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“Wilt Chamberlain is still the most imposing physical player that ever played this league, period!!”: Bill Russell remembers former Lakers, Sixers and Warriors superstar’s dominance on the basketball court

Akash Murty
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“I grew more as a man in defeat than Bill Russell grew in victories”: Wilt Chamberlain compared his growth from continuous losses to Russell’s from countless titles

Wilt Chamberlain was so dominant at basketball that he was its first superstar. The Sixers legend is still remembered by NBA players as one of the best ever.

Wilt Chamberlain is without question one of the most dominant players in NBA history alongside Shaquille O’Neal. The 7’1″ center was a wall that no one could breach in the 1960s and early 70s.

The “Big Musty” mostly played his basketball in the era dominated by Bill Russell and his Boston Celtics who won 10 Championships during Wilt’s 15 year NBA career.

Also read: “I want one dollar more than Wilt Chamberlain”: When 11x NBA champion Bill Russell used his MVP card to dethrone Wilt the Stilt from the highest-paid player position  

Although Chamberlain never justified his excellence by winning as many titles as Bill or his favorite rival Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar, he’s had several individual records and 2 Championships, enough to leave the mark of his dominance forever.

“Wilt the Stilt” dominated the game of basketball like none other: Bill Russell

The 4-time MVP won 7 scoring titles in his 15-year NBA career to be the top scorer in the league until Kareem passed him later on. He once scored 100 points in a game and averaged 50 points a game, throughout a season.  But scoring wasn’t the only area where he dominated his opponents.

The “Goliath” throughout his career averaged over 30 points, a massive 22 rebounds and 4 assists per game. He considered himself to be the best player ever and the Boston Celtics legend approves it,


Chamberlain also won 11 rebounding titles and still sits at the top of the rebounding tally well above Bill and Kareem at 2nd and 3rd. If that wasn’t enough to show his dominance he decided to be the assist leader in 1968. He was just toying with other players to show his sheer dominance and genius.

Wilt Chamberlain wouldn’t stop at that, he never used to let players get to the basket

Chamberlain was playing in the era when the NBA didn’t consider “blocks” as statistical data. Yes, there is no official data that shows the numbers of blocks made by two of the greatest shot blockers, Wilt and Bill.

But there is one recorded data of roughly 112 games, where Wilt averaged an insane 8.8 blocks per game. Once he decided to stop the new superstar of the league in Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar.

After getting eliminated at the hands of Kareem in the 1971 playoffs, a rejuvenated Wilt came out on top. Trailing by 10 points in the 4th quarter, the 14-time All-Star made blocks after blocks and ran with the ball on the fast breaks to take back the league, blocking 3 of Kareem’s Skyhooks in 1 possession. He won Lakers the Championship that season.

Also read: “I saw Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell play, they have no idea”: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar expresses his thoughts on the tired NBA GOAT debates on ‘Off the Dribble Podcast’ by Byron Scott

Wilt’s sheer dominance in the game of basketball will never be seen again. Not in that fashion.

About the author

Akash Murty

Akash Murty

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An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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