NBA players share their thoughts on Wilt Chamberlain as SGA approaches milestone.
REIGNING MVP SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER is on the brink of surpassing a little-known NBA record.
Until recently, few may have realized that the longest streak of scoring at least 20 points in league history stood at 126 games, a figure now brought to light by Gilgeous-Alexander, whose consistent scoring ability has made this number significant. He can match the record with another 20-point outing in Monday night’s Western Conference matchup as he and the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Denver Nuggets (7:30 p.m. ET, Peacock).
However, it likely wouldn’t take many guesses to identify the current record holder.
When discussing NBA records, Wilt Chamberlain is often a reliable guess.
More than fifty years after his retirement, Chamberlain’s name continues to appear on numerous pages of the NBA record book. Many of these records are likely to remain his forever, including his iconic 100-point game, which is famously devoid of any video evidence.
Several contemporary stars have achieved remarkable statistics that are unique to Chamberlain. “The Big Dipper” is nearly synonymous with extraordinary numbers, yet many modern players who achieve “only-Wilt” type performances are not well-versed in the history of the Hall of Fame center, who passed away in 1999 at the age of 63.
“Not much besides he was pretty insanely dominant,” Gilgeous-Alexander shared with ESPN recently. “Based on the stats, did whatever he wanted and was like … “
Gilgeous-Alexander paused, searching for the right words to encapsulate the legacy of Wilt.
“Honestly, it feels almost like a mythical creature,” Gilgeous-Alexander remarked. “It’s not real.”
WHILE GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER is on the cusp of displacing Chamberlain’s name from the top of one record, his statistics during his streak still fall short of the Hall of Famer’s. Over his last 125 games, the Thunder star has accumulated 4,057 points, 582 rebounds, and 803 assists. Chamberlain cannot match the assist total, having assisted on just 306 baskets during his 126-game streak. However, he recorded an astounding 3,230 rebounds and scored 6,193 points, averaging 49.2 per game. Gilgeous-Alexander has had five games with at least 49 points during his streak (Chamberlain had 66, including his legendary 100-point game).
Chamberlain led the NBA in total points during his first seven seasons and became the first player in league history to surpass the 30,000-point milestone. He retired after the 1972-73 season with 31,419 career points, a record that was broken 11 years later by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Six other players have since surpassed Chamberlain on the all-time scoring list, with Kevin Durant being the most recent earlier this season.
“I mean, I know a lot about Wilt,” Durant stated, recalling his awe and fascination as a middle schooler reading about Chamberlain. “I know a lot about his career just from studying. I mean, I can remember in the seventh grade seeing Wilt’s stats and it just stood out to me. I couldn’t believe a guy would put up 50 points a game with 25 rebounds. So, I always was a fan of Wilt even as a kid, which is crazy, just because of the numbers.
“Even though you don’t see many highlights, the numbers just popped out so much. And then, you don’t believe it’s real until you start seeing other players’ numbers and you start seeing in comparison to him. It’s just like, I can’t believe this guy actually was a real person. … Bigger than life in his time — one of one.”
Nikola Jokic is well aware of the comparisons. As he began accumulating MVP awards and remarkable stat lines, he frequently encountered Chamberlain’s name when media members and the Denver Nuggets’ public relations team contextualized those numbers historically. This season, Jokic could join Chamberlain as the only centers to lead the NBA in assists.
To gain a better understanding of the man he is often compared to, the Serbian center conducted his own research. He searched for Chamberlain’s highlights on YouTube.
“Of course I did,” Jokic said, who broke Chamberlain’s records for triple-doubles by a center, although Chamberlain would have recorded countless more if blocks had been an official statistic during his career. “But I didn’t really focus and study his game, let’s say like that. Yeah, just to see how he looked, how he moved. Just to see, to have in my mind.”
Jokic observed one of the most distinctive big men to ever play in the NBA. Chamberlain was listed at 7-foot-1, 275 pounds and excelled in track and field at Overbrook High and Kansas University, competing in sprints, long jump, triple jump, shot put, discus, and setting a Big Eight indoor record in the high jump.
“He was definitely athletic. He was definitely athletic,” Jokic remarked. “I think he can definitely play still in this era. [Watching Chamberlain’s highlights] was just to see how he’s faster, bigger, and stronger than everybody else and still a talent. So, I think he could still play in this era.”
JOEL EMBIID IS one of the few NBA players who can claim to have broken one of Chamberlain’s scoring records. Two years ago, the Philadelphia 76ers’ 7-footer scored 70 points against the San Antonio Spurs, surpassing Chamberlain’s long-standing franchise record of 68. As the latest dominant big man in the franchise’s storied history, Embiid has heard numerous accounts of Chamberlain’s accomplishments from someone who witnessed them.
“I actually know quite a little bit because of Sonny Hill,” Embiid said about the 89-year-old figure known in Philadelphia as “The Mayor of Basketball,” who serves as an executive advisor for the Sixers. “That was his guy, so he’s always talking about Wilt. Since I got to Philly, he’s always telling me a bunch of stories. I know quite a bit, but obviously, the most you know is all the stats and all the records.”
Hill, a former broadcaster for CBS and Sixers games who still hosts a Sunday morning radio show in Philadelphia, attends every Sixers home game and frequently engages in conversations with Embiid and other players.
It frustrates Hill that modern stars are not more knowledgeable about Chamberlain, his friend since their youth in Philadelphia, where Chamberlain began his NBA career with the Warriors before they relocated to California. He returned to Philadelphia with the 76ers after 2½ seasons in the Bay Area.
“Would Wilt not be the Babe Ruth of basketball?” Hill asked, his voice tinged with exasperation.
It’s a rhetorical question. Hill is disheartened that, in his view, Chamberlain does not receive the same level of respect from contemporary NBA players as Ruth does from baseball players.
“He’s a mythical character who dominated his sport like no other,” Hill stated.
“This was a fledgling sport when Wilt came along,” Hill continued. “When Wilt was in high school, at Overbrook High School, he was on the ‘Ed Sullivan Show.’ … At that point, he was then the player that was most identifiable from a basketball point of view to take the game not only to the level in America but across the world. So, as he ascended into the game, he laid the foundation for where the game is today for popularity.”
The NBA’s global expansion occurred decades after Chamberlain’s retirement. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo had limited knowledge of Chamberlain while growing up in Greece, but he has heard his name frequently on his journey to winning two MVPs and a championship.
“Whenever you look at a stat, he’s always up there,” Antetokounmpo said. “Not just up there, but way, way up there. You kind of ask yourself, was he like really, really that dominant?”
Most of what Antetokounmpo knows about Chamberlain he learned from watching “Bill Russell: Legend,” the Netflix documentary about the all-time great Boston Celtics center who was Chamberlain’s primary rival.
“They were going back and forth, and you saw how dominant he was and what Bill was saying. How he was trying to limit him as much as possible, but it was almost impossible,” Antetokounmpo noted. “Now, we are talking about Bill Russell saying that — one of the best defenders ever to play his game. So, you understand kind of how dominant he was.”
When asked how Chamberlain would perform in this era, Hill scoffed, then quoted his friend from some of their late-life conversations.
“Wilt said this — if he were playing today, he would own the franchise,” Hill recounted.
Durant’s assessment, derived from watching countless hours of Chamberlain’s highlights over the years, is similarly enthusiastic.
“Athletic freak,” Durant described. “I mean, 7 feet [tall], running like that, long arms, being able to just almost dunk without jumping, but still can jump high. Could do everything, man. Big hands. So Wilt was definitely a force to be reckoned with, somebody that I think could definitely translate to any era.
“I wish I could live in that time just to see how opponents thought of him, how teams guarded him and just his aura, in general. I would love to see that in real time.”
Chamberlain will retain numerous significant scoring streak records even if Gilgeous-Alexander claims the 20-point streak. Chamberlain still holds the record for most consecutive 30-point games (65), 40-point games (14), and 50-point games (seven). Legendary scorers such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and James Harden have aimed for those records over the years; none have come close to breaking them. Chamberlain is the only player to score at least 60 in consecutive games — and had four-, three-, and a couple of two-game streaks of at least 60 points.
Chamberlain’s rebounding statistics appear even more astonishing than his scoring achievements. He holds the NBA records for rebounds in a game (55), season (2,149), and career (23,924). Those records are unlikely to ever be surpassed, and it is almost certain that Chamberlain’s record for average minutes in a season (48.5) and career (45.8) will never be approached.
“He’s got all the records,” stated Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic, who scored at least 40 points in the first three games this season, the longest such season-opening streak besides Chamberlain’s five-game run to start the 1961-62 season and seven-game stretch to open the following season.
“Any time you hear somebody broke a record, it’s, ‘Wilt Chamberlain had it, too.'”
ESPN’s Matt Williams contributed statistical research for this story.
