Wilt Chamberlain, according to Julius Erving, would allow himself to be influenced by others around him, adding to his motivation.
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The debate on whether Bill Russell was greater than Wilt Chamberlain and vice versa is one that has been raging on for over half of a century. In terms of accomplishments, they are both neck and neck in very different ways. Russell dominated the entirety of the NBA by playing a team-oriented basketball while ‘Wilt the Stilt’ dominated individually with absolutely absurd statistics.
Wilt Chamberlain, as a person however, was driven by motivations that differed from his counterparts at the time. It was quite apparent that he sought individual glory, rather than team-based accomplishments.
It took him nearly a decade to fully realize that scoring 50 points and grabbing 23 rebounds a game while his teammates waltzed around the court was not the way you would win a title in the game of basketball.
Julius Erving talks about a few aspects of Chamberlain’s personality that further prove just how competitive yet selfish he was when out on NBA hardwood.
Julius Erving on Wilt Chamberlain.
Julius Erving recently took to the ‘Knuckleheads’ podcast hosted by Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson to talk about various things ranging from his time in the ABA to watching legends like Wilt Chamberlain in the NBA, while growing up. While on the topic of Wilt, Erving had this to say:
“There’s something called an enigma, right? He was an enigmatic person because he would let the thoughts of others influence his behavior. So, somebody said, ‘Yea you score and rebound but you don’t get any assists.’ He led the league in assists next year.”
Wilt Chamberlain would go on to emulate Bill Russell with his play in the 1967-68 season with the Los Angeles Lakers after winning a title the year prior. He would notch 700+ assists that season, making it the only time in NBA history that a center led the league in total assists dished out.
