“Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan were arguing about who the ‘GOAT’” was at a party”: Bill Walton tells incredible story of Bulls and Lakers legend going at one another

Bill Walton says that Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain were sitting at a table in the corner and arguing about who the ‘GOAT’ was. 

The never-ending debate on who the greatest basketball player of all time is one that has ate at fans for decades on end. Michael Jordan, following his retirement from the NBA seems to have become the lead candidate for this question while guys before him like Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell seemed to have taken a backseat in the public’s eyes. 

Wilt Chamberlain is someone who was known to be quite the confident man. Yet, he never claimed to be the greatest player of all time, at least not in interviews he didn’t. He always brought up the notion that it is highly impossible to compare players of two separate eras of the NBA.

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Michael Jordan echoed a similar sentiment as he said he would not like to disrespect players who preceded him, like Jerry West and Oscar Robertson by bestowing upon himself the title of ‘GOAT’. 

However, oddly enough, according to Bill Walton, both Chamberlain and Jordan seemed to have believed that they were the greatest of all time all along. 

Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain debate on who the ‘GOAT’ is. 

The NBA released their top 50 players of all-time list in 1996 and 1997 saw all 50 of those players (minus Pete Maravich and Shaquille O’Neal) show up to a lavish event. Of course, the likes of Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain were also there. 

According to Blazers legend Bill Walton, all 50 players, at a particular time during the event, were allowed to mingle amongst themselves in a room that even David Stern could not enter. While everybody was exchanging pleasantries, Michael and Wilt were sitting alone at a table in the corner.

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“Over in the corner, is Wilt and Michael Jordan. They’re sitting at a table, arguing vociferously as to who the greatest of all time was. Intense as could be. David Stern comes in the room and says, ‘Okay it’s time to go.’ Everyone is lining up to go and Michael and Wilt are still going at it.” 

“They finally stand up, the conversation ends. Wilt, who always has the last word in everything, looks down at Michael and says, ‘Just remember, when you played, they changed all the rules to make it easier for you to dominate. When I played, they changed all the rules to make it harder for me to dominate.’”