Michael Jordan has stood atop the sport for almost three decades now, he is undoubtedly the greatest player for the majority of NBA fans, and most players agree too. But calling this rhetoric into question is Jordan’s former rival, Isiah Thomas. The Piston legend thinks Wilt Chamberlain might have something to say about Jordan’s unprecedented claim of being the greatest player the sport has ever seen.
Advertisement
Taking to his Instagram, former Bad Boy Piston, Isiah Thomas recently added fuel to the fire of the GOAT debate by posting a clip of Wilt Chamberlain claiming that he would average 70 points in the 90s–the era that Michael Jordan dominated. For context, Jordan averaged 30.8 points per game between the 1989-90 and 1998-99 seasons.
View this post on Instagram
The clip is from a 1997 interview [Bill Coastas, NBA TV] where, NBA legends Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain were asked how they would fair in the current era, the era of Michael Jordan. Jumping at the opportunity, Chamberlain claimed that he would average over 70 points a game, pointing to how the current rules were skewed to help the offensive end of the game. Further adding to his claim he said,
“With the new rules, which are all slanted to help the offense, now when I get the ball, instead of having two or three people and [Bill Russell] all on me at the same time, I’m by myself with one guy,” Chamberlain said. “I would love it. I would love it. Fifty points, 60 points, maybe 70 points a game.“
Chamberlain’s claim to fame does include the fact that rules were changed to prevent him from scoring, while the NBA did the inverse with other candidates like Michael Jordan and LeBron James. But letting ‘Wilt The Stilt’ loose would have meant that the league would have been in trouble, the already mind-boggling statistics that Chamberlain put up, would have been unconvincible, and they wouldn’t have been touched.
Statistically, Wilt is the greatest player in NBA history
In a world dominated by statistics and counting accolades, Wilt Chamberlain still stands out as the player with the best case of being the GOAT. While losing to Bill Russell and the Celtics surely tarnished his career, as an individual player, there never has been a player as statistically dominant as Chamberlain. A single statistic can prove it.
No player in the league’s history has led the NBA’s five major statistical categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks) more times than the Big Dipper, who did so 19 times. For context, Michael Jordan is next with 13 statistical titles, while John Stockton and Chris Paul are tied with 11.
Even Knicks legend and two-time NBA champion, Elgin Baylor seems to side with the statistics. During a recent appearance on the ‘Roommates Podcast’, Baylor explained his pick, telling his hosts that,
“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.”
Walt Frazier says Wilt Chamberlain is the GOAT over Michael Jordan
(🎥 @Roommates__Show / https://t.co/SNkeppN2oV) pic.twitter.com/LuxMu0qPMB
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 30, 2024
It’s not wrong to assume that most analysts and fans don’t even consider Chamberlain in their Goat discussion simply because of Wilt’s era being so far removed from the game that we know today. His records though undoubtedly impressive, have little validity in today’s discussions because of the massive leap the game has taken since Chamberlain’s retirement in 1973.
