Wilt Chamberlain's choking resume

[Screamin A Smit]

And yet, a ROLE player, coming off the BENCH, beat LeChoke out of the FMVP.

MEANWHILE, Wilt WAS the role-player in his Finals.


West, Baylor, Egan were all more prominent on the team than Wilt.




Think about that, Wilt was AT BEST the 3rd or 4th important player in every Finals he was in





Wilts role = Tristan Thompsons role on the Cavs

[aj1987]

LOL, LeBrons 36ppg is like 3 of Wilts Finals ppg combined



#2/6

This was also in BY FAR THE WORST era in NBA history.

.511 FT% shooter in the regular season
.465 in the playoffs
.375 in the finals


Chamberlains ppg in regular season: 30.1
Chamberlains ppg in playoffs: 22.5
Chamberlain's ppg in the Finals: 18

Ilt's scoring drop off from the RS to the PO's:

'60 - -4.4
'61 - -1.4
'62 - -15.4
'63 - Missed the PO's despite averaging 44.8/24.3/3.4 on 52.8%
'64 - -2.2
'65 - -5.4
'66 - -5.5
'67 - -2.4
'68 - -0.6
'69 - -6.6
'70 - -5.2 (Injured his knee, so not really gonna count this year)
'71 - -2.4
'72 - -0.1
'73 - -2.8

Those numbers would translate to ~15 PPG in the '90's, BTW. Playing in a weak ass era definitely helped boost his stats.


Ilt's FG% from the RS to the PO's:

1960 - +3.5
1961 - -4.0
1962 - -3.9
1964 - +1.8
1965 - +2.0
1966 - -3.1
1967 - -10.4
1968 - -6.1
1979 - -3.8
1970 - -1.9
1971 - -9.0
1972 - -8.6
1973 - -17.5

MEANWHILE, Wilt WAS the role-player in his Finals.

West, Baylor, Egan were all more prominent on the team than Wilt.

Think about that, Wilt was AT BEST the 3rd or 4th important player in every Finals he was in

Wilts role = Tristan Thompsons role on the Cavs

That's surprisingly accurate.

The mental midget lost a series in which his teammate averaged 39/5/7.

[LAZERUSS]

...

Gotta love the Ajackoffs of this site. CONTEXT. He has no clue what that means.

Scoring? How about post-season runs of 28, 29, [COLOR="DarkRed"]33, 35, 35, and 37 ppg[/COLOR]? How about post-season series of 37, 37, 39, and 39 ppg? How about post-season series of 28-30, 29-28, [COLOR="DarkRed"]30-31, 31-27, and 34-27 against RUSSELL[/COLOR]? How about 13 playoff games of 40+...11 of which came in his 52 playoff games in his "scoring" seasons (21% for those keeping track.) [COLOR="DarkRed"]How about MUST WIN games of 45-27 (Finals BTW), 46-34 (against RUSSELL BTW), 50-22, 50-35 (against RUSSELL BTW), and even a 56-35-12 game?[/COLOR] As well as another 50 point game in the '64 WDF's. Or series clinching games of 30-32, 30-26, 38-26, and 39-26-10?

How about his MUST WIN playoff games? In his 23 must win playoff games...

[COLOR="DarkRed"]31.1 ppg[/COLOR], 26.4 rpg, 4.2 apg, and on a .540 FG% (in post-seasons that shot .435 in the same span.)

How about his 37 MUST WIN, and SERIES CLINCHING playoff games?

[COLOR="DarkRed"]29.5 ppg[/COLOR], 26.1 rpg, 4.0 apg, and on a .546 FG% (again, in post-seasons that shot .435 in that span...or nearly TWELVE percentage points above the league average.)


Rebounding? Simply...the GOAT post-season rebounder in NBA history. Yes, Russell had a slightly higher average... 24.9 rpg to 24.5 rpg...BUT, in their eight playoff series H2H's, Chamberlain outrebounded Russell in EVERY one of them. Including margins of 5, 6, and even 9 rpg! Oh, Chamberlain is also the all-time FINALS leading rebounder with a career average of 24.6 rpg.

He played in 13 post-seasons, and his LOW was 20.2 rpg. He also had post-seasons of 28, 29, and even 30 rpg. And he had series of 30 and 31 rpg (both against RUSSELL BTW.) In his LAST post-season, at age 36, and covering 17 games... 22.5 rpg, in a post-season that averaged 50.6 rpg per team (just this last season the NBA averaged 42.0 rpg.) That translates to 19 rpg in the '16 playoffs. In his LAST season.

He played in 29 post-season series, and was never outrebounded by an opposing center in ANY of them. He was outrebounded by PF Jerry Lucas in ONE...and by a 21.0 to 20.0 rpg margin/ However, when the two faced each other as CENTERS, a 35 year old Wilt, playing 47 mpg, outrebounded the 31 year old Lacas, playing 46 mpg, by a 23.2 rpg to 9.8 rpg margin.

Wilt was outrebounding Reed by 14 rpg, Thurmond by 7 rpg, and Russell by 9 rpg.


Playoff RECORDS? Surely this "declining" Wilt would not have any post-season records, right? How about, and by far, the most 20-20 games, the most 30-20 games, the most 20-30 games, the [COLOR="DarkRed"]most 30-30 games, the most 40-20 games, the most 40-30 games, the most 50-20 games, and the most 50-30 games[/COLOR]? How about the most post-seasons of 20-20, 30-20, [COLOR="DarkRed"]30-25, 35-20[/COLOR]?


Blocked shots? Tim Duncan just retired with the "official" post-season blocked shot record of 568 in his 251 playoff games. Well nbastats.net contributor, Julizaver found blocked shot data for 81 of Wilt's 160 post-season games...or roughly half (and almost all of it from the mid-60's on)...and... 590 blocked shots...in 81 games! Hell, an old Wilt blocked 33 shots in his '72 WCF's in the four known games of that series, and 15 of those were on KAJ!

Defense? Wilt held Russell to playoff series FG%'s of .399, .397, .386, and .358 (in a season in which Russell shot .454 against the NBA.) He held Thurmond to playoff series of .392, .373, and .343 (a PEAK Nate BTW...and in a season in which Thurmond shot .437 against the NBA.) He held Bellamy to .450 in a season in which Bellamy shot .521 against the NBA, and then to .421 in a season in which Bellamy had shot .541 against the NBA. Oh, can't forget Kareem, either. KAJ shot .577 and .574 against the NBA in '71 and '72. Against Wilt in those two post-seasons? .481 and .457 (including [COLOR="DarkRed"].414[/COLOR] in the last four games of that series.)

How about Wilt's FG% in his six Finals? .559...all while holding his opposing centers (all in the HOF BTW)...to a combined .439. Or how about his two game seven's of the Finals? He outshot Reed and Russell by a combined .708 to .333 margin (all while averaging 19.5 ppg and 25.5 rpg.)


Passing? Find me a CENTER who averaged 9.0 apg in an entire playoff run (which, BTW, led the post-season that year.) Or a center who had two straight triple-double series (28-27-11, and 22-32-10)?


Of course, had a PRIME Wilt faced the likes of a washed Smits, or a 35 year old Mutombo (whom Shaq was allowed to beat to a bloody pulp in some of the most disgraceful offciating in Finals history), or a never-was in the career 6 ppg scoring MacCulloch, or the complete bust in Eric Dampier... in his Finals...no doubt he would have been putting up 30-40-and 50 point playoff games against them.

GOAT.

[Screamin A Smit]

MEANWHILE, Wilt WAS the role-player in his Finals.


West, Baylor, Egan were all more prominent on the team than Wilt.




Think about that, Wilt was AT BEST the 3rd or 4th important player in every Finals he was in





Wilts role = Tristan Thompsons role on the Cavs

...

[LAZERUSS]

MEANWHILE, Wilt WAS the role-player in his Finals.


West, Baylor, Egan were all more prominent on the team than Wilt.




Think about that, Wilt was AT BEST the 3rd or 4th important player in every Finals he was in





Wilts role = Tristan Thompsons role on the Cavs

Chamberlain won TWO FMVPs (yes, he would have won a unanimous FMVI in '67 had the award existed.)

Baylor???

Shot .385 in the entire playoffs in '69, which, BTW, was a team WORST. How about in the Finals? .397...which included losses in which he shot 4-18, 2-14 (and 1-6 from the line...in a one point loss), and a game seven of 8-22.

Egan???

You obviously have NEVER researched the '69 Finals. In game four, with LA leading the series, 2-1, and leading in the game, 88-87, and having the ball, and with only seconds left... Egan was stripped of his dribble, and then a few moments later, Sam Jones, while falling down, the game-winner. Oh, and in the game, the Lakers pasted the Celtics, 117-104. That ONE PLASY cost the Lakers a 4-1 series romp.

West???

In the '72 Finals, West shot...get this... .325 from the field. How about Wilt? Put up a 19-23-4 .600 Finals, which included a clinching 24-29-8 game on 10-14 from the field...and leading the Lakers to their first-ever title in Los Angeles. All of which was culminated by Wilt winning the FMVP. Without Wilt, West would have retired ringless.

[LAZERUSS]

And how about this comparison...

Why did MJ, in his highest scoring season, get swept in the first round, with a .417 FG%, and a clinching game loss of 9-30 from the floor in '87? Why did he go 1-9 in the playoffs in his first three seasons? And how come MJ's scoring and efficiency declined considerably from his regular season numbers when he faced the Bad Boys from '88 thru '90?

And how come MJ didn't win a ring until he played with a roster that had an injury-plagued 55-27 season, withOUT him?

How come a PRIME Kareem, in his first TEN seasons, only went toi TWO Finals, and only won ONE ring? And how come a prime KAJ missed two straight playoffs in the middle of the 70's, and in the weakest era for champions in NBA history?

And how come a PEAK Kareem's numbers fell off the cliff when he faced Thurmond and Wilt in five playoff series from '71 thru '73?

How come Shaq was SWEPT SIX times in the playoffs (and nearly EIGHT)? And how come a PEAK Shaq only went 1-8 against Greg Ostertag, including a series of 23-11 .493? And why did Shaq's scoring and efficiency drop considerably when he faced the Robinson-Spurs from '99-'02, including a 21 ppg .447 series?

And then, when he faced a washed up Smits in last season; and a 35 year old Mutombo...whom the officials allowed to be beaten to a pulp; and a never-was 6 ppg career scoring 6-11 clod in Todd MacCoulloch....he suddenly was putting up 36 ppg Finals?


I could and have covered all of the Wilt "declines", but just to condense them...he took last place rosters, in his scoring seasons, to within 2 and 1 point of beating the GOAT Dynasty. With series of 34-27 and 30-31. With supporting casts that were vastly outmatched, and then also performed way below normal.

Let me give you an example...

In Chamberlain's 64-65 season, he was traded mid-year, for three decent players, to a team that had gone 34-46 the year before. He then single-handedly carried what was a 40-40 team, past Oscar's stacked 48-32 Royals in the first round.

Then, he took that roster, which had gone 34-46 without him...up against the six-time defending champion, and 62-18 Celtics, with SIX HOFers, and at the peal of their dynasty...

to a game seven, one point loss. In a game in which Chamberlain scored 30 pts on 12-15 shooting (and with a .724 TS%), with 32 rebounds. And in that game, he scored Philly's last 8 points, including 2-2 from the line with 36 secs remaining, and a dunk over Russell with 5 secs left...to pull the Sixers to within 110-109. Then, after the "clutch" Russell hit a guidewire with an inbounds pass, the Sixers had a chance to pull off the greatest upset in NBA playoff history. Alas, a Wilt teammate, Hal Greer, threw an inbounds pass that was picked off by Hondo. Oh, and while Chamberlain shot 12-15 from the floor, his teammates collectively shot 28-75 from the floor.. .373...in that one point loss.

For the series, Chamberlain averaged 30.1 ppg, with 31.4 rpg (and a 24.8 TRB%), on a .555 FG% (in a series in which the two teams combined to shoot .413 overall), and with a .575 TS%, and with 7.0 bpg. [COLOR="DarkRed"]Led BOTH teams in MPG, PPG, RPG, TRB%, FG%, TS%, and BPG[/COLOR].

Oh, and then Boston went on to rout the Baylor-less Lakers in the Finals, 4-1, which included two 30+ point blowout wins. In a series in which Russell averaged 18-25-6 on a .702 FG%. And against this center...

http://www.basketball-reference.com/..._id2=chambwi01


Compare that with Lebron's '16 Finals. Took a 57-25 team up against a 73-9 team that barely won a seven game series against a 55 win team, and was outscored in that series. Then, after the Warriors went up 3-1, the NBA suspended Draymond Green; Andrew Bogut, their rim-protector, missed the last two games with an injury; and the "Lebron-Stopper" Iguadala injured his back and was just a shell in the last two games of the series.

In the game seven win, Lebron shot 9-24 from the field, including 0-4 in the last four minutes. He needed a great defensive stop by Kevin Love (of all people), and a game winning trey from Kyrie to win the game.

Lebron's game seven stats:

27 points, on 9-24 from the field, with an eFG% of .396, in a game in which the two teams combined to shoot .450. And with a TS% of .475, in a game in which the two teams combined to shoot a TS% of .501.

He also had a teammate score 26 points, on a .478 eFG%, and a .525 TS%.

The best player on the floor in that game seven?

How about Draymond Green, who as you will recall, was suspended in game five. Green put up a game high 32 points, on a .933 eFG% and a .955 TS%, with a game high 15 rebounds.


James had a great series, but not a Wilt-esque '65 EDF's.

29.7 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 8.9 apg on a .533 eFG%, and a .562 TS%, in a series in which both teams shot considerably higher than the teams in Wilt's '65 EDF's. BTW, Chamberlain shot an eFG% of .555 in his '65 series against the Celtics...in a series in which the two teams combined to shoot .413 overall. Lebron's .533 eFG% came in a series in which the two teams combined to shoot .508.


In any case... Lebron was one shot away from losing the '16 Finals, and Wilt was one bad inbounds pass away from winning a ring in '65.

BTW...none other than John Wooden claimed that had Wilt and Russell swapped rosters in their 10 years in the league together, and it would have been Wilt holding all those rings.

[aj1987]

.511 FT% shooter in the regular season
.465 in the playoffs
.375 in the finals


Chamberlains ppg in regular season: 30.1
Chamberlains ppg in playoffs: 22.5
Chamberlain's ppg in the Finals: 18

Ilt's scoring drop off from the RS to the PO's:

'60 - -4.4
'61 - -1.4
'62 - -15.4
'63 - Missed the PO's despite averaging 44.8/24.3/3.4 on 52.8%
'64 - -2.2
'65 - -5.4
'66 - -5.5
'67 - -2.4
'68 - -0.6
'69 - -6.6
'70 - -5.2 (Injured his knee, so not really gonna count this year)
'71 - -2.4
'72 - -0.1
'73 - -2.8

Those numbers would translate to ~15 PPG in the '90's, BTW. Playing in a weak ass era definitely helped boost his stats.


Ilt's FG% from the RS to the PO's:

1960 - +3.5
1961 - -4.0
1962 - -3.9
1964 - +1.8
1965 - +2.0
1966 - -3.1
1967 - -10.4
1968 - -6.1
1979 - -3.8
1970 - -1.9
1971 - -9.0
1972 - -8.6
1973 - -17.5

1973 NBA Finals
Lakers had HCA but lost the series in 5 games. Lakers lost by 4 points in Game 2 in which Wilt shot 1-9 from the freethrow line. Wilt put up 5 points in Game 3 which the Lakers lost by 4 points again. In Game 5 Wilt shot 5-14 from the freethrow line. This capped off Wilt's 5th series loss with HCA to end his career.

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 14-38 (36.8%)

1970 NBA Finals
Another Game 7 loss for the Lakers. Wilt shot 1-10 from the freethrow in a Game 1 loss. In Game 7 Wilt shot 11 freethrow attempts, only making 1.

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 23-67 (34.3%)
Wilt's FT shooting in Game 7: 1-11 (9.1%)

1969 NBA Finals
Lakers had HCA and were up 2-0 in the series and also 3-2 after Game 5. Lakers managed to lose the next 2 games including a 2 point loss in Game 7 in which Wilt missed 9 freethrows (4-13) while Jerry West put up 42-13-12 and won Finals MVP. Wilt shot 1-5 from the filed and missed 8 freethrows in a Game 6 loss and 1-5 from the field in Game 2. In a pivotal Game 4 Wilt shot 2-11 from the line in a 1-point loss, a win would have gave the Lakers a 3-1 series lead. Boston Celtic Sam Jones outscored Wilt Chamberlain again in Game 7, doing so in all 4 Game 7s.

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 24-66 (36.4%)
Wilt's FT shooting in Game 7: 4-13 (30.8%)

1968 Division Finals
Another HCA series loss for Wilt. Wilt shot 6-21 from the field and missed 15 freethrows in a Game 6 loss. In Game 7, Wilt made 4 field goals and missed 9 freethrows in a 4 point loss. Wilt was the 9th leading scorer and the 5th leading scorer on his own team in that game 7 with 14 points

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 39-91 (42.9%)
Wilt FT shooting in Game 7: 6-15 (40.0%)

1966 Division Finals
His Sixers lost to Boston in 5 games. In the elimination Game 5, Wilt missed 17 freethrows (8-25) in a 8 point loss.

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 28-68 (41.2%)

1965 Division Finals
Wilt shot 7-21 from the field in a Game 3 loss. The Sixers lost by 1 point in Game 7, Wilt missed 7 freethrows (6-13) in that game. Wilt was once again outscored by Sam Jones in a Game 7.

1964 NBA Finals
His team lost the series in 5 games. Wilt shot 4-12 from the freethrow line in a Game 1 loss.

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 22-48 (45.8%)

1963 Regular season
Wilt led his team to a 31-49 record, a record too poor to make the playoffs.

1962 Division Finals
Coming off his 50.4 ppg season, his PPG in the Playoffs dropped down by 15 points. In Game 7, Wilt was the 4th leading scorer with 22 points in a loss.

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 22-48 (45.8%)

1961 Division Semifinals
Wilt's Warriors had HCA and were facing the 38-41 Nationals. The result? The sub .500 Nationals swept Wilt's team 3-0. In an elimination Game 3 Wilt shot 7-14 from the freethrow line in a 3-point loss.

Wilt FT shooting for the series: 21-38 (55.3%)

1960 Division Finals
After a regular season of 38.4 ppg, Wilt followed that up with a 30.5 ppg series in the Division Finals vs. Boston.

Wilt FT shooting for the series: 35-65 (53.8%)

[Mr Feeny]

.511 FT% shooter in the regular season
.465 in the playoffs
.375 in the finals


Chamberlains ppg in regular season: 30.1
Chamberlains ppg in playoffs: 22.5
Chamberlain's ppg in the Finals: 18

Ilt's scoring drop off from the RS to the PO's:

'60 - -4.4
'61 - -1.4
'62 - -15.4
'63 - Missed the PO's despite averaging 44.8/24.3/3.4 on 52.8%
'64 - -2.2
'65 - -5.4
'66 - -5.5
'67 - -2.4
'68 - -0.6
'69 - -6.6
'70 - -5.2 (Injured his knee, so not really gonna count this year)
'71 - -2.4
'72 - -0.1
'73 - -2.8

Those numbers would translate to ~15 PPG in the '90's, BTW. Playing in a weak ass era definitely helped boost his stats.


Ilt's FG% from the RS to the PO's:

1960 - +3.5
1961 - -4.0
1962 - -3.9
1964 - +1.8
1965 - +2.0
1966 - -3.1
1967 - -10.4
1968 - -6.1
1979 - -3.8
1970 - -1.9
1971 - -9.0
1972 - -8.6
1973 - -17.5

1973 NBA Finals
Lakers had HCA but lost the series in 5 games. Lakers lost by 4 points in Game 2 in which Wilt shot 1-9 from the freethrow line. Wilt put up 5 points in Game 3 which the Lakers lost by 4 points again. In Game 5 Wilt shot 5-14 from the freethrow line. This capped off Wilt's 5th series loss with HCA to end his career.

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 14-38 (36.8%)

1970 NBA Finals
Another Game 7 loss for the Lakers. Wilt shot 1-10 from the freethrow in a Game 1 loss. In Game 7 Wilt shot 11 freethrow attempts, only making 1.

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 23-67 (34.3%)
Wilt's FT shooting in Game 7: 1-11 (9.1%)

1969 NBA Finals
Lakers had HCA and were up 2-0 in the series and also 3-2 after Game 5. Lakers managed to lose the next 2 games including a 2 point loss in Game 7 in which Wilt missed 9 freethrows (4-13) while Jerry West put up 42-13-12 and won Finals MVP. Wilt shot 1-5 from the filed and missed 8 freethrows in a Game 6 loss and 1-5 from the field in Game 2. In a pivotal Game 4 Wilt shot 2-11 from the line in a 1-point loss, a win would have gave the Lakers a 3-1 series lead. Boston Celtic Sam Jones outscored Wilt Chamberlain again in Game 7, doing so in all 4 Game 7s.

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 24-66 (36.4%)
Wilt's FT shooting in Game 7: 4-13 (30.8%)

1968 Division Finals
Another HCA series loss for Wilt. Wilt shot 6-21 from the field and missed 15 freethrows in a Game 6 loss. In Game 7, Wilt made 4 field goals and missed 9 freethrows in a 4 point loss. Wilt was the 9th leading scorer and the 5th leading scorer on his own team in that game 7 with 14 points

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 39-91 (42.9%)
Wilt FT shooting in Game 7: 6-15 (40.0%)

1966 Division Finals
His Sixers lost to Boston in 5 games. In the elimination Game 5, Wilt missed 17 freethrows (8-25) in a 8 point loss.

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 28-68 (41.2%)

1965 Division Finals
Wilt shot 7-21 from the field in a Game 3 loss. The Sixers lost by 1 point in Game 7, Wilt missed 7 freethrows (6-13) in that game. Wilt was once again outscored by Sam Jones in a Game 7.

1964 NBA Finals
His team lost the series in 5 games. Wilt shot 4-12 from the freethrow line in a Game 1 loss.

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 22-48 (45.8%)

1963 Regular season
Wilt led his team to a 31-49 record, a record too poor to make the playoffs.

1962 Division Finals
Coming off his 50.4 ppg season, his PPG in the Playoffs dropped down by 15 points. In Game 7, Wilt was the 4th leading scorer with 22 points in a loss.

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 22-48 (45.8%)

1961 Division Semifinals
Wilt's Warriors had HCA and were facing the 38-41 Nationals. The result? The sub .500 Nationals swept Wilt's team 3-0. In an elimination Game 3 Wilt shot 7-14 from the freethrow line in a 3-point loss.

Wilt FT shooting for the series: 21-38 (55.3%)

1960 Division Finals
After a regular season of 38.4 ppg, Wilt followed that up with a 30.5 ppg series in the Division Finals vs. Boston.

Wilt FT shooting for the series: 35-65 (53.8%)

Oh. My. Goodness