Wilt Chamberlain

Opinions of him might change if he played in today's NBA but I'll give him credit since he didn't get to make that choice.

Best big-man athlete, ever. Track-and-field man in college. When asked to distribute the ball, he led the league in assists. Shaq's a joke compared to Wilt.

Isaiah Berlin once said that "The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing." Wilt was definitely a hedgehog. He used the glass better than any man before or after. His play may have been monotonous, but he absolutely dominated the league of his day in a way that even a more talented player such as Jordan could not. Even though his opponents knew exactly what was coming, they could not stop him. That is a sign of having mastered one big thing.

4,000 points in a season. If that was his only NBA season, he would still be a five. All of his numbers are amazing.

4 or 5 place of all-time

He was wery slow

The best ever. MJ could never score 100 and never average 50. All he could do was HOG HOG HOG! And all he was good at was scoring. But, on the other hand Wilt could rebound, score, block, and pass. WILT is number 1! MJ stick to number 2.

A womanizer...Jerry West won the championship for the Lakers...Looks like a heart attack stopped him from all those 10.000 women he was with

Wilt had NO competition in those days, but that doesn't take anything away from him as a basketball player. He was THE BEST of his time. Of COURSE he wouldn't be as good as he was then if he played in today's league. It was a different situation back then. Any sort of strength, dominance, and athleticism was viewed as "showboating" back then. What a joke!!! I hate to say it, (I'm part caucasian myself), but the NBA would have been more exciting from day one if the jealous, racist little white men who own it would have accepted EVERYONE in their league, not just stubby white guys who have as much athleticism as Opra. To make a long story shorter, Wilt is the second-best player eho ever lived, right behind #23.

The most dominating force in the history of basketball. Its best all around athlete by a country mile. Won a national championship in the shotput and a Big 8 championship in the high jump. He almost boxed Muhammad Ali. The most prolific rebounder and scorer of all time (average wise, I know Kareem beats him in points due to more years played). In order to silence his critics, one season he led the league in assists. I know that his numbers wouldn't be as big if he played today, but he would DEFINITELY be up there with the best. Anyone who says he had no jumper has never seen him play, it was pretty damn potent. It, along with his finger role, was his go to move (not the dunk as so many people ASSUME). Saying that Jordan was better is just foolish. Jordan never had a winning season without Scottie Pippen. When he "retired" in the mid-90's, the Bulls dropped from 57 wins to 55 wins. Many like to point out the fact that Jordan played against better competition. Jordan also played wi... Read more

played when ever1 sucked. would suck today

Simply the most dominant force the NBA hasever seen.He played for a lot of different coaches inm a lot of systems and he still dominated at everything he did,whether it be shooting,rebounding,defense and even passing.

I'd like to clear up some things that you kids with no clue have written. 1. Wilt's teams DID win, they won all the time ! The Celtics had a dynasty with multiple hall of fame players so they won the most titles, that is a separate issue. His team's yearly ranking by W-L record: 2/8 Warriors 3/8 Warriors 3/8 Warriors 7/9 Warriors 3/9 Warriors 9/9, 5/9 (trade midseason) 1/9 76ers 1/9 76ers(record # of wins) 1/9 76ers 2/14 Lakers 5/14 Lakers(hurt, 12 games only) 4/17 Lakers 1/17 Lakers(tied record wins) 2/17 Lakers those season records, 2 championships, 2 all-time records for wins, what the hell do you want ? 2. he frequently dominated Russell and was never dominated in return. 55 rebounds in one game came AGAINST Russell. 3. athleticism - he was a freak of nature, early in his career he was among the fastest players in the NBA, he was always the strongest. Watch old NBA films of him leading the break, throwing behind the back passes at 7'1", amazing. He could no doubt be a star ... Read more

WILT CHAMBERLAIN : IS THE GREATEST BASKETBALL PLAYER OF ALL TIME. WHO HOLDS THE RECORD FOR MOST POINTS IN A GAME ? WILT 100 AND WHO HOLDS THE RECORD FOR MOST REB'S IN A GAME ? WILT 52 ,AND HE DID THAT VS A GREAT CENTER BY THE NAME OF BILL RUSSELL.

Good, but not MJ. Sorry, froggy. I ain't sold.

most dominating force in any sport, did jordan ever average 50pts and 20 rebs? case closed...

Wilt got Jordan on the rebounds, but dusty, Wilt had a 50 point average in the 1961-62 season, but he and Jordan both avg. 30.1 points per game for there careers. http://www.nba.com/history/players/index.html

Obviously a great player and freak of nature for his time. But the best player ever? If that were true he would have won more titles. He played in an era where the 7 footer was a rarity much less have 2 or 4 of them on the floor at any givien time. He was also a player where other players didn't necessarily become better by playing with him, a la Larry Bird, Jabbar, Jordon, Johnson. Don't get me wrong, I agree he was a phenom, but not the best BASKETBALL player ever. Not even the best center, I take Russel and Jabbar over Chamberlin. Check the head to head match ups, both centers beat Wilt more times than he beat them.

Touch the top of the backboard, military press 400 lbs., run 440 yds. in less than 50 seconds, score 60+ pts. in a game after the age of 30, Chamberlain had too much athletic talent not to succeed, if not at times dominate, if he played now. He had his faults -- shot freethrows poorly, lacked a dependable 10-12 ft. shot, didn't (esp. early on) best avail himself of teammates -- but a 25-28 yr. old Wilt Chamberlain, with the benefit of current training and coaching, could routinely score 20 pts. and grab 14 rebounds per game today.

The BEST player ever!

Averaged 38 points a game against the greatest defensive player of all time, Bill Russell. Enough said.

Ahead of Jordan??? Is this an absolute JOKE??? 4 people ahead of the greatest basketball player of all time... ok, whatever. Anyway, Wilt Chamberlain and Shaq are the most overrated big pieces of garbage that ever stepped onto the basketball court. Both can't shoot free throws worth a damn. The only thing Chamberlain knew what to do was... stay in the paint. Couldn't shoot a jumper for his life!!! I am sorry, did I see that right??? Chamberlain is 1st on RIA right??? BS!!!

awesome athlete

he was awsome

Wilt the Stilt, :)

The Babe Ruth of basketball. What Wilt did was phenomenol. He was the greatest offensive machine the league produced. Nobody but him could average 50.4 ppg; nobody but him has ever hit the century mark in points scored in a game. Heck, he even led the league in assists (back in 1968).

The Greatest. I have a tough time picking him or Michael Jordan as #1 All-Time NBA Player. I would take Chamberlain based on his unnatural stats. 100 Points in a game. Averaged 50.1 PPG in 1962. Also had incredible rebound totals and had they recorded blocked shots, he would probably be #1 there too. People that get 50 in a single game make headlines. For those who never saw the Big Dipper, think Shaq with more mobility and better conditioning, albeit they are about the same on the charity stripe. The only knock on him was that the Celtics always seemed to beat the Philly Warriors; however the 66-67 '76ers may have been one of the greatest teams of all time. Chamberlain was also a member of the Globetrotters, an outstanding volleyball player and almost signed to box Muhammad Ali. He went to Philadelphia' Overbrook High. A family friend of ours was his biology teacher. According to him, as a student, let's just say Wilt was a basketball phenom.

who else had the rules changed for them because they were too good? No one!

The best player ever, and it's not even close. He wasn't taller than everyone else (in fact, there was at least one player that played in his era who was three inches taller), he was a better athlete (ran the 40 in 4.4, a vertical that measured close to 50 inches, and set track-and-field records in high school and college), he had more endurance (played every minute of every game for an entire season), was stronger and was more skilled (led the league in assists one year, and beat out Thurmond and Kareem for the all-defensive team two years in a row). And he didn't just dunk on shorter players (you can't score 50 ppg just by dunking). His offensive arsenal included a finger-roll that was second only to Gervin's, and a low-post fallaway that was every bit as good as Malone's. That, combined with his athleticism and--least of all--his size, is what made him unstoppable. That's it, and if you didn't know, now you know.

Wilt the stilt dominated his time like no other player ever has or ever will. In the modern game he would be useless, but in his time was more dominant than Jordan, Bird, or any other player for that matter.

The best,you want to start a team take Wilt and then look around..

100 points in a game...

That scoundrel! He never told me there were 9,999 others! I hate 'im. Sally Q

The Babe Ruth of basketball

the chain in the lane

Almost certainly the best player of all time. I'll try and answer a few common erroneous criticisms: Played against the best defender ever (Russel), still scored 50+. Anyone who says he had no competition is crazy, the 60's Celtics are the greatest team ever, by a large margin. Not only an offensive player (you try and get 50 rebounds!). 7'1, power second only to shaq, but also had great quickness and agility (like olajuwan).

For the morons that are saying he didn't win Championships Wilt had 2 of the best teams in the history of the NBA. The 1967 76ers who won about 67 games and the title and the 1972 Lakers who still hold the record for winning 33 straight games in a season and they also WON the championship that year. So he had 2 championships; so PLEASE get a clue.

The original Super Center, no one has more rebounds. Arguably the greatest individual player ever. It's hard for me to decide who's the best ever, It's Wilt or Mike, take your pick. Look at the things Wilt did with the Warriors with no help (100 pts. and they didn't even finish the game). Rules were changed before he even came into the league in anticipation of his arrival! It's easy for us born in the sixties and on to UNDERATE Wilt's greatness. Even if you don't think he's the greatest of all time, it's hard to deny (if you know the game) that he's had the most impact on the L than any other player. I mean Russell won the most titles so that's not the barometer, Bill was on the best team ever that constantly replinished its talent combined with Red's coaching. Born in 70, the more I learn about Wilt the harder I find it not to label Wilt the greatest. He was able to get past the worlds best (and most hated team) in his prime. Played every minute in at least one season, attacked on th... Read more

Giant in the the land of midgets, He towered over everyone else. Great talent but would he have done what he did back then today. Dont think so! He was great for his time .

Wilt was, bar none, the greatest basketball player ever. We're talking about a guy who one season averaged 50 points a game, and in another season, averaged 27 rebounds a game. As for the ball hog rumors, I believe Wilt was the only center who ever led the league in assists for a whole season (not led centers in assists, mind you, but led EVERYBODY). And finally, people say But there were almost no good centers then! Folks, there are almost no good centers NOW. We've got Shaq (who's overrated), Yao, Tim Duncan, Brad Miller, and a bunch of role players. Yes, Jordan was a great player, but Wilt was the greatest.

Completely unstoppable in his day. There were very few men with his size and talent and opponents did not know how to guard him. One year averaged 50 points and over 25 rebounds. Unbelievable stats by today's standards. If he played today however, he would still be great but his statistics would be more comparable to Shaq. *to correct 2 other comments, Jamison, Iverson, and Kobe have never scored even close to 100 points in a game. Also, Wilt has won 2 nba championships.

best big man of all time and always will be

Offensive minded dominant player.

when he played against russell he looked more like neville chamberlain, but he did average more than 50 points a game one year.

he was a ball hog. His team never won because of hime

Wilt was the best, bar none. Wilt scored more than 58 points in a game 49 times. EVERYONE else in NBA history, combined, have done it 24 times. Rules were changed to make it easier for MJ to score (e.g., no hand checking, three seconds on defense). With Wilt, rules were changed to STOP him from scoring. He lettered in track before basketball at Kansas, running the 440, high jumping, and shot putting. He's in the VOLLEYBALL Hall of Fame. Bill Russell did win more championships than Wilt, but, using that criteria, K.C. Jones would have to be called the greatest guard ever, since he won more titles than MJ, Magic, or West. It makes as much sense as claiming Don Nelson was a better forward than Elgin Baylor or Karl Malone, or arguing that Steve Kerr won more championships than Oscar Robertson. Wilt's accomplishments are too numerous to list, and in many cases, are so mind-blowing that its hard to even imagine how dominant he was. I once saw him block five consecutive Abdul-Jabbar shots,... Read more

Wow, he was tall and that's about it.

He was certainly the very best at the time he played, but I cannot give him a full five stars simply because the competition was just not there. If he were playing today he'd be just another above-average player; maybe the star of his team but certainly not the league MVP or anything.

i dont see how everybody likes him. all he did was reach his hands up and grab the ball. of course hes gonna get 100 points a game if nobody can reach his chin. he is OVERATED.i dont know how people can compare him to MJ. i respect though that a man his size never fouled out and how he is a good passer.