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He's so much better than Russell it's not even close. which sucks bc Russell was a waaaaay better person
what were wilts player props like back then i mean were they setting his rebound O/U at 50 just every game? what was his points total after dropping 100?
right the first time
I don’t know how people can’t have Wilt in their top 5. Yeah, his playoff history is a bit bumpy. Especially 1969 and 1970. But dude averaged 50 ppg, had a 100 point game, scored 40+ points in his debut. And it’s not like he didn’t win. He won two titles. And back in those days, the 1967 sixers and 1972 Lakers were considered some of the best teams of all time. So he was a champion. I haven’t even gotten into his rebounding and assist numbers. Yeah, he should have probably won a couple more titles but he choked a few times. But again, come on, he averaged 50 ppg. Do you guys realize how crazy that is? And he has rings
He doesn’t touch Russell
Wilt got fucked over hard by the rules and the era tbh. So many rules that completely favored the defense (offensive fouls, palming etc) and the Celitcs having several hall of famers in an era with crap free agency and territorial picks while several teams literally collapsed around them due to financial strain. I'm not saying Russell was some scrub and the guy was so much more than his basketball carerer, but no one really acknowledges a lot of the advantages he had and frame it as a knock on Wilt's game
The same people who call LeBron the GOAT (4 rings in 20 years) will dismiss Wilt cause he only won 2 rings in 14 years (and played against "plumbers.")
Except LeBron's stats didn't fall off in ALL of the season he made the playoffs, that's how much of a playoff dropper Wilt is.
Nobody on this subreddit has seen either player play, and yet we're debating their legacy
Speak for yourself. I was there, 3000 years ago
Jordan, Wilt, Kareem and LeBron are the Mt. Rushmore of basketball. They stood head and shoulders above everyone in their era.
The apologetic quote by West was stated 20 years ago in 2003. Why is this being written about now?
This subreddit wants Bill Russell to not be considered a top-10 all time player because he played against grandmas and amputees but somehow Wilt is a top-10 player because the game of basketball is played to amass stats, not win games.
Both are top 5 players
Holy shit 2003 was 20 years ago
I feel like people should read the article.
First he apologized back in 2003 and second Jerry West said it in the Heat of the moment literally right after losing in the Finals to Celtics in 1969 and it was a heat of the moment comment that reflected badly on both Wilt and West.
In those same 2003 comments he talks about how both Russell and Wilt were good and forced adjustments.
This is all from the article, but he doesn't assert who was better after apologizing, he just realized he'd been a jackass.
second Jerry West said it in the heat of the moment literally right after losing in the Finals to Celtics in 1969 and it reflected badly on both Wilt and West.
Did he? I was always under the impression that he said it at the Finals MVP Award Banquet, which was like three days after the series concluded.
EDIT: Yep, looks like my memory was correct - here is the quote in an AP newspaper article from May 9, 1969: https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=P_JNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pYoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7256,969871
Bill Russell seems like the Tim Duncan dynasty glue guy.
Wilt is more like Lebron - An unstoppable force of nature.
Didn't Elgin Baylor say he'd rather have Bill Russell also? It's not the dumbest thing to say. Wilt even says himself that Bill was the better teammate cuz he wasn't so ball dominant.
how this isn't near the top comments is proof that reddit is one of the worst online communities
Jerry always been level headed so considering he actually played against them and with Wilt, he is probably into something.
That being said, it is not hyperbolic. Wilt, from an individual sense, had cartoonish NBA stats. Like literally no one ever came close to or will ever come close to him on an individual merit, and that is the thing, it is a team sport. If Elgin played less of an ass in 2 games (5-6) against the Celtics over the years, West would have had 2 more rings beating Russell, and we would more likely regard him as a top 5 rather than top 15
Imma trust palpatine with this one fs.
At the end of their careers, it was pretty much consensus that Bill was better. People just started saying wilt was better as time went on
Even as a Lakers fan, I will never be able to put Wilt over Russell. Wilt is the 10th best player OAT to me, but if he were a modern day player, he would have the same reputation on this sub that Harden has
Although he still thinks Bill is better than Wilt lol
West’s mind has clearly left him. I’d hate to be the team with him on my front office
Literally just let people have their opinion.
Wilt was a better basketball player than Russell. Russell had players like Cousy lead the scoring on his teams.
He literally immediately 3 peated after Cousy retired lol, and won 5 of the next 6 rings.
So what about the finals where the old man Celtics went up against the much more stacked Lakers who had the logo Jerry West averaging 38ppg? Oh yeah wilt averages 12ppg while getting locked up by Bill and losing the finals.
Bill, 11 rings, Russell > Wilt, regular season stat padder, Wilt Chamberlain
basketball fans are unhealthily obsessed with dumb goatpilled conversations like this and it is insufferable and unendurable.
My dad swears Russell was better than Wilt and he was a basketball fanatic back in the 60s and saw a ton of live games. Not saying he’s right but he certainly has more basis for his opinion than I do.
Do we even have footage of the 100pt game
Thinking Basketball convinced me that Russell > Chamberlain
The whole Russell v Chamberlain debate is why I think basketball fans are far too obsessed with raw stats (especially scoring) and don't put nearly enough consideration into intangibles such as leadership, competitiveness, IQ, etc.