Wilt Chamberlain had a thing for proving that he was better than players from the generations after him, especially centers that, according to him, couldn’t fill his shoes or Bill Russell’s. Chamberlain never minced words to talk about other players and prove why he was better than them.
However, his favorite victim was none other than the GOAT, Michael Jordan, who took all the spotlights when he made it to the league. Wilt didn’t like all the flowers that MJ received for his game and never missed a chance to diss him and remind people that everything Jordan did, he did before.
During an old interview, Wilt claimed that he would have beaten Jordan during his prime, even saying he was willing to put money on the table to prove it (2:36).
“I know basketball is a team game, and you’ve already made Michael number 1, but if you had to have Wilt against Michael, my prime and his prime, how much money would you be willing to bet?”
Moreover, he didn’t think that Jordan, as fast and strong as he was during his prime, couldn’t have survived during Chamberlain’s era, as everybody would have tried to humble him if they saw his flashy plays.
“He’s 6-foot-7 and like 197 pounds. Coming into what we call our domain, the paint for us big guys, we would’ve not been very wise of Michael if he was playing during our time. We would say, Michael, as long as you do all your fancy things outside of where we are, that’s fine.”
Wilt was never afraid of speaking his mind and this time wasn’t the exception. He was pretty confident in his chances against His Airness, but sadly, we never got to see this duel on the court. Chamberlain was something else, as he showed during his best years. He collected many records that are impossible to break and dominated the game as nobody else did.
He took shots at Jordan more than once, claiming that he wouldn’t have mercy on MJ. Yet, father time had other plans for these two, and we never got to see a duel between Chamberlain and Jordan in the association.
