Wilt Chamberlain blocked Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s iconic “skyhook” 5 times in Game 3 of the 1972 ECF

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s skyhook, regarded as one of the most unstoppable moves, was blocked 2 times by Wilt Chamberlain in the same possession.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain are two of the best big men to ever set foot on the NBA hardwood. Both these icons used their massive stature to their advantage and commanded their demand in the paint, offensively as well as defensively.

Being dominant centers, both these legends racked up some of the most stacked resumes we’ve ever seen. Between the two, they have 32 All-Star appearances, 25 All-NBA selections, 13 All-Defensive selections 9 scoring titles, 10 MVPs, 8 championships, 3 Finals MVPs, 69,806 points, and 41,364 rebounds among a whole bunch of other accolades.

There was a short period of time when both of these giants played against each other. In the 17 regular season games they faced off against each other over the span of 4 seasons, the league saw some incredible basketball duels.

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Wilt Chamberlain blocked Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 5 times in a 12-minute span

In their head-to-head battles, Kareem averaged a staggering 31.8 points, 15.8 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks per game. Whereas, Wilt the Stilt put up 16.3 points, 17.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. Not only did Chamberlain win more games, he even outrebounded and out-assisted a young Abdul-Jabbar.

One of the most iconic clashes between these two mammoths occurred back in 1972. During Game 3 of the Bucks-Lakers clash of the 1972 WCF, Wilt was outscored (33-7) and even outrebounded (21-14) by KAJ.

Even though the then-Bucks star had a better stat line, Chamberlain did something that no player had ever managed to do – block the 7-foot-2 center five times during a 12-minute span.

Further, Chamberlain blocked the “unstoppable” skyhook twice in the same possession.

Truly, these beasts played some high level of basketball that continues to entertain fans even decades after their retirement.

While we love seeing big men add the long-distance shot to their arsenal, we sure do miss some battles like this in the paint.

Also Read: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar compared the decision of Magic Johnson returning at 36 y/o to biblical figure ‘Methuselah’