of Bill Russell who could score when he wanted. The result was another one of the all time great teams. The 1972 Lakers won 69 games, a record 33 games in a row and of course a championship The following year the Lakers won 60 games again, but lost in the finals.

So despite the numbers, Wilt wasn't playing up to his true potential as a basketball player early in his career. He always had the ability to make everyone else better, but he didn't realize it or didn't care until the last half of his career. If he always played like he did in the last half of his career then he may have challenged Bill Russell's Celtics for a lot more championships.

The greatest center ever is Kareem because his longevity is unmatched, his prime is comparable to Wilt's and Shaq's and his team success beats either of theirs. There's a reason why Kareem was one of only 4 players to win a scoring title and championship in the same season.

The second greatest center ever is none other than Shaquille O'Neal because he dominated the game like only Michael Jordan has in his prime, he has as many rings as Hakeem and Wilt combined, his finals performances are greater than any center and he's still going strong at 37. Not to mention he's also one of just 4 players to win a scoring title and championship in the same season(Jordan, Mikan and Kareem are the others).

Wilt is the 3rd greatest of all time.

Are you saying mike is 2nd?

[JJ81]

Calm down.

[chitownsfinest]

Anyone who thinks Wilt never played for stats needs to seek mental help asap.

[Fatal9]

Are you saying mike is 2nd?

If we look at overall basketball GOAT, it's Kareem without question. If we look at peak play, it's Wilt/Kareem. An NBA "GOAT" list is really flawed, as MJ is only # 1 because he got the breaks Wilt/Kareem didn't. Everyone knows this. It's not outrageous by any means to have MJ #2 (or even #3).

[magnax1]

Wilt isn't better than Jordan because he did have alot of negatives, but people anymore do seem to under rate him. Wilt is the most athletic person I've ever seen play BBall, but I'd take jordan over him, because he plays better D, Is more clutch and has more of...... I dont know wut u call it, I guess heart.
Edit:If there is a player with similar strength in the NBA in the past couple decades, its Karl Malone. He was freak of nature type strong. Shaq was bigger, but for his size Karl Malone was stronger.

[ShaqAttack3234]

Are you saying mike is 2nd?

No, I was talking about centers only.

[ShaqAttack3234]

Anyone who thinks Wilt never played for stats needs to seek mental help asap.

Yeah, look at his reaction when Glen Rice breaks his record most points in an all-star game half.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSxLV...e=channel_page

At 0:26, he looks miserable.

[Fatal9]

Wilt averaged 59 ppg/25 rpg over a 12 game stretch in the '62 season. 62 ppg if you take the best 11 of those 12 games. That's almost a month of basketball!

Anyone saying that Jordan or anyone else in history had a more dominant prime is kidding themselves.

Yeah, look at his reaction when Glen Rice breaks his record most points in an all-star game half.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSxLV...e=channel_page

At 0:26, he looks miserable.

He liked records...so what? Should he hide behind a fake smile? I like players that are this competitive. It probably hurt a little bit more than usual because it was someone like Glen Rice too

[ShaqAttack3234]

Wilt averaged 59 ppg/25 rpg over a 12 game stretch in the '62 season. 62 ppg if you take the best 11 of those 12 games. That's almost a month of basketball!

Anyone saying that Jordan or anyone else in history had a more dominant prime is kidding themselves.

Look at the pace in 1962, those 25 rebounds per game wouldn't even be near 20 in todays' game with the pace. You have to put those things into perspective. There's no way he'd be allowed to play anywhere near 48.5 mpg either. With how teams rest star players, particularly big men I'd be surprised if Wilt played anything over 40 mpg. Factoring in those things, Wilt's 25 rpg isn't really anymore impressive to me than 14 rpg today. Especially considering 20 rpg in Wilt's era wasn't that uncommon.

And when he averaged 50 ppg he needed 39.5 shots per game to do that. Perimeter players known for shooting and sometimes chucking like Jordan, Kobe and Iverson never even averaged a full 28 shots per game. I highly doubt Wilt would even get 25 shots per game today and I have my doubts he'd even average 30 ppg.

I'll take 2000 Shaq or 1990 Jordan over prime Wilt anyday.

He liked records...so what? It probably hurt a little bit more than usual because it was someone like Glen Rice

It shows how important stats were to him that he was upset about such a small record being broken. Most points in an all-star game half? Come on, Wilt only gets a pass for his selfishness because he played so long ago.

[Fatal9]

Look at the pace in 1962, those 25 rebounds per game wouldn't even be near 20 in todays' game with the pace. You have to put those things into perspective. There's no way he'd be allowed to play anywhere near 48.5 mpg either. With how teams rest star players, particularly big men I'd be surprised if Wilt played anything over 40 mpg. Factoring in those things, Wilt's 25 rpg isn't really anymore impressive to me than 14 rpg today. Especially considering 20 rpg in Wilt's era wasn't that uncommon.

There were around 26 more rebounds in 1991 NBA than in 1962 NBA. It clearly does make a difference and if you adjusted it proportionately with pace, Wilt's 25 rebounds would STILL be about 15 boards a game, which considering how much he was scoring (which isn't so heavily dependent on pace), is still incredible. It's just wrong to make this linear adjustment though, because there are several other factors. For one thing, I'd also like to know what percentage of rebounds there were where Wilt didn't even make it down to the other end of the court and get set (due to the fast pace). Because there are tons of those type of rebounds from the footage I've seen. It wasn't like this was Wilt's fault, the game was just that fast...

Putting up 60/25 over a month of basketball is insane. And if you must, even pace adjusted that'd be something like 45/15...good enough to still be the most dominant month in basketball history. Same with his '62 season.

The 90s game (before the illegal defense rules were waived) are much much more center friendly than the era Wilt played in. I was watching a Celtics vs. Warriors game (1964 I think?) and Wilt had Russell behind him, a guard fronting him, and a forward and another guard on either side if he somehow got the ball and decided to turn to the middle of the floor or baseline. There is a reason Wilt would have his best rebounding nights against the Celtics (set a rebounding record in 1964 for most rebounds in 5 games) because that was the only way he was getting the ball due to the ball denial, which would not have been possible in the 90s. He had Guy Rodgers as his point guard, and he (like most guards at that time) had NO jumpshot, which meant the Celtics could play this type of defense on him spacing wise, and not hurt themselves. Kareem was victim to the same thing in the 1974 finals game 7. Give him the spacing he'd get in the 90s and also the more post-up game friendly rules, and he's still wreaking havoc on the league.

[CB4GOATPF]

Now what on earth are you laughing about, Sir Charles? Ranking Wilt as the 3rd greatest center makes sense. Kareem and Shaq both have better team success and longevity, plus they dominated in a similar way in their primes. Kareem is defintley the greatest center of all time.

Longevity does not Equal = Play or Better Player

It = Longevity...

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Shaq: Offensively was Better[/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Was he a Better Defender? Not even close
Was he a Better Shot Blocker? No even close
Was he a Better Rebounder? No even close
Was he a Better Passer? No[/COLOR]

[COLOR="Orange"]Kareem: was More Skilled and "almost as Good Game Creating Wise"[/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Was he a Better Defender? Not even close
Was he a Better Shot Blocker? Not even close
Was he a Better Rebounder? Not even close

Was he a Better Passer or Game Creator? as Good but Most Probably Not! "Wilt`s constant attention and double teaming created more assits" [/COLOR]

Wilt is bar none the

[COLOR="Blue"]"Most Complete Offensive-Defensive-Game Creating & Physically Complete (Wingspam, Speed, Agility, Potence, Strength, Stamina) Center Ever"[/COLOR]

Wilt was Howard [COLOR="blue"]with a Post Game[/COLOR]...but[COLOR="blue"] Stronger, Faster, Taller, Longer Wingspam and could Pass[/COLOR]...

Wilt`s Prime was from 59-70 was by far the Most Dominant in NBA History

[COLOR="Blue"]Can you imagine how much points more per game he would have had and how much higher is FG% would have been if Wilt was allowed to use his real brutal strength and dunk?

Wilt was careful not to hurt anyone and he pretty much invetend the Fadeway Back Shot, had a Great Spin and Used Finger Roles Most of the Time[/COLOR]..if he would have wanted he would have just charged and slammed like Shaq did

[COLOR="darkred"]So just imagine...what his BPG Avg would be if it was counted. He was the Best Shot Blocker even when Kareem was playing[/COLOR]