Wilt Chamberlain is one of the most dominant players the NBA has ever seen. The center left a huge mark on the game with all his records and accolades, demonstrating he was a once-in-a-lifetime talent. Dominant and intimidating as he was, Chamberlain also faced formidable rivals during his honored career. Wilt went at it with Bill Russell and more legends, having big duels against them.
However, it’s safe to say he never feared any of them. Well, Julius Erving recently claimed that Wilt, in fact, did fear somebody on the court. Dr. J recalled his duels with Washington Bullets’ late legend Wes Unseld, explaining how hard it was to go against him (1:18:00).
“I’m going in the lane, and that damn Wes Unseld was back there helping, and Elvin [Hayes],” Erving recently said on The Knuckleheads Podcast. “I knew Unseld would hurt you and not even blink. He would take the courage from the other players on your team because they wouldn’t even come out and come to your rescue. Might not even come pick you up because they gonna get hit by him too.”
Moreover, he revealed that Chamberlain was scared of Unseld given his physical game and how he used to go against those guys.
“So he was the only guy Wilt [Chamberlain] was scared of in the league, and I always heard that before I got over to the league,” he recalled.
This is a big revelation from Dr. J and it explains how tough Unseld was. Even one of the greatest centers of all time had a rival that scared him. Of course, Wilt is not here to reply to that, but Erving isn’t known as a liar.
Wilt recorded the highest single-game scoring of all time with 100 points, set several records during a terrific career, became a 2x NBA champion and more. Yet, everybody has a weakness and it seems like Wes Unseld was his.
