Wilt Chamberlain is the NBA statistical boogeyman. Whenever an insane player statistic is discussed, Wilt is usually the name that heads statistics like that. His impact on the game was phenomenal and has been diminished over time due to his struggles in overcoming the legendary Boston Celtics team that won 11 championships in 13 years.
Even though there may be centers today that people will put on an all-time list ahead of Wilt, his name cannot ever be forgotten from the sport. His unique blend of size and skill is still rare to see, and he dominated with that gifted skill-set back in a time when the game was still growing. He was the definition of ‘unstoppable’.
A clip of a 17-year-old Wilt playing high school circulated on Reddit where Chamberlain executed a clean snatch block, brought the ball up the floor and initiated a give-and-go with his teammate. Wilt threw him a flashy pass that the teammate passed back through a lob, leading to an easy finish at the rim for the 17-year-old.
Chamberlain’s dominance over the NBA as an individual player is something nobody has replicated. Even when Michael Jordan was winning scoring titles and DPOYs in the same season, his numbers couldn’t compete with Wilt.
Everyone knows that Wilt is the only man in NBA history to score 100 points in a game, but do they know that he also set the bar for point centers by controlling the ball and averaging almost 9 assists in the 1967-68 season.
The influence Chamberlain left on the game permeates through the generations and exists even today. As the league evolves, that influence will reduce, but it is impossible to get rid of it considering the blueprint he gave stand-out players to be individualistic and take control of games rather than always make the ‘right’ plays.
