Fans are starting to realize 81 points is a record...

[ripthekik]

I'm pretty sure that 100 > 81, but i'm not any kind of math expert or anything.

No you're not, we know that

[Psileas]

Wilt's actually lucky there's no film of the 100pt game. Otherwise people would realize what a joke of a game it was. He had his teammates fouling the other team just so they could get the ball back without wasting time. It was a circus. Kobe's 81 was at least during a real game.

...And, of course, you skipped the part when the Knicks started leaving any other player unguarded in order to quarduple and quintuple team Wilt. Or the part when the Knicks started fouling any other player but Wilt, before what you wrote started happening. If anything, Kobe is the lucky one for playing in a less of a circus game, against a team that didn't give a damn how many points he'd score on them (because if they did, they'd care to at least come close to doing against Kobe what the Knicks were doing against Wilt).

[Punpun]

...And, of course, you skipped the part when the Knicks started leaving any other player unguarded in order to quarduple and quintuple team Wilt. Or the part when the Knicks started fouling any other player but Wilt, before what you worte stared happening. If anything, Kobe is the lucky one for playing in a less of a circus game, against a team that didn't give a damn how many points he'd score on them (because if they did, they'd care to at least come close to doing against Kobe what the Knicks were doing against Wilt).

Wait, so were they quintupling Wilt or fouling other players ?

[Horatio33]

Kobe has benefited from rule changes. No handchecking. Wilt had rules to slow him down. Kobe had rules to help perimeter players.

[bleedinpurpleTwo]

...And, of course, you skipped the part when the Knicks started leaving any other player unguarded in order to quarduple and quintuple team Wilt. Or the part when the Knicks started fouling any other player but Wilt, before what you wrote started happening. If anything, Kobe is the lucky one for playing in a less of a circus game, against a team that didn't give a damn how many points he'd score on them (because if they did, they'd care to at least come close to doing against Kobe what the Knicks were doing against Wilt).

Kobe was chucking shots from all over the court. Deep 3s. Just anything.
Wilt was not. He went into the post where they tried to collapse on him.
Its not easy to collapse on a guy shooting 3s. Double him? Yes. But you never triple a guy at the 3. You would be embarrassed when he throws it down to the guy in the paint. Its one thing to triple the post, another to triple a 3....you just dont expect the 3 to go in every fcuking time.

[lilblingy]

yes, imagine if that day he decided, "Im going for the record today." i really believe he could have chucked his way to 100 had he been as aggressive as he was in the 2nd half in the first.

[Psileas]

Kobe was chucking shots from all over the court. Deep 3s. Just anything.
Wilt was not. He went into the post where they tried to collapse on him.
Its not easy to collapse on a guy shooting 3s. Double him? Yes. But you never triple a guy at the 3. You would be embarrassed when he throws it down to the guy in the paint. Its one thing to triple the post, another to triple a 3....you just dont expect the 3 to go in every fcuking time.

That's why I said "come close to doing against Kobe what the Knicks were doing against Wilt". It's obviously easier to throw multiple defenders on a big guy (which is why I respect huge scoring games from big men more than I do from small men), but what's interesting is that the Raptors never changed their defensive tactics against him regardless of how hot he was getting, regardless of slowly getting to lose a game they could win and regardless of the types of shots he was taking. Even many of his 3 point shots were definitely not results of him running the court and chucking the shot with no chance from the opposing team to double him, he took some of them in 5 vs 5 situations, when he was much more "double-able". And then he still took 31 2 pointers, with most of them being mid range shots while guarded by a single player or easy, pretty uncontested drives or some drives when the opposing defense would initially start moving towards him and then end up just standing there and doing nothing but watch him shoot (for example, see points #60-61 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99ptwYqwYAQ). They just never seemed to care to stop him from humiliating them.

By the way, Wilt reportedly did take some shots from non-center distance in that game, although it hasn't been mentioned whether he made them or not. I wouldn't be surprised if he did, seeing how he was hitting 28-32 from the line.

yes, imagine if that day he decided, "Im going for the record today." i really believe he could have chucked his way to 100 had he been as aggressive as he was in the 2nd half in the first.

That's purely speculative though. You can't say you're going for the record when you have 14 points by the end of the 1st quarter and 26 by the end of halftime, which you've done multiple times in the past and you've broken the 60 point barrier only once up to then (not to mention that you will get benched for a few minutes, as well). Wilt himself definitely wasn't thinking about 100 by the end of his own game's halftime, when he had 41, since there had been other halves when he'd have 30-35 points and still not get close or even break his own record. Getting to around 70 and maybe challenge his own record would be much more realistic. If Wilt had entered the game with the same mentality you mention, he could have scored more than 100 points himself.

[ProfessorMurder]

In Wilt's 100 point game, a 6'6" center was guarding him.
That is like Kobe guarding Shaq in the post. It's a joke of an era. 6'6" - 6'8" centers

1st string center was 6'10, 2nd string 6'9, then 6'6" 3rd string. You're a dumb piece of shit.

[jlauber]

1st string center was 6'10, 2nd string 6'9, then 6'6" 3rd string. You're a dumb piece of shit.

And you add at least an inch using today's measuring methods.

And, has already been pointed out, it was not ONE man attempting to defend Chamberlain, but as was almost always the case early in his career (and in fact throughout his career), he was being swarmed.

The REALITY was, Chamberlain had very few games in his 1200+ games in which he was primarily defended by someone that was 6-6. I am not sure of Unseld's exact height, because he was listed at 6-8 in college, and 6-7 in the his NBA career, but I have read some articles claiming he was 6-67. In any case, he was around 250 lbs for much of his career, and, of course, he had a HOF career, which included being the only other player besides Chamberlain, to win ROY and MVP in the same season (and BTW, Chamberlain dominated him in their H2H's that season.)

And to add to that, Shaq was defended by the 6-7 Ben Wallace in a considerable amount of games. By most accounts, the 6-8 Rodman did a good job on him. I have read where the 6-9 Brian Grant gave him some trouble. And I believe that he was even defended (later in his career) by the 6-6 Chuck Hayes who was Houston's starting center for a number of games.

And none of that is any attempt to knock Shaq. He still put up a huge Finals against Wallace (as well as being doubled for much of that series.) But for those that attempt to disparage what Chamberlain accomplished, they need a dose of reality.

And, as I have mentioned many times, Chamberlain faced a HOF starting center in 105 of his 160 post season games, and a multiple all-star starting center in another 26. So, in 131 of his 160 he faced a very good, to great, starting center.

Finally, by the end of Wilt's career, when he had no interest in scoring, he was still dominating defensively, winning rebound titles, and shooting mind-boggling percentages from the floor. In his last two seasons, and in 10 H2H games, (and once again, in seasons in which he hardly shot the ball), he averaged 24.5 ppg on, get this... .750 shooting, against the 6-11 260 lb. Bob Lanier.

Here was a 35-36 year old Wilt, on a surgically repaired knee,coming in third and 4th in the MVP balloting; outplaying a prime Kareem in two straight playoff series; and winning a FMVP...in leagues that had centers like Reed, Bellamy, Unseld, Hayes, Cowens, Lanier, McAdoo, Lucas, Thurmond, and Kareem.

Only uneducated idiots like Dunce would make these ridiculous claims that Wilt was facing 6-6 centers.

[jlauber]

Of course, when it comes to records, there are the "ESPN" records, and then the ACTUAL records.

A few years ago Kobe went on a tear, in which he had nine straight games of 40+ points (averaging 44 ppg over that span.) It was hailed as the record at the time. Except, it wasn't even close to the REAL record. Wilt had TWO separate streaks of 14 straight games of 40+ points, (and he averaged 53 and 54 ppg in those two streaks BTW), as well as another separate streak of ten.

Then a couple of years ago Durant went on a scoring streak of something like 30 straight games of 25+ points. ESPN then came out and reported that Durant was approaching MJ's record of 40 (I believe it was something like 40.) EXCEPT...Chamberlain had ONE separate streak of 126 straight games (covering much of two seasons), and ANOTHER separate streak of 92 (again, covering two seasons.)

So the next time you are watching an NBA game, and the announcer brings up a screen which shows some record is about to be broken, keep in mind that the ACTUAL record is probably REALLY held by Wilt. And not only that, but he is probably LIGHT YEARS ahead of that so-called "record."

[eliteballer]

That 100 point game came before they widened the lane among a million other rule changes. Wilt was never the same once they widened the lane.

[9erempiree]

That 100 point game came before they widened the lane among a million other rule changes. Wilt was never the same once they widened the lane.

that's why Kobe's 81 is the record when basketball was finalized to what it practically is now.

[jlauber]

That 100 point game came before they widened the lane among a million other rule changes. Wilt was never the same once they widened the lane.

Another fallacy. The NBA widened the lane before the start of the '64-65 season. The year before that, Chamberlain had averaged 36.9 ppg on .524 shooting. Well, at mid-season, and just before Wilt was traded in that 64-65 season, he was averaging 38.9 ppg on .499 shooting. He went to a better team, and cut back his shooting, and wound up at 34.7 ppg on .510 shooting. He then would average 33.5 ppg on a then record .540 shooting (in a league that shot .433) in 65-66. And the very next season? 24.1 ppg on an unfathomable .683 shooting.

BTW, Chamberlain had SIX games of 60+ AFTER the NBA widened the lane, which is more than MJ had in his entire 15 season career, and Kobe has had in his 16 season career. And the reality was, Wilt could have had a TON more. Even as late as his tenth season, at age 32, he was hanging games of 60 and 66. And that 66 point game came on 29-35 shooting, or an .829 FG%, which is the all-time record for a 60+ point game.

[9erempiree]

Another fallacy. The NBA widened the lane before the start of the '64-65 season. The year before that, Chamberlain had averaged 36.9 ppg on .524 shooting. Well, at mid-season, and just before Wilt was traded in that 64-65 season, he was averaging 38.9 ppg on .499 shooting. He went to a better team, and cut back his shooting, and wound up at 34.7 ppg on .510 shooting. He then would average 33.5 ppg on a then record .540 shooting (in a league that shot .433) in 65-66. And the very next season? 24.1 ppg on an unfathomable .683 shooting.

BTW, Chamberlain had SIX games of 60+ AFTER the NBA widened the lane, which is more than MJ had in his entire 15 season career, and Kobe has had in his 16 season career. And the reality was, Wilt could have had a TON more. Even as late as his tenth season, at age 32, he was hanging games of 60 and 66. And that 66 point game came on 29-35 shooting, or an .829 FG%, which is the all-time record for a 60+ point game.

I can only imagine what Shaq would do in a time when basketball was in it's infancy and the wrinkles were being ironed out.

He would be putting up 60 and 30

[Myth]

So if we get to ignore Wilt's existence, does that mean in 30 years or so I can pretend that nothing Kobe did counts?