WILT

  

Most basketball fans only know the name Wilt Chamberlain because he scored 100 points in a game. They often qualify Wilt's herculean accomplishments by saying he's overrated because he was bigger and taller than anyone else in his era. Oh, what little those fans choose to know. The fact is, there's a hell of a lot more about how spectacular an athlete he was than people know about.

Statistics and video footage of Wilt Chamberlain very strongly suggest that his combination of size (7'1", 275 lbs - he weighed in at 258 as a rookie), strength, athleticism, a vertical leap between 39 and 50 inches (depending on his age and who you talk to), unmatched durability and excellent fundamentals on both ends of the floor would still make him a better and more intimidating player than any big man in today's slower-paced NBA game.

Your Honor, the evidence:

Wilt Chamberlain's dominance started getting nationwide attention when he was a teenager at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia. At Kansas University Chamberlain not only played basketball, he was also a star member of the Track and Field team. He ran the 100-yard dash in 10.9 seconds; the 440 in 48.9 seconds; shot-putted 56 feet; posted a 22' 8' inch broad jump and won the high jump in the Big Eight track and field championships three straight years. By the time he was 21 he had already been featured in Life, Look, Newsweek and Time magazines before he even turned pro.

Wilt left college early and spent a year playing for the Harlem Globetrotters before joining the NBA in 1959 and once he got to the Philadelphia Warriors as a territorial draft choice the records began falling like dominoes. In his very first game, played against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, Wilt set rookie debut records for points (43) and rebounds (28) that still stand. It was a powerful omen.

You know a player is dominant when the powers that be change the rules because of that player. That's what the NCAA and NBA did to Chamberlain. In college, Kansas devised an inbound play from under the basket where the inbounding player would throw the ball over the backboard to a leaping Chamberlain who would jam it home. The NCAA banned that move, as well as some others before he even played one game. The NBA not only did the same, they also widened the free throw lane. In addition, goaltending, which was legal then, was outlawed due to Wilt's uncanny ability to block shots within 10 feet of the basket no matter where the shot originated. Curiously, Wilt was a very poor foul shooter. He had a good shot away from the basket (he had a deadly baseline jumper) but at the line he was one of the worst. He tried every method: two-handed, one handed, even underhanded, to no avail. About the only thing he didn't try was bouncing it in. It's widely speculated that he was working on a way to leap from the foul line and release the ball less than a few feet from the rim before touching the ground. The league, well aware of Wilt's track  and field background, nixed that idea, too.

With Chamberlain overwhelming opponents game after game he immediately became a sensation and the NBA's biggest drawing card since the legendary George Mikan. He went on to shatter virtually every scoring and rebounding record (as a rookie, remember) and wrapped up his first year in the NBA with averages of 37.6 points and 27 rebounds a game. Fans and media alike were dumbfounded. Nobody had ever seen this kind of dominance before. Some people feared he would wreck the game. He was criticized and called selfish and a loser, leading him to bitterly lament,  "Everybody pulls for David, nobody roots for Goliath."

During the 1961-62 season Wilt's scoring average climbed to a surreal 50.4 points a game, highlighted by his unbeatable 100-point effort as well as a 3-overtime game where he poured in 78 points and grabbed 43 rebounds and another game of 73 points and 36 rebounds. [Read the story and the box score of his 100-point game here.]

Here's Chamberlain's game log from that iconic season. Any one of these games would be a career achievement for any player. Wilt Chamberlain was achieving it virtually every game. 

In the current era where nobody plays all 48 minutes of a game, Chamberlain averaged a seemingly impossible 48.5 minutes a game in 1961-62. He played every minute of a game (including overtime  minutes) 79 times that season, including 47 in a row.

In his 7th season Wilt scored his 20,000th point in his 499th career game, which by far remains (and likely will always remain) the record for the fastest to achieve that milestone.

Wilt never fouled out of a game, which spanned 1,205 games including 160 playoff contests.

He's the only player to record a 40/40 (at least 40 points and 40 rebounds in one game) and he did it five times.

Six players have scored 70 or more points in a game. Wilt did it six times.

Michael Jordan scored 50 or more points 31 times in his career. Wilt Chamberlain did it 45 times in one season and 118 times in his career.

The second best scoring average by a player not named Chamberlain was Elgin Baylor's 38.3 in 1961-62, the same year as Wilt's 50.4. That makes Wilt's number 31.6 percent higher than Baylor. Now let's put that into perspective:
• The highest batting average for a season in Major League Baseball over the past 70 years is Tony Gwynn's .394 in 1994. To exceed Gwynn by 31.6 percent, a batter would have to hit .518.
• The all-time single season rushing record in the NFL is 2,105 yards by Eric Dickerson in 1984. To exceed Dickerson by 31.6 percent a runner would have to gain 2,770 yards.

• The NHL single-season record for goals is 92 by Wayne Gretzky in 1981-82. To exceed Gretzky by Chamberlain's pace, a player would have to score 121 goals.

There are those who claim that all Chamberlain could do was score. However, much to their ignorance, Wilt had 78 career triple-doubles, more than Larry Bird (59), Michael Jordan (31) and Kobe Bryant (21). Wilt had 31 of them in one season.

In 1960 Wilt grabbed an astonishing 55 rebounds in one game, against Bill Russell, no less. He's said to have been more proud of this record than his 100-point game because it was harder to do.

Wilt Chamberlain doesn't just block this shot, he catches it and turns it into a rebound.

In 1966-67 Wilt won his first championship (dethroning the 8-time defending champion Boston Celtics in the playoffs along the way) when he averaged 24.1 points, 24.2 rebounds and 7.8 assists a game and led the Philadelphia 76ers to a 68-13 record and the NBA title. Here's Wilt's game log from that historic season.

Chamberlain followed up that season in 1967-68 by becoming the only center to lead the league in total assists in a season with 702. His numbers were 24.3/23.8/8.6. The peak of that season ocurred on February 2, 1968 when he became the first player in NBA history to get a double triple-double (at least 20 points, 20 rebounds and 20 assists in one game). It took 51 years before Russel Westbrook became the second one. Here's the box score of Wilt's game.

Occasionally, somebody would count hifferent stats during a given game. In 1968 Chamberlain produced an unofficial quintuple-double with 53 points, 32 rebounds, 14 assists, 24 blocks and 11 steals.

  

Wilt had 40 or more rebounds in a game 14 times. Bill Russell did it 11 times. The only others members of the 40-rebound club are NBA Hall Of Famers Nate Thurmond and Jerry Lucas who each did it once.

When Wilt Chamberlain left the NBA in 1973 he held 126 NBA records. Up to this date he still holds 73 records, 67 by himself.

Off the court, Wilt could palm a bowling ball, bench press 465 lbs, clean-and-jerk 375 lbs, deadlift 625 lbs among other feats of strength, and life after basketball saw him become a Hall Of Fame volleyball player.

Some quotes about Wilt Chamberlain:

NBA great Johnny Kerr -- "Once Wilt got upset with me and dunked the ball so hard it went through the rim with such force that it broke my toe as it hit the floor."

Hall Of Fame coach Alex Hannum -- "When I coached the San Francisco Warriors, I thought Al Attles was the fastest guy on our team--by far. We used to gamble a lot--which player could jump the highest and run the fastest.  So I set up a series of races, baseline to baseline. In the finals, it was Wilt and Al Attles and Wilt just blew past him. I'm convinced that Wilt Chamberlain is one of the greatest all-around athletes the world has ever seen." 

Al Attles -- "I'd see what the other players were doing to Wilt and what the officials were allowing, and I'd get more upset than if it were happening to me. It wasn't that Wilt couldn't defend himself...If he ever got really hot, he'd kill people, so he let things pass."

New York Knick Darrell Imhoff, the starting opposing center the night Wilt scored 100 points -- "I can't have a nightmare tonight. I've just lived through one."

Former teammate Tom Meschery -- "A lot of people are walking around today only because Wilt never lost his temper."

Hall Of Fame Boston Celtic K.C. Jones -- "He stopped me dead in my tracks with his arm, hugged me and lifted me off the floor with my feet dangling.  It scared the hell out of me. When I went to the free-throw line, my legs were still shaking. Wilt was the strongest guy and best athlete ever to play the game."

Rugged power forward Paul Silas -- "One time, when I was with Boston and he was with the Lakers, Happy Hairston and I were about to get in a scrape. All of a sudden, I felt an enormous vise around me. I was 6-7, 235 and Wilt had picked me up and turned me around. He said, 'We're not going to have that stuff.' I said,'Yes sir.'"

Hall Of Fame center Bob Lanier who was 6'11", 260 lb. -- "When he picked me up here and put me down there, I thought he was the baddest."

Hall Of Fame power forward/center Elvin Hayes -- "He was such an awesome physical specimen. To go up under Wilt Chamberlain, to be down there and look up at him when he's towering up over you waiting to dunk, was a terrifying picture. Everyone was scared when he got that "Don't try to stop this" look.

Hall Of Famer Walt "Clyde" Frazier -- "His legacy is comical. When you read about his records, it makes you laugh. He has records that are just remarkable. I don't care if he was 10 feet tall, the things that he did."

Chamberlain showed some interest in football which attracted the attention of legendary coach Hank Stram, who invited Wilt to a workout. Here's what happened:

Wilt's career numbers 

A list of some of his records and achievements:

And some video highlights.

It's a credit to Wilt Chamberlain's awesome athletic ability that he kept getting comeback offers for 18 years after his retirement. "Bulls, Cavaliers, Nets, Knicks twice, Sixers twice, Mavericks, Suns, Clippers - those are all the teams that tried to get me in the last decade," Chamberlain said in 1991. "It's great for the ego to think at age 50, 52, 53 that guys think I could still go out and play. And personally, I think I could do it. But I have no desire. The time I had was enough."

NBA All Star Game is D.O.A.

Okay, enough is enough.  I knew this latest new NBA All-Star Game format was stillborn as soon as they announced it. Who the hell's responsible for these idiotic ideas? 

It's bad enough that TNT Sports horned their way into the act with the NBA allowing TNT's "Inside the NBA" hosts Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith and Candace Parker to pick the players for the four teams named for them. But interrupting the first game to present them with going-away gifts (They're not retiring, they're moving to ESPN next year) as if crowning them as the highlight of the entire event was disheartening enough but whoever thought having Kevin Hart as the emcee was a hot idea owes the fans an explanation and an apology, if not his resignation. 

"Inside the NBA" is an extremely popular show, I get that.  But instead of making a bad product virtually toxic they could've devoted their own show for the cause or TNT could've run a special broadcast for it but no, the NBA gladly allowed TNT to stop their all-star game so they could all obnoxiously pat themselves on the back in the name of publicity, greed and sheer arrogance.

So, now what? Every year the league and network powers that be concoct a new format to improve on the previous year's in a pathetic attempt to convince the fans that they know what the fans want. However, they keep going further in reverse. Every time. In fact, plans for another format for next year is already being leaked but honestly, should anyone really give a damn anymore?

If they all were genuinely serious (and competent) about improving the NBA All-Star Game I'm happy to offer a few ideas (not that they care). First of all, go back to the game's roots. Return and maintain the East vs. West format because that will give the fans an automatic geographical rooting interest.

Then, call players and coaches alike and drive it into their collective heads that they need to take pride in their conference and play as if they care. I'm not saying to treat it with playoff intensity, just play it as a competitive basketball game, not a combination of a playground scrimmage and the Harlem Globetrotters. The message should be clear: "Show them what got you to this level. That's why you were voted in."

And then, perhaps, they could add a scrimmage during the events of the day before featuring all the acrobatics they can muster in two 15-minute halves.

Since its inception in 1951 the NBA All-Star Game has mostly been a high-scoring affair and that's was fine until it got out of hand the last 10 years leading up to the 2024 game's preposterous 211-186 score. There's nothing wrong with being fancy at times and having some fun but it should be in moderation, never the norm, especially when the fans are footing the bill.

NBA All-Star Game Changes

Why Is the Obvious Solution So Evasive?

Once again the NBA is re-re-re-I say, rearranging their All-Star Game's format in their latest attempt to make the game more entertaining for the fans and, as usual, they've missed again. The solution to that seemingly endless problem's right in front of their faces and yet they're completely blind to it. Well, there's convincing to be done and I'll gladly fire the first salvo.

In recent years, the NBA All-Star Game has de-evolved from an intense competitive contest to a ridiculously high-scoring mess. Defense goes right out the window along with the integrity of the game. The league's responses have been numerous format alterations, each one more confusing - and less interesting -  than the last. 

This one is absolutely absurd. I'll just say that naming the teams after TNT NBA analysts and naming those anylists "general managers" of those teams is an obnoxious way for the network to steal the spotlight away from the game solely for self-promotional purposes. I mean, how much Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal and Kenny Smith can one take? It's nauseating.

If you want the full details of this charade, click here. I dare you.

The problem is the players and NBA officials - most notably commissioner Adam Silver - have forgotten the whole point of an All-Star game. It's supposed to be about competition, not bells, whistles and media bullshit. It's East vs West and pride in your conference, not a "Can You Top This?" scrimmage. It's gotten boring. 

Other than changing the name to the All Showboat Game, the answer to avoiding games like last year's 211-186 farce (Who cares who won, right?) is the kind of painfully obvious solution that always seems to elude the powers that be:

                     Make. The. Game. Competitive.

Forget all the damn window dressing for what's become a deformed product. It hasn't worked because the very product itself - the game - is badly in need of repair. The All-Star game had no fan indifference years ago when the players cared about winning the game. That goal should be reinstilled into the thinking of players and coaches alike as well as those that organize it. 

There's nothing wrong with returning to a proven method. An exciting, competitive All-Star Game will undoubtedly draw more fan interest than the annual sideshow it's become.

A Possible Trade Target For the New York Rangers

Could the Rangers Deal For Pastrnak?

With all the trade rumors enveloping the New York Rangers, one name they should keep in mind as a potential trade target is Boston Bruins' superstar right winger David Pastrnak. How? Well, the situation the Bruins are now facing is actually worse than the Rangers' at his point. Just two years after a record shattering regular season Boston is struggling, big time. Two of their best players, their captain, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejcii have retired, they traded away Vezina-winning goalie Linus Ullmark, perennial All Star Brad Marchant is 36 and look every bit of it, they fired their coach, Jim Montgomery (who has since latched on with St. Louis) and the team's staring straight down the barrel of a major rebuild, which, in essence, has already begun as have, by no coincidence, the Pastrnak trade rumors. The Bruins are also in need of draft picks and prospects to help fortify that rebuild A.S.A.P. 

      

Now a player of Pastrnak's caliber doesn't come around very often so for the Rangers, any trade offer could likely be centered around prospects Brennan Othman, Bret Berard, veterans Kaapo Kakko, Filip Chytil, and Mika Zibanejad as well as draft picks. Obviously, that's not certain but it could be a starting point for negotiations. 

A bigger issue for the Rangers is Pastrnak's massive contract. At age 28, he's currently on an 8-year deal worth $90 million with a cap hit of $11.25 million and it expires at the end of the 2030-31 season, which is a perfect ballpark for New York because it means Pastrnak won't be a free agent any time soon. But trying to shoehorn a contract of that magnitude into the Rangers' payroll without blasting over the league's team salary cap rule is going to require a great amount of creative and skillful work by Rangers' president and GM Chris Drury. And if such a scenario should come to light, with his exemplary track record nobody should doubt that Drury can get it done.

What Is It With Sports Media, Anyway?

                                     OR

"Never let the truth get in the way of a good story"  ~ Mark Twain

Offseason trade rumors has generally been a fun topic to explore. But, as always, sensationalism, abject irresponsibility and industrial strength BS has virtually eclipsed actual facts, possibilities and reality and it gets worse every year. Unfortunately, the concept has been the main marketing strategy and sales/ratings hook for the media as a whole for generations. For example, remember this Chicago Daily Tribune moldy oldy about the results of Election Day in  1948?

                

And how about the New York Post's shameless 1978 attempt at drumming up newspaper sales?

                         

And they almost never apologize for deceiving the public, whether it was accidental or not. And if they actually were to admit their error they bury it in another section where it will most likely be overlooked. No accountability, not even an hint of guilt because they know it'll all blow over in a few days as long as they keep creating chaos.

There always someone (especially a young newcomer) who tries to make a name for himself through emotional, angry hysterics and making up or spreading fake rumors or creating controversy in an attempt to provoke an emotional reaction. And it works for them because, 1. Bad news outsells good news, and 2. That's how fans have been conditioned. Players refer to it as "stirring up shit" and, quite frankly, that's the perfect definition.

[I once heard an overnight sportsradio call-in rookie try to hook his listeners into calling  by claiming, very loudly, that in Major League Baseball, "Anything that happened before 1950 doesn't count!" The next sound my radio made was "Click!" I've never reached for the "off" switch so fast in my life. One of the dumbest things I've ever heard. - Ed.]

Anyway, the cases in point for this article are the constant trade rumors, proposals, fiction and runaway speculation surrounding New York Knicks' All-Star power forward Julius Randle and the New York Rangers' captain and leader, defenseman Jacob Trouba. 

[Because of his impending free agency, New York Mets' All-Star slugger Pete Alonso has had a "Trade him!" bullseye on his back all year until the Mets vaulted themselves back into contention. But now, even after the trade deadline, the media is still trying to worry Met fans by giving Alonso's undecided future top billing with multiple articles at a time in different publications as well as sports radio and TV shows. It's so aggravatingly typical.]

The fodder for this particular wave of media hype is player contracts and, along with an overdose of media science fiction, it targets those fans who just can't resist buying into all that smog. In Randle's case it's about a contract extension in which the Knicks have until October 21st to make a commitment either way. Meanwhile, the writers and radio hosts have floated countless unfounded rumors, questionable trade proposals and seriously poor excuses to Trade Randle.

               

Claims: He's an awkward fit now with four key members of the 2016 and 2018 Villanova NCAA champions now on the roster. Many of the local hacks propose trading Randle for a backup/starting center, a legitimate need they have had with the departure of Isaiah Hartenstein to free agency. Even with the Knicks re-signing Precious Achiuwa, a potential backup to starting center Mitchell Robinson, the media is still at it.

Facts: 1. Julius Randle knows Knicks' coach Tom Thibodeau's system and has excelled in it over his five years with the team. 2. Randle's one of the toughest and strongest players in the game and combined with his talents, it's an asset not easily replaceable. 3. Besides, if he's traded for a center, who's going to replace Randle as the starting power forward? None of the scribes have addressed that issue, have they? And it's by design. They have practically no interest in professionally examining the ramifications of such a move beforehand. Why should they bother with the dull truth when there are perfectly good rumors to be spread?

In July, Randle's teammate, superstar point guard Jalen Brunson, signed a four-year, $156.5 million contract extension to help the team avoid salary cap issues should the need arise to add another star player or two. If he'd played out his current contract instead he would've been eligible for a five-year, $269.1 million deal next year as an unrestricted free agent. Brunson sacrificed a lot of money to assist the team. It was a very rare move by a star player and it was met with raves from fans and consternation from some players who only work via the dollar $ign and have very little or no interest in the home team discount concept.

Julius Randle's extension may or may not pan out the same way, so the writers have taken it upon themselves to start churning out absurd rumors and trade proposals that demonstrate quite clearly that they'll never be management material in any field. Long/short, when it comes to prognosticating, the media knows virtually nothing because they conveniently bypass conventional wisdom until unavoidable facts come to light and spoils their fun.

Jacob Trouba's going through the same thing:

             

Claim: Despite the Rangers coming off an outstanding season, the sports "experts" say that the team needs another big-name scorer and the only way to accomplish this goal is to trade Trouba and his big contract which will carve $8 million off their payroll this year and increase the room they'd have under the NHL's ludicrous hard salary cap rules. The team also had some of their own players to re-sign so, seizing the opportunity, the local media took the low road, as always, and flooded the fans with incessant trade rumors (The Rangers are sending Trouba to this team or he was being offered to that team or he was going to be outright released), and generally without any real evidence, i.e., no authentic quotes from any member of Rangers' management. It's always "Unnamed sources" or "somebody familiar with the situation" - the terms often used to protect the the identity of their sources - but it's all too often used as a license to "stir up shit."

Fact: News bulletin, you guys. The Rangers had the best record in the league last season and Trouba was a big factor whether you know it or choose to ignore it in order to create a story to gain ratings/sales. The team fell short of winning the Stanley Cup but they don't need a scorer so badly that they have to trade their captain, team leader and inspiration in order to get one.

So why does the sports media play these games? Is it due to what's known in the business as a sloooow news day and they have space/airtime to fill? Is it a quota they're required to meet? Is it to get their jollies? Is it satisfaction? Is it ego? Fulfillment? Gratification? Mind games? Power? Sadism? Truth be told, it's a little (or a lot) of each. Or, as the great W.C. Fields once said, "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit."

In recent years, the overall credibility of the Fourth Estate has taken a beating due to blatant sensationalism and they have nobody but themselves to blame (that is, if they actually give a damn long enough to blame anyone). And sports fans, in the guise of being uber-passionate, eat up all the gossip-style nonsense and sometimes even adopt the same attitudes and opinions that they may read and/or hear. In many cases, almost everything that sportswriters and sportsradio know-it-alls say or print are revered by their fans, whether true or not. The media knows this so why would they stop? Hey, it's America! Freedom of the press and all that. Okay, fine. But can't just a smidgen of ethics be dropped into the cauldron? It can't hoit.

For What It's Worth Dept. - Here's your bottom line: Providing a happy, or at least contented ending is not possible here because, unlike most media types, this writer refuses to insult his audience's intelligence by faking anything. It's a major league shame that the mainstream media operates under the same dollar $ign that the players do. Common sense, accountability, responsibility and the truth have virtually no lease in the newsroom and there are no plans to change the formula.

More's the pity.