Wilt Chamberlain

[Balls Deep]

Chamberlain averaged 29.9 a game vs Russell head to head, Russell 14.9. That's a plus 15. Enough said.

Russell is arguably the most overrated athlete in the history of sports. He gets carried by the dominant teams he was on and what he accomplished off the court (I.e., civil rights movement).

You should retire your screen name in embarrassment and start over after this take.

Imagine putting Ben Wallace top 5 all-time.

[Myth]

100% worth the 3 minute watch:

Watch on YouTube

[rtiff68]

Russell is arguably the most overrated athlete in the history of sports. He gets carried by the dominant teams he was on and what he accomplished off the court (I.e., civil rights movement).

You should retire your screen name in embarrassment and start over after this take.

Imagine putting Ben Wallace top 5 all-time.

I can tell you’ve really done a deep dive on data and film to come up with this take, Skip.

[KrAzY3]

At to the Wilt v. Russell debate, people who only cite scoring stats (wins and losses are a stat to) are showing their ignorance not just of the two of them but of the game of basketball. I can tell you how many points Westbrook scored to, it doesn't mean those points helped his team win. Wilt was a stat padder, and people of his era knew it which is why he didn't win more MVPs despite having astounding stats.

Just look at the precipitous drop in his scoring once the playoffs start, he dominates the records for regular season scoring but once the playoffs started he falls behind several other players. These averages work their way down until you get to an 18 PPG average in the Finals. So when someone cites his scoring totals they're basically showing they don't even comprehend what was actually happening.

The Rodman video floating around actually delves into this, illustrating that for instance Russell would actually let Wilt get garbage time points that were meaningless (and Wilt was never going to turn down points no matter the circumstance) and then lock him down better when the situation called for it. This is backed up by several things I have read that illustrated that Russell's sole focus was on winning while Wilt was more concerned with appearances and stats.

This isn't to say Wilt was not an amazing player, he was. But we've seen stat padders in this era (Westbrook for example, and guys chasing records), and he was obviously and blatantly guilty of that. Russell on the other hand only cared about winning and his peers respected him for that.

So, sure tell me how many points Wilt scored and I will tell you how many championships Russell won (13 as a player, 2 of those playing for a small college, then 2 more as a coach). That guy knew what it took to win. Wilt? He won 2...

[BudTugly]

https://youtu.be/qfczQovODz8

Wilt was so much better than anyone else in that time and it’s assumed overall that his dominance would not transfer. Yea, he would transfer just fine and would dominate. There has never been another athlete that compares with wilt and in addition he was an excellent mover of the ball and also brought the defense.

[cupcakesnake]

Tons of dominant bigs in the 60s and early 70s.

Bill Russell, Nate Thurmond, Willis Reed, Walt Bellamy, Jerry Lucas. St.Louis had a frontcourt of Bob Petit and Zelmo Beaty. Later in his career he faced Kareem and Wes Unseld.

[NZB2323]

Wilt's obscene level of athleticism is well-documented, but Russell may be at a similar level athletically given that he was able to defend him despite being 3 inches shorter and a lot slimmer. They may be the 2 most athletic centers in NBA history.

I would say Russell was great because of his instincts, leadership, and teamwork, not because he’s an amazing athlete.

I would say in general positioning, discipline, and instincts are more important to defense. Gary Payton wasn’t as athletic as Derrick Rose or Ja Morant but he was a better defensive player.

[GSWFan1994]

Compare Celtics' roster 1st and 11th title... who is the common denominator?

Who is the only player left standing?

Guess it... Mr. Bill Russell. No one else.

People demeaning him should wash their mouths with soap.

[bebopdeluxe]

Compare Celtics' roster 1st and 11th title... who is the common denominator?

Who is the only player left standing?

Guess it... Mr. Bill Russell. No one else.

People demeaning him should wash their mouths with soap.

Nobody is demeaning Russell. If anything, the statistics that show that Wilt PWNED Russell in his head-to-head matchups with him only confirms Wilt's greatness.

[GSWFan1994]

Nobody is demeaning Russell. If anything, the statistics that show that Wilt PWNED Russell in his head-to-head matchups with him only confirms Wilt's greatness.

Well, I actually read the thread and there are people demeaning Russell. Multiple times.

BTW, I love both players. Wilt was the better player, but Russell had the best career.

[RrekyDoc]

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