Very difficult to compare eras, but I still believe Wilt was the singular greatest player in basketball history (and I've been a Celtics fan since 1963).
I used to think it was Jordan but after some serious looking into tha candidates I’d have to say it is either Jordan or Wilt, or Kareem! Nobody else sits at their table.
The best basketball player, the goat, is Bird. The most athletic and physically built for the game, Wilt. Wilt had the body, Bird had the brain and the talent. Bird was and still is a savant. Wilt just dabbled with basketball.
Wilt is very articulate, knowledgeable and fair in his assessments of himself as well as others. He has a realistic confidence and has accountability of self..he's just a man who just wanted respect and love that he earned.
@Wilt Chamberlain is the GOAT wilt was really color blind to his credit which I admired . Russell kept walls up because of how blacks were treated back then and was indifferent to fans ....kareem and russ are a little obsessed with race unlike wilt who had friends of all sizes and colors
I like wilt's attitude.... hes obviously got a big ego and confident but he does it w/ a joy & a wink & he doesnt condescend down to people. its infectious. he wouldve been a fun guy to hang with & seems to actually have a good heart.
So sweet that after 22 years of not seeing each other, Wilt "felt" that he would see Bill Russell again soon. He did, and they became great friends once again!
It's important to note that the year (e.g., 1967-1968) he shot 38 percent from the free throw line, Wilt averaged 24.3 points, he led the league in rebounding (e.g., 23.8 rebounds), field goal percentage (e.g., .595 FG%), he became the only center to lead the league in assists (e.g., 8.6 assists), and he was named the league MVP.
if you really listen to this guy, he was not only very perceptive, but he was also very wise. wilt was an interesting indiv. He has that innate mental strength that people of his korean war generation era were raised w/ & w/in (born 1936), yet he also has a very modern sense of himself, very aware to & embracing change..... really miss him & feel like he was always unfairly short changed both on and off the court. a strong argument could be made hes the greatest athlete above 6'6". a true for the ages legend.
There has never been a better athlete play basketball! The one thing no one talk about very often is Wilt’s intelligence! He may have been the smartest player ever! And, on top of that he was a person full of decency and love of all people!! My He Rest In Peace always and May God bless him always!!
@@pappy374 Was just a continuation of his earlier joke where he stated that he'd kill himself if the interviewer was right about his FT%, which he was.
At 2:41, Wilt mentions getting tired. It's true that at the point when he hit 81 points, he was 24-26 from the line. So, for the rest of the game, he went 4-6. Still that 67% on the last 6 shots is excellent for Wilt. At halftime, Wilt was 13-14 from the line.
@@MaxHutchings31 In this particular case, the info is in a book I have that is all about the 100 point game. It's called Wilt 1962 and the author is Pomerantz
@@Mikelangelow it is debatable. I like wilt n he’s for sure the most dominant player to ever step on the court but chill. Look at the level of comp he played, his team frequently lost a lot and he has less mvps then guys like Jordan but is tied with lebron.
The number one reason I believe Kareem played those extra years was to beat Wilt's record of being the all-time leading scorer. But if Wilt wanted to in his later years he could have put that record out of sight. I only wish he would have.
The reason Kareem played so many seasons was very simple, he needed the money. He claimed he lost tens of millions of dollars to a crooked agent. I don't know the results of the lawsuit so I need to say claims I'm not getting sued.
WILT is dead and still holds 72 NBA records 4 team records and 68 individual records there is no one and I repeat NO ONE in ANY sport baseball football hockey who can even come close to what WILTl has done after being retired for 40 years Wilt Chamberlain held 92 records it's just f****** amazing there's no one that were ever be as good as it will Chamberlain was in basketball
This is why is my favourite player and for me is the best of all time, anybody can be in that level, rest in peace legend I hope someday see you in the heaven!!
I loved that guy. I felt terrible when he died. I still miss him. I wish he could have lived to 100, the same as all those points he scored so many years ago. I'm very thankful for these old interviews. There will never be another like him. I will say though, that I dearly love Shaq too. He's a treasure and I'm always happy to see his smile and enthusiasm for life.
Kareem never had the level of personality and likability that Wit had. Both guys were very smart, but Wilt owned every room he walked into. I think Kareem was a bit envious of that.
In my humble opinion the best center of all times. He was basketball institution on his own. You must remember Bill Russell did not have Wilt athleticism, but he had better supporting team members. Wilt took a lot of punishment which ultimately led to his demise (his teeth were damaged severely and he required reconstructive surgery). He was going back to the orthodontist when no one could reach him. His sister found him dead in his bedroom. "May the Divine Creator/Creatress be pleased ".
Quentin Williams Russell played with four members of the NBA's Top 50 at 50 (Havlicek(won 5 rings without Havlicek) , Cousy(another 5 titles without Cousy) , Sharman(7 titles without Sharman) , and Sam Jones( didn’t become a starter or have a big role with the team until Sharman retired in in 1961) Wilt played with six members (Baylor(3 seasons and averaged 24/10 his first two seasons with Wilt), West( 5 seasons ) Greer 4 seasons) Cunningham (3 seasons ), Arizin ( 3 seasons) and Thurmond 2 seasons).And Russell's teammates from 1957 to 1969 were selected to twenty-six All-Star games, while Wilt's teammates from 1960 to 1973 were selected to twenty-four while being on the same team as Wilt.Let's never mention the supporting-cast card again with Russell and Chamberlain. Thank you. Rip Wilt a true legend tho.
@@casualfandestroyer2503 Russell fans claim that Celtics 7-1 PO record shows Russ dominated and is better than Wilt as a player all time. Wilt fans say he dominated Russ individually but that Russ’s teammates outplayed Wilt’s. This thread looks at the actual record, series by series and game by game and decides which side is right or not in their arguments. I examined all 49 PO games. I tracked data in four categories: TS%, Pts, Reb, Ast. The overall data showed this: PTS: Wilt: 43-6 (Wilt had more points than BR in 43 games vs. 6 games for Russ.) REB: Wilt: 32-18 (1 tie) AST: BR: 27-15 (7 ties) TS%: Wilt: 32-17 I figured out Russ/Wilt’s teammates’ data by subtracting Russ/Wilt’s stats from team stats. PTS: BR's teammates: 40-9 (BR teammates had more points than Wilt's in 40 of those games, vs. 9 for Wilt's mates.) REB: BR teammates, 33-15 (1 tie) AST: BR teammates: 28-16-5 TS%: BR teammates, 26-23 Also, finally, we know that Wilt and Russell played H2H in 8 PO series. But who led in each category: PTS: 8-0 Wilt REB: 8-0 Wilt AST: 6-2 Russell TS%: 8-0 Wilt Teammates: PTS: 8-0 Russell's teammates REB: 7-1 Russell's AST: 5-3 Russell's TS%: 5-3 Russell's Therefore we see with the data that Wilt bested Russ in 26 of 32 (81%) categories over 8 PO series. And that Russ's 11 teammates bested Wilt's 11 teammates in 25 of 32 (78%)categories over 8 PO series
@@thebigdipperarchive1007 Looking back, Wilt had five chances to knock Near ready to retire bill Russell out of the playoffs in ‘68 (3-1 lead ) and ‘69 (2-0 lead turned into 3-2 lead before being blown ) with a superior team-including two game 7s at home-and only needed to submit one monster performance to pull it off.Each time, he couldn’t do it .Each time , Russell’s inferior team prevailed.Each time wilt whines about it afterward. If Jerry west was MR clutch , than wilt was MR crutch
Get your facts straight. Russell was a superior athlete. There is a video showing him jumping over a player. He was fast and could jump out of the building. He had great anticipation. He was top defender, shot blocker and rebounder. He could run all day. He was a very good offensive player but he decided that doing other things gave his team a better chance to win. Russell is the GOAT.
It's so enlightening what he says about the free throws. It was all in the head. Because Wilt actually had a fine shooting touch. But all you have to do is imagine being the perfect Goliath and knowing that everyone is looking for that one weakness that makes you seem human. And then the foul line is that one place where you're all alone and yet the whole world is looking at you, waiting to see you fail. Shaq is very similar. You can see what a tender soul lives in both of them.
Why was Wilt so much more articulate than the average black ball player of today? Does that say something about the US educational system and the evolution of popular culture? There’s got to be a reason. I also should note that Chamberlain comes across as a fair-minded gentleman with a sense of humor who, as we see at the close of the interview, could poke fun at himself.
Some fact checking: 1) Costas is wrong when he says there were years when Wilt averaged 35 points per game but shot 38% from the free throw line. In the first half of Wilt's career, when he was averaging those 35ppg, he never shot less than 46.4% and he otherwise shot over 50%. It wasn't until the second half of Wilt's career that he became a real all-time bad free throw shooter, and this is when he shot 38% in a season (1967-68), a year in which he won MVP. 2) Wilt gives Russell too much credit on his scoring. Russell's career ave is 15.1ppg.
Wow, great interview! Too bad Wilt didn’t do NBA pregame shows, him with Shaq & Charles Barkley would’ve been hilarious together. Bob should’ve done a second show with him about his years in L.A. and doing the Conan movie with Arnold
You are talking about tone of voice, I take it? MJ is very monotone in my book! Wilt isn’t! Now, it could be my Piston fandom in me, but MJ is such a boring interview! I didn’t watch his documentary for fear that I would be bored out of my wits listening to him. Wilt is none of that! I could listen to his interviews over and over!
Ladies and gentlemen what a great conversation though things that the celtics did is what we really should be talking about. I'm the biggest wilt fan there is but what the celtics accomplished was unparalleled in modern athletic competition
They used to be friends, then they kind of drifted apart as discussed in this interview, and then they became good friends again and would talk on the phone like a pair of old ladies, chatting away for hours.
@@roldschmidt 8.8 is the average of 125 available games of his career. (This doesn't include 100 point game, quintuple double game and many other important games he played).
They werent tabulating defensive stats back then. However, it would be interesting to know how many blocks and steals guys like he and Russell had in their careers.
@@rexscipio3344 Harvey Pollack counted blocks for Philadelphia Warriors and Sixers, so probably we have these stats about Chamberlain for most of his career games.
Straight up ball player No titles no championships no teammates super teams etc etc ...no one did what this guy did overall on n off the court ...Russell ,Kareem, Jordan,lebron, kobe, no one has or ever will not taking anything away from there accomplishments any era wilts the goat
Kareem like to view himself as higher than wilt, he developed a kind of ego around it after he passed him on the all time scoring list and in rings, he's slightly justified for thinking that way but let's be real, nobody is better at basketball than wilt, maybe Michael Jordan but thats on skill wilt would still beat him 1 on 1
@@casualfandestroyer2503 tbh i kinda agree with you but on the other hand I don't, Bill Russell deserves to be in the GOAT conversations no matter what, what he did ain't come from luck bro. But skill wise and pure dominance of the court Kareem and wilt would rank way way higher which I think evens it out, Kareem was kinda a mix of both wilt and Bill since he won alot and was closest thing to as dominate to the game as wilt was
@@Poloskii 1962 Finals - Russell dropped 23-27-6 on 54%, led his team in pts/rebs 1963 Finals - Russell dropped 20-26-5 on 47% 1965 Finals - Russell dropped 18-25-6 on 70%, NBA Finals record for FG% 1966 Finals - Russell dropped 24-24-4 on 54%, led his team in pts/rebs Wilt has never put up NBA Finals numbers, where it actually matters, as impressive as these performances by Bill Russell. Wilt NEVER led his team in rebounds and points at the same time while winning an NBA Finals, unlike the genius Russell. That's because Russell's scoring helped his team, Wilt's team had a 22-30 playoff record during his 7 scoring title seasons Russell could win titles while playing multiple roles and leading his team in scoring in the Finals - he also led his team in assists in the 1969 NBA Finals, only Jerry West had more assists than Russell in the series. Wilt never won the title while leading his team in scoring. Nowhere near as versatile as Russell when it came to winning.
Wilt was the greatest athlete in basketball ever but lacked that winning mentality like russel or kareem. He lacked the leadership skills of kareem or russel but as an individual specimen, wilt was the greatest individual basketball athlete
Kareem played with 2 of the best guards ever in Robertson and Magic. Russell numerous other greats and HOF (Cousy, Havlecik, Jones, Heinson, etc) guys on the same team at the same time. Both had HOF coaches (Riley & Auerbach) and played for top tier organizations. Can you even name anybody from Wilt’s team?? (Without an internet search 1st)
NBA basketball is a team game. Bill Russell's teams were better than Wilt Chamberlain's teams. If a team A has 5 Wilt Chamberlains and team B has 5 Bill Russells, team A wins 99 times out of 100.
Plus Russell and the Celtics played for Auerbach. Auerbach knew how to build a supporting cast around Russell and what to do with them once they were assembled. Wilt didn't have that luxury. Red Auerbach was one of the all time great coaches, along with Phil Jackson, Johnny Wooden, Bobby Knight,maybe Jerry Sloan, and maybe a couple of others. Does anybody even remember the names of any of Wilt's coaches?
Michael is the greatest and most skilled player, but he is never beating wilt simply because he isn't as dominate and athletic and just being able to use his body to its full potential unlike wilt
A couple things about Wilt. One of his Philly teams won 68 games , the record until the Bulls broke it, and a championship. Wilt averaged 24 pts, 24 rebs, and almost 8 assists. One of his Lakers teams won 33 straight, still the record, and 69 total, again a record until the Bulls. Here, he was NBA rebounds leader, 2nd team all star, all-NBA Defensive team, and Finals MVP at 36 years of age. Basketball is a team sport. Pre- Free Agency, the Celtics could keep that winning team together. And MJ didn’t win a Championship until his 7th season. Again, it’s a team sport. Put the right team together, and you win. MJ didn’t do it alone.
@@michaelhasenstein7838 Wilton Norman Chamberlain is black and we can argue that black is beautiful like Wilton Norman Chamberlain 👍, despite all of what you say, we don't care.
Can’t stand Costas! In trying to stay relevant he came out in favor of gun control! As if gun crimes are committed by legal gun owners! He’s a Lefty Dwarf!! Keep dying your hair peewee Costas maybe you can get someone to think you’re not a joke!!!
I think people do not know how fast he was a 40 yd in 4.4 and Jordan was 4.38 lots of great track speeds and jumping all types of records...... Only play to be in two hall of fames at the time.
I truly believe Wilt could have played in his 40's and early 50's. Remember Gordie Howe Played till he was 55. He may not have been able to play 20 plus minutes. But easily could have played 10 minutes a game.
Here's some proof of your statement, Wayne. www.opencourt-basketball.com/43-year-old-wilt-chamberlain-destroyed-magic-johnson-in-a-pick-up-game-and-blocked-all-of-his-shots/
I wouldn't say he is the best ever. I would say he's the most dominant for his era, ever. Sorta the Babe Ruth of basketball. Transport Barry Bonds back to the 1920's and he'd hit 120 HRs every year. Put Ruth into tody's game and he wouldn't stand a chance. Transport Wilt to today's NBA and he'd certainly be good, but he wouldn't be scoring 50 and grabbing 25 rebounds per night. Love Wilt. One of my favorite athletes of all time. Died too young.
I cant believe how tall and big wilt is by the end of this video. I mean Bob costas is 5'7 which is not tall at all, but is far away from a dwarf, but its absolutely ridicoulus how big Wilt is looking there:D
66-67 Philadelphia 76ers 68-14 NBA best record at the time = Wilt Chamberlain Championship. 71-72 Lakers 69-13 NBA best record at the time =Wilt Chamberlain Championship. Only two championships but they were the best "teams" in NBA history at the time. What does winning 33 games in a row say? It says Wilt Chamberlain.
I wonder if Wilt was ever offered to play the role of The Predator. Wilt at 50 was still in great shape being much stronger, Taller, more agile and just a better athlete than the actor who played it. It makes sense since Wilt and Arnold were friends.
I'm not sure if this is correct but when Alex hamman said to wilt I don't want you as a out and out scorer in the 66-67 chip season .So wilt became the top of assist stats that year .
Very difficult to compare eras, but I still believe Wilt was the singular greatest player in basketball history (and I've been a Celtics fan since 1963).
I used to think it was Jordan but after some serious looking into tha candidates I’d have to say it is either Jordan or Wilt, or Kareem! Nobody else sits at their table.
@@eyebelieve3 I think Kareem has a case to be in at that table.
There's a second tier below those 3, but they dominated their respective eras.
Sure jordan had skills but still Wilt be at a higher tier player than everyone because of the freak of a nature in true sense of words he was.
@@steveolie985 yes that’s actually right, I edited my comment in fact.
The best basketball player, the goat, is Bird. The most athletic and physically built for the game, Wilt. Wilt had the body, Bird had the brain and the talent. Bird was and still is a savant. Wilt just dabbled with basketball.
Wilt is very articulate, knowledgeable and fair in his assessments of himself as well as others. He has a realistic confidence and has accountability of self..he's just a man who just wanted respect and love that he earned.
Agree totally....GOAT
And a much brighter guy, when I actually heard him interviewed, then I had imagined before when i read the stories about him.
Agreed 100%
@Wilt Chamberlain is the GOAT Well said.
@Wilt Chamberlain is the GOAT wilt was really color blind to his credit which I admired . Russell kept walls up because of how blacks were treated back then and was indifferent to fans ....kareem and russ are a little obsessed with race unlike wilt who had friends of all sizes and colors
I like wilt's attitude.... hes obviously got a big ego and confident but he does it w/ a joy & a wink & he doesnt condescend down to people. its infectious. he wouldve been a fun guy to hang with & seems to actually have a good heart.
Exactly. I feel like when you own 73 records, you deserve to have that ego!! Also, as you said, he’s never condescending.
True GOAT if you ask me
By all accounts, Wilt was a good dude with a good heart.
20th century legend, RIP to the real goat
@Michael Jordan fans are worst sports fans all time for real ????
So sweet that after 22 years of not seeing each other, Wilt "felt" that he would see Bill Russell again soon. He did, and they became great friends once again!
In my opinion the greatest player to play basketball at any level
It's important to note that the year (e.g., 1967-1968) he shot 38 percent from the free throw line, Wilt averaged 24.3 points, he led the league in rebounding (e.g., 23.8 rebounds), field goal percentage (e.g., .595 FG%), he became the only center to lead the league in assists (e.g., 8.6 assists), and he was named the league MVP.
Legend. He almost doesn't seem real
This was really a great interview
We need a wilt chamberlain movie.
No one could play him
IKR. Young Black Americans should know who he is. I wonder who would play him. Someone really tall.
It would have to be animated as nobody could fill those Chuck Taylors
@Mike Brown what’s even more sad is that they swear wilt played bums his whole career which is not true he played more hall of fame centers then shaq
@Mike Brown Every body know who is Wilt😉
if you really listen to this guy, he was not only very perceptive, but he was also very wise. wilt was an interesting indiv. He has that innate mental strength that people of his korean war generation era were raised w/ & w/in (born 1936), yet he also has a very modern sense of himself, very aware to & embracing change..... really miss him & feel like he was always unfairly short changed both on and off the court. a strong argument could be made hes the greatest athlete above 6'6". a true for the ages legend.
Wilt Chamberlain was such a gracious guy! Truly the GoaT.🐐
There has never been a better athlete play basketball! The one thing no one talk about very often is Wilt’s intelligence!
He may have been the smartest player ever! And, on top of that he was a person full of decency and love of all people!!
My He Rest In Peace always and May God bless him always!!
Jim Thorpe played basketball.
"Get me the rope" lmaoo. I love Wilt, wish he was still around, man....
What does "get me the rope" mean?
@@pappy374 Was just a continuation of his earlier joke where he stated that he'd kill himself if the interviewer was right about his FT%, which he was.
@@tord2354 Ohhh! God, I'm dumb, and tired. Mostly dumb though. Thanks, bud.
@The Esquire of Sports ® Ahaha that'd be amazing
At 2:41, Wilt mentions getting tired. It's true that at the point when he hit 81 points, he was 24-26 from the line. So, for the rest of the game, he went 4-6. Still that 67% on the last 6 shots is excellent for Wilt. At halftime, Wilt was 13-14 from the line.
How do you know all this?
@@MaxHutchings31 In this particular case, the info is in a book I have that is all about the 100 point game. It's called Wilt 1962 and the author is Pomerantz
@@ddenuci Thanks.
he’s more knowledgeable and honest than all players today goat
Very articulate brother
The legendary Wilt Chamberlain
He is the greatest basketball player of all time, period.
Facts!
Greatest ever
Top 5
@@yessirski7868 goat no debate, mans was rlly great as in great
@@Mikelangelow it is debatable. I like wilt n he’s for sure the most dominant player to ever step on the court but chill. Look at the level of comp he played, his team frequently lost a lot and he has less mvps then guys like Jordan but is tied with lebron.
agree
Totally agree
The number one reason I believe Kareem played those extra years was to beat Wilt's record of being the all-time leading scorer. But if Wilt wanted to in his later years he could have put that record out of sight. I only wish he would have.
Wilt could have scored a career 75K points if he just didn't stop scoring and kept scoring at 60-70% FG and played until his early 40's.
Magic saved Kareem career
The reason Kareem played so many seasons was very simple, he needed the money. He claimed he lost tens of millions of dollars to a crooked agent. I don't know the results of the lawsuit so I need to say claims I'm not getting sued.
Yeah, silt switched to defense and I think even led in assists one year. If he wanted to be all time scorer forever he could have.
This is true. Took Kareem 20 yrs and Wilt stopped scoring his 7th year because he was tired of losing.
WILT is dead and still holds 72 NBA records 4 team records and 68 individual records there is no one and I repeat NO ONE in ANY sport baseball football hockey who can even come close to what WILTl has done after being retired for 40 years Wilt Chamberlain held 92 records it's just f****** amazing there's no one that were ever be as good as it will Chamberlain was in basketball
Absolutely correct! The undisputed GOAT
I agree 💯 he will never be forgotten!
Umm Wayne Gretzky has more records than Wilt and won twice as many championships. He also won 9 MVP tropies
@@elbowgang9715 we're talking about basketball stupid not ice hockey Wayne is irrelevant in this video
@@elbowgang9715 has wayne ever scored 100 points? nah, was he stronger than prime wilt? nah wilt would pick him up like paper
Wilt is the GOAT. If he was in his prime today he would still dominate the game in my opinion.
Objective fact. Regardless of who agrees.
Basketball aside, Wilt was such a special person. What a treasure.
This is why is my favourite player and for me is the best of all time, anybody can be in that level, rest in peace legend I hope someday see you in the heaven!!
There is NO DOUBT WILT WAS THE G.O.A.T. NO ONE WAS EVER BETTER OR DOMINATED A SPORT ANY SPORT LIKE WILT CHAMBERLAIN NO ONE IS EVEN CLOSE SECOND
I loved that guy. I felt terrible when he died. I still miss him. I wish he could have lived to 100, the same as all those points he scored so many years ago. I'm very thankful for these old interviews. There will never be another like him. I will say though, that I dearly love Shaq too. He's a treasure and I'm always happy to see his smile and enthusiasm for life.
I don't know, Wilt seems pretty down-to-earth here. Very likeable. Kareem is super smart, and a phenomenal player, but he's certainly a bit prickly.
Kareem never had the level of personality and likability that Wit had. Both guys were very smart, but Wilt owned every room he walked into. I think Kareem was a bit envious of that.
In my humble opinion the best center of all times. He was basketball institution on his own. You must remember Bill Russell did not have Wilt athleticism, but he had better supporting team members. Wilt took a lot of punishment which ultimately led to his demise (his teeth were damaged severely and he required reconstructive surgery). He was going back to the orthodontist when no one could reach him. His sister found him dead in his bedroom. "May the Divine Creator/Creatress be pleased ".
Quentin Williams Russell played with four members of the NBA's Top 50 at 50 (Havlicek(won 5 rings without Havlicek) , Cousy(another 5 titles without Cousy) , Sharman(7 titles without Sharman) , and Sam Jones( didn’t become a starter or have a big role with the team until Sharman retired in in 1961) Wilt played with six members (Baylor(3 seasons and averaged 24/10 his first two seasons with Wilt), West( 5 seasons ) Greer 4 seasons) Cunningham (3 seasons ), Arizin ( 3 seasons) and Thurmond 2 seasons).And Russell's teammates from 1957 to 1969 were selected to twenty-six All-Star games, while Wilt's teammates from 1960 to 1973 were selected to twenty-four while being on the same team as Wilt.Let's never mention the supporting-cast card again with Russell and Chamberlain. Thank you. Rip Wilt a true legend tho.
@@casualfandestroyer2503
Russell fans claim that Celtics 7-1 PO record shows Russ dominated and is better than Wilt as a player all time.
Wilt fans say he dominated Russ individually but that Russ’s teammates outplayed Wilt’s.
This thread looks at the actual record, series by series and game by game and decides which side is right or not in their arguments.
I examined all 49 PO games. I tracked data in four categories: TS%, Pts, Reb, Ast.
The overall data showed this:
PTS: Wilt: 43-6 (Wilt had more points than BR in 43 games vs. 6 games for Russ.)
REB: Wilt: 32-18 (1 tie)
AST: BR: 27-15 (7 ties)
TS%: Wilt: 32-17
I figured out Russ/Wilt’s teammates’ data by subtracting Russ/Wilt’s stats from team stats.
PTS: BR's teammates: 40-9 (BR teammates had more points than Wilt's in 40 of those games, vs. 9 for Wilt's mates.)
REB: BR teammates, 33-15 (1 tie)
AST: BR teammates: 28-16-5
TS%: BR teammates, 26-23
Also, finally, we know that Wilt and Russell played H2H in 8 PO series.
But who led in each category:
PTS: 8-0 Wilt
REB: 8-0 Wilt
AST: 6-2 Russell
TS%: 8-0 Wilt
Teammates:
PTS: 8-0 Russell's teammates
REB: 7-1 Russell's
AST: 5-3 Russell's
TS%: 5-3 Russell's
Therefore we see with the data that Wilt bested Russ in 26 of 32 (81%) categories over 8 PO series.
And that Russ's 11 teammates bested Wilt's 11 teammates in 25 of 32 (78%)categories over 8 PO series
@@thebigdipperarchive1007 Looking back, Wilt had five chances to knock Near ready to retire bill Russell out of the playoffs in ‘68 (3-1 lead ) and ‘69 (2-0 lead turned into 3-2 lead before being blown ) with a superior team-including two game 7s at home-and only needed to submit one monster performance to pull it off.Each time, he couldn’t do it .Each time , Russell’s inferior team prevailed.Each time wilt whines about it afterward. If Jerry west was MR clutch , than wilt was MR crutch
@@casualfandestroyer2503 Do you mean William Felton Russell? Your argument falls apart in your failure to state his name correctly.
Get your facts straight. Russell was a superior athlete. There is a video showing him jumping over a player. He was fast and could jump out of the building. He had great anticipation. He was top defender, shot blocker and rebounder. He could run all day. He was a very good offensive player but he decided that doing other things gave his team a better chance to win. Russell is the GOAT.
I love his honesty
What? Honesty!
Me too
He later stated the 20000 women thing was a lie to sell books. It was a metaphorical restraining order on him tbh
@@PortalOfKaden Yeah and what? The thing worked, and has become an urban legend.
6:11 Look at the size difference between Chamberlain and Costas! Crazy!
The Greatest .... no question. Probably greatest athlete of all time.
WTF do you mean “probably”?
Wilt is so smart. So well spoken.
The GOAT!
What a awesome video. Never seen that one before. He explained everything perfectly.
Phenomenal interview. Losing the NBA on NBC with Bob Costas holding it down sucks.
Wow, Wilt was an amazing person. This is a really good interview that applies to todays NBA superstar players.
“What happened that year, I was sick!” 😂 😂 😂
It's so enlightening what he says about the free throws. It was all in the head. Because Wilt actually had a fine shooting touch. But all you have to do is imagine being the perfect Goliath and knowing that everyone is looking for that one weakness that makes you seem human. And then the foul line is that one place where you're all alone and yet the whole world is looking at you, waiting to see you fail. Shaq is very similar. You can see what a tender soul lives in both of them.
Why was Wilt so much more articulate than the average black ball player of today?
Does that say something about the US educational system and the evolution of popular culture?
There’s got to be a reason.
I also should note that Chamberlain comes across as a fair-minded gentleman with a sense of humor who, as we see at the close of the interview, could poke fun at himself.
More an indoctment of pop culture. Most NBA players have attended college but chose to speak Hip Hop.
Indictment
Plus the peer pressure to manitain their ethnic identify
clevelandlivemusic Peer pressure could to some extent be a factor.
clevelandlivemusic
Back in the ‘80s they called it Ebonics.
Some fact checking: 1) Costas is wrong when he says there were years when Wilt averaged 35 points per game but shot 38% from the free throw line. In the first half of Wilt's career, when he was averaging those 35ppg, he never shot less than 46.4% and he otherwise shot over 50%. It wasn't until the second half of Wilt's career that he became a real all-time bad free throw shooter, and this is when he shot 38% in a season (1967-68), a year in which he won MVP. 2) Wilt gives Russell too much credit on his scoring. Russell's career ave is 15.1ppg.
Wow....love that someone who is so passionate watched
@@ClevelandLiveMusic Wilt was a childhood hero, so I like to periodically search youtube for new content related to Wilt. Thanks for posting.
But to be fair, he says that Russell had a great TEAM around him that made up for any low scoring percentages he may have had from year to year
@@ddenuci Did you see him ever play in person?
@@mr.research4811 Sadly, no.
Wilt Chamberlain. Great personality, great basketball player, great mind, and so on.
Legend!!!
Wow, great interview! Too bad Wilt didn’t do NBA pregame shows, him with Shaq & Charles Barkley would’ve been hilarious together. Bob should’ve done a second show with him about his years in L.A. and doing the Conan movie with Arnold
Well the men has being death for 21 years now
I amazed he was not a return guest...obviously a busy man! 20000 in 1991...wonder what the count grew to.
Hell No Wilt and Shaq and Barkley. Would of been too damn much ego
@@afrodrummajors4lovepeacech508 Wilt would own those guys. No question, smarter, the GOAT, and more articulate in 10 lifetimes.
Remove O'Neal from that list and I agree. Chamberlain and Barkley were actually intelligent.
Jordan talks a lot like wilt
Accents back then
It is cause they both knew they were that dude
You are talking about tone of voice, I take it? MJ is very monotone in my book! Wilt isn’t! Now, it could be my Piston fandom in me, but MJ is such a boring interview! I didn’t watch his documentary for fear that I would be bored out of my wits listening to him. Wilt is none of that! I could listen to his interviews over and over!
That’s where the similarities end!
love to see 25 yr old wilt play today basically shaq that moves like iverson
Don't believe that
Magic still thriving today
He is the best to do it. His genetics were unmatched, we may never see his likes again.
Ladies and gentlemen what a great conversation though things that the celtics did is what we really should be talking about. I'm the biggest wilt fan there is but what the celtics accomplished was unparalleled in modern athletic competition
Wilt seems like the rare NBA player that could play in any era and dominate. He would have dominated the 80’s, 90’s,2000’s etc in his prime
Wilt made an excellent point about other Celtic players such as Sam Jones or Havilecek helping tilt those games
So much for Wilt and Bill for being best friends when they did not see each other for 20 years. Obviously there is tension between the two of them.
They used to be friends, then they kind of drifted apart as discussed in this interview, and then they became good friends again and would talk on the phone like a pair of old ladies, chatting away for hours.
Was tension but not in the later years!
Wilt had such CHARISMA and in my opinion was the GOAT
i love how he never got offended and understood that the things said about him might have just been outta anger
Wilt "the stilt" Chamberlain, 50.4 ppg, 27.2 rpg, 8.8 blocks per game
just crazy...
@@roldschmidt 8.8 is the average of 125 available games of his career. (This doesn't include 100 point game, quintuple double game and many other important games he played).
No one will ever come close to Wilt
They werent tabulating defensive stats back then. However, it would be interesting to know how many blocks and steals guys like he and Russell had in their careers.
@@rexscipio3344 Harvey Pollack counted blocks for Philadelphia Warriors and Sixers, so probably we have these stats about Chamberlain for most of his career games.
Straight up ball player No titles no championships no teammates super teams etc etc ...no one did what this guy did overall on n off the court ...Russell ,Kareem, Jordan,lebron, kobe, no one has or ever will not taking anything away from there accomplishments any era wilts the goat
You would think there's no video of Wilt period..I'm 42 and this is honestly my first time ever seeing a wilt interview 🤦🏿♂️
Sounds to me like Kareem is jealous of Wilt.
Kareem like to view himself as higher than wilt, he developed a kind of ego around it after he passed him on the all time scoring list and in rings, he's slightly justified for thinking that way but let's be real, nobody is better at basketball than wilt, maybe Michael Jordan but thats on skill wilt would still beat him 1 on 1
@@Poloskii Bill Russell was better than wilt. Wilt and Kareem both regard Bill Russell as the goat
@@casualfandestroyer2503 tbh i kinda agree with you but on the other hand I don't, Bill Russell deserves to be in the GOAT conversations no matter what, what he did ain't come from luck bro. But skill wise and pure dominance of the court Kareem and wilt would rank way way higher which I think evens it out, Kareem was kinda a mix of both wilt and Bill since he won alot and was closest thing to as dominate to the game as wilt was
@@Poloskii 1962 Finals - Russell dropped 23-27-6 on 54%, led his team in pts/rebs
1963 Finals - Russell dropped 20-26-5 on 47%
1965 Finals - Russell dropped 18-25-6 on 70%, NBA Finals record for FG%
1966 Finals - Russell dropped 24-24-4 on 54%, led his team in pts/rebs
Wilt has never put up NBA Finals numbers, where it actually matters, as impressive as these performances by Bill Russell. Wilt NEVER led his team in rebounds and points at the same time while winning an NBA Finals, unlike the genius Russell. That's because Russell's scoring helped his team, Wilt's team had a 22-30 playoff record during his 7 scoring title seasons
Russell could win titles while playing multiple roles and leading his team in scoring in the Finals - he also led his team in assists in the 1969 NBA Finals, only Jerry West had more assists than Russell in the series. Wilt never won the title while leading his team in scoring. Nowhere near as versatile as Russell when it came to winning.
What's more impressive 100 points in a game, 50.4 points per game for a season or 20,000 women.
He lived near me in Bel Air.. and I saw him once.. such an impressive man.. didn’t talk to him because I would never invade his privacy..
Wilt may have shot 38percent at the line that year_ but he did lead the league in assists_ only Non Point Guard to do so Ever
Lebron was the assists leader in 2020
It is amazing how large Wilt is. Not only tall but with muscle - what a physical phenomenon even when he was older
Agreed...I loved when he played pro-volleyball
19:40 354/932 free throws. Wilt missed almost 600 free throws in a season 🤣🤣. I love Wilt, but that's wild.
the biggest gap in Wilt's game
Yeah……& Van Gogh missed part of his fucking ear!
Wilt was the greatest athlete in basketball ever but lacked that winning mentality like russel or kareem. He lacked the leadership skills of kareem or russel but as an individual specimen, wilt was the greatest individual basketball athlete
That may be the best statement on the topic.....akin to Brady not being the best QB, just the winningnest
Baloney! Wilt lacked winning teams!
Like the old saying goes, “You can’t make Chicken Salad out of Chicken Shit!”
Kareem played with 2 of the best guards ever in Robertson and Magic. Russell numerous other greats and HOF (Cousy, Havlecik, Jones, Heinson, etc) guys on the same team at the same time. Both had HOF coaches (Riley & Auerbach) and played for top tier organizations. Can you even name anybody from Wilt’s team?? (Without an internet search 1st)
NBA basketball is a team game. Bill Russell's teams were better than Wilt Chamberlain's teams. If a team A has 5 Wilt Chamberlains and team B has 5 Bill Russells, team A wins 99 times out of 100.
Plus Russell and the Celtics played for Auerbach. Auerbach knew how to build a supporting cast around Russell and what to do with them once they were assembled. Wilt didn't have that luxury. Red Auerbach was one of the all time great coaches, along with Phil Jackson, Johnny Wooden, Bobby Knight,maybe Jerry Sloan, and maybe a couple of others. Does anybody even remember the names of any of Wilt's coaches?
Wilt Chamberlain my favorite
I've been to Wilt's restaurant in Boca Raton, Florida.
geez, if Wilt just hit about 70% of his FTs...his scoring average would never be broken at 38 pts/game! LOL!
Michael is the greatest, but Wilt... Wilt is unmatched.
Michael is the greatest and most skilled player, but he is never beating wilt simply because he isn't as dominate and athletic and just being able to use his body to its full potential unlike wilt
No, Michael is not the greatest, Wilt is the GOAT.
Put Wilt on that Bulls team and he would never lose
@18:12 Wilt had the "Don't say loser" facial expression. LOL!!
A couple things about Wilt. One of his Philly teams won 68 games , the record until the Bulls broke it, and a championship. Wilt averaged 24 pts, 24 rebs, and almost 8 assists. One of his Lakers teams won 33 straight, still the record, and 69 total, again a record until the Bulls. Here, he was NBA rebounds leader, 2nd team all star, all-NBA Defensive team, and Finals MVP at 36 years of age. Basketball is a team sport. Pre- Free Agency, the Celtics could keep that winning team together. And MJ didn’t win a Championship until his 7th season. Again, it’s a team sport. Put the right team together, and you win. MJ didn’t do it alone.
Great, great interview! It was way too short. 2hrs would have been perfect
I agree..Wilt was a talker
Imagine having to own a record book back in the day to know about the stats of past nba legends
Toilet time before phone
It would just saying
Wilt chamberlain, 50 ppg, 24 rpg, 5 apg, 5 spg, 12 bpg
Wilt is the personnification of black is beautiful 👈😉
Wilt is wilt. Dont drag yourself into it
@@michaelhasenstein7838 Wilton Norman Chamberlain is black and we can argue that black is beautiful like Wilton Norman Chamberlain 👍, despite all of what you say, we don't care.
Wilt for President!
Could you have seem him as Clinton's VP...talk about a fun White House
In the 67-68 season, Chamberlain did indeed average 38% on free throws.
And that season he actually had made 35 shots in a row now whoever did that at all
@@frankfindout1505 he made 35 in a row because he decided to shoot granny style 😂
He was also league MVP for the 3rd consecutive season
Never mess with Bob on stats! Great interview!
Can’t stand Costas! In trying to stay relevant he came out in favor of gun control! As if gun crimes are committed by legal gun owners!
He’s a Lefty Dwarf!! Keep dying your hair peewee Costas maybe you can get someone to think you’re not a joke!!!
@@wserafin11 Democratic dwarf interviewing a republican goliath.
I think people do not know how fast he was a 40 yd in 4.4 and Jordan was 4.38 lots of great track speeds and jumping all types of records...... Only play to be in two hall of fames at the time.
That's how you interview, folks.
I love this man
Pains me he died before I was born
4:44 OMFG!!!!
Wilt literally may be the best athletic human to ever live. Look up his strength and speed feats
has the footage of them talking about the 20k women topic been released?
I truly believe Wilt could have played in his 40's and early 50's. Remember Gordie Howe Played till he was 55. He may not have been able to play 20 plus minutes. But easily could have played 10 minutes a game.
Here's some proof of your statement, Wayne. www.opencourt-basketball.com/43-year-old-wilt-chamberlain-destroyed-magic-johnson-in-a-pick-up-game-and-blocked-all-of-his-shots/
I wouldn't say he is the best ever. I would say he's the most dominant for his era, ever. Sorta the Babe Ruth of basketball. Transport Barry Bonds back to the 1920's and he'd hit 120 HRs every year. Put Ruth into tody's game and he wouldn't stand a chance. Transport Wilt to today's NBA and he'd certainly be good, but he wouldn't be scoring 50 and grabbing 25 rebounds per night. Love Wilt. One of my favorite athletes of all time. Died too young.
I cant believe how tall and big wilt is by the end of this video. I mean Bob costas is 5'7 which is not tall at all, but is far away from a dwarf, but its absolutely ridicoulus how big Wilt is looking there:D
66-67 Philadelphia 76ers 68-14 NBA best record at the time = Wilt Chamberlain Championship. 71-72 Lakers 69-13 NBA best record at the time =Wilt Chamberlain Championship. Only two championships but they were the best "teams" in NBA history at the time. What does winning 33 games in a row say? It says Wilt Chamberlain.
who won the 3 rebound titles that he did not win ( Wilt had 11 out of 14 ), one would assume Bill is the answer but maybe not.
Hondo?
Yes, Bill Russell (in 64 and 65) and Elvin Hayes in 1970, when Wilt was injured most of that season
He sunk 36 field goals and 28 free throws. Playing 1 on 5.
The GOAT
"I'm saying that to say that.."
Best ever
crowd woulda chant 150 and wilt woulda gave them 150 the guy was a monster
wilt was the best player ever he could shoot jump assists
Wilt Chamberlain, Wilt Chamberlain, Wilt Chamberlain, Wilt Chamberlain....Kareem -Ab-dull-Jabbar.
Averaged 38% from the ft line in 1967-68
I wonder if Wilt was ever offered to play the role of The Predator. Wilt at 50 was still in great shape being much stronger, Taller, more agile and just a better athlete than the actor who played it. It makes sense since Wilt and Arnold were friends.
Wilt so giant...I'm more impressed when an Iverson or someone of closer to average human size fights to get a big score.
Skilled bigman is loved these days so i dont see your individual opinion meaning anything
I'm not sure if this is correct but when Alex hamman said to wilt I don't want you as a out and out scorer in the 66-67 chip season .So wilt became the top of assist stats that year .
I agree with Russell, he said Wilt's problem was to be too nice person. If he was a killer like Russell or Jordan, with no mercy, he had 15 nba rings