Wilt Chamberlain is regarded as one of the greatest players in NBA history, but Oscar Robertson doesn’t believe he quite gets the respect he deserves. Robertson recently appeared on the All The Smoke podcast, where he named Chamberlain as the player he enjoyed playing against the most and stated he carried the NBA for years.
“I enjoyed Wilt because I knew Wilt very well and Wilt was a big talker,” Robertson said. “And you know Wilt was talking about what he was going to do and whatnot. And Wilt was putting on a show for people. Wilt carried the NBA for years.
“And I’ve always said this,” Robertson continued. “The year Philadelphia moved to San Francisco and Syracuse came down to Philly, Wilt averaged 50 points a game. People don’t say anything about it. My good friend Bill Russell won the MVP that year, played great because they won the championship, but when you average 50 points a game… and I averaged a triple-double. But I’d still say Wilt carried the NBA that year and they don’t ever say that much about it.”
Co-host Matt Barnes thought it might be down to the fact that today’s talking heads didn’t get to see Chamberlain in action and can’t truly appreciate how great he was. Barnes then asked Robertson if Wilt could have dominated in any era and the Hall of Famer was pretty confident he would have.
“Oh I think he could have,” Robertson stated. “Wilt was a great athlete who could run track, high jump, volleyball player, talk plenty of stuff all the time but he got it done on the court… These guys today talk about how great they are. Sure, there’s some great basketball players, (but) guy gets 50 rebounds. Hell, I think Russell got 48 that game. I mean can you imagine one man getting 50 rebounds in a basketball game?”
I can’t imagine one man doing most of the things that Chamberlain did on the court. The big man averaged 30.1 points, 22.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game in his career, winning seven scoring titles, 11 rebounding titles, and one assist title along the way.
Chamberlain also set many unbreakable records during his time in the league, like when he averaged 50.4 points per game in the 1961-62 season. His detractors point to his stats being inflated due to the era he played in, and while that is undeniable, what is also true is that none of the other greats of the time came close to putting up the numbers he did. Chamberlain was an incredible player and deserves more respect.
Walt Frazier Believes Wilt Chamberlain Is The GOAT
Walt Frazier was another player who was fortunate enough to go up against Chamberlain and he thinks very highly of him. Frazier believes Wilt is the GOAT over Michael Jordan.
“Because without Wilt Chamberlain, it might not be an NBA. Chamberlain was the only guy people knew, man. I’m talking in 1970, we used to fly commercial. You go to an airport, they go, are you the Globetrotters or Wilt Chamberlain? That’s the only people they knew. We were the Knicks.”
“Nobody knows that, man. So without Wilt Chamberlain, man, and Bill Russell, there wouldn’t be an NBA today… So he was the guy who brought people to the stands and promoted the game. And then you look at his records. They’re hilarious, man.”
“Come on. Nobody comes close to this. They go Michael Jordan has done this so many times. Other than Wilt Chamberlain, Wilt has done it 50 times. Whatever the record you have, this man is obliterating it. Yeah, right. 100 points in one game.”
While Chamberlain’s numbers were incredible and his impact on the league was immense, what pushes him down when it comes to these GOAT rankings is the fact he only won two titles and one Finals MVP. If he had won more, I don’t think there would have been much debate on who is the greatest ever.
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