NBA stars reflect on Wilt Chamberlain as SGA ties record

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has tied Wilt Chamberlain for consecutive 20-point games in NBA history with 126.

current mvp Shai Gilgeous-Alexander An obscure NBA record is on the verge of being broken.

Few people probably knew that the longest streak of scoring at least 20 points in league history was 126 games until recently, thanks to Gilgeous-Alexander, whose metronome-like scoring efficiency and consistency made it a relevant number.

Gilgeous-Alexander sets record with another 20-point performance in Monday night’s Western Conference rivalry denver nuggets And may break the record on Thursday when oklahoma city thunder Surat boston celtics At home (9:30 PM ET, Prime)

But it probably won’t take much guessing to find out who has held this record since 1963.

When it comes to NBA records, Wilt Chamberlain There is always a very good guess.

More than half a century after he retired, Chamberlain’s name remains on dozens of pages nba record book. Many of those records will probably remain with Chamberlain permanently, including his 100-point game, of which there is no video footage.

Many of the game’s modern stars have amassed incredible numbers matched only by Chamberlain. “The Big Dipper” is almost synonymous with spectacular statistics, but generations later, many modern stars producing “only-wilt” types don’t know much about the Hall of Fame big man who died in 1999 at the age of 63.

“Nothing special, other than that he was pretty impressive,” Gilgeous-Alexander recently told ESPN. “Based on the data, he did what he wanted and as…”

Gilgeous-Alexander paused mid-sentence, searching for the appropriate words to put Wilt’s narrative into perspective.

“To be honest, it almost seems like a mythical creature,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “it’s not real.”

While Gilgeous-Alexander Chamberlain’s name is on the verge of bouncing off the top of a record, his numbers during his streak still pale in comparison to the Hall of Famer’s. In his last 125 games, the Thunder star has scored 4,057 points, 582 rebounds and 803 assists. Chamberlain couldn’t match the latter number, assisting on only 306 baskets during his 126-game streak. But he grabbed an incredible 3,230 rebounds and scored 6,193 points – an average of 49.2 per game. Gilgeous-Alexander has had five games with at least 49 points during the streak (Chamberlain had 66, including his famous 100-point game).

Chamberlain led the NBA in total points during his first seven seasons in the league, and ultimately became the first player in NBA history to break the 30,000-point barrier. He retired after the 1972–73 season with 31,419 career points, a record broken 11 years later by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Six other players have recently passed Chamberlain on the all-time scoring list. Kevin Durant At the beginning of this season.

“I mean, I know a lot about Wilt,” said Durant, who remembers being amazed and fascinated as a middle school student by reading about Chamberlain. “I know a lot about his career just from studying. I mean, I remember seeing Wilt’s stats in seventh grade and it was just crazy to me. I couldn’t believe that a guy would put up 50 points a game with 25 rebounds. So, I was always a fan of Wilt’s even as a kid, which is crazy just because of the numbers.

“Even if you don’t watch a lot of highlights, the numbers stand out so much. And then, you don’t believe it’s real until you start looking at other players’ numbers and you start looking at him in comparison. It’s just like, I can’t believe this guy was actually a real person. … Larger than life in his time – one of a kind.”

Nikola Jokic Is familiar with the comparisons. As he began collecting MVP awards and incredible stat lines, when media members and the Denver Nuggets’ public relations staff put those numbers into historical context, they saw Chamberlain’s name appear frequently. This season, Jokic could join Chamberlain as the only centers to lead the NBA in assists.

So to better understand the man to whom he was often compared, the Serbian Center conducted its own research. He watched Chamberlain’s highlights on YouTube.

“Of course I did,” said Jokic, who broke Chamberlain’s record for triple-doubles by a center, although Chamberlain would have had countless records if blocks had been an official stat during his career. “But I didn’t really focus on his game and study him, so to speak. Yeah, just to see how he looked, how he moved. Just to watch, to keep in my mind.”

Jokic was one of the most unique big men ever to step onto an NBA floor. Chamberlain weighed 7 foot 1, 275 pounds and was a track and field star at Overbrook High and the University of Kansas, competing in the sprint, long jump, triple jump, shot put, discus and setting Big Eight indoor records in the high jump.

“He was definitely athletic. He was definitely athletic,” Jokic said. “I think he can definitely play in this era as well. [Watching Chamberlain’s highlights] Just had to see how much faster, bigger and stronger he is than everyone else and is still a genius. So, I think he can still play in this era.”

joel embiid is One of the rare NBA players who can say he has broken one of Chamberlain’s scoring records. two years ago, philadelphia 76ersThe 7-foot player scored 70 points against San Antonio SpursBreaking Chamberlain’s long-standing franchise record of 68. As the latest dominant big man in the franchise’s long lineage, Embiid has heard plenty of stories of Chamberlain’s exploits from anyone who has seen them.

“I really know a lot because of Sonny Hill,” Embiid said of the 89-year-old man known as the “Mayor of Basketball” in Philadelphia, who serves as an executive consultant for the Sixers. “That was his guy, so he’s always talking about Wilt. Ever since I got to Philly, he’s always telling me a lot of stories. I know a lot, but obviously, what you know the most 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 regularly strikes up conversations with Embiid and other players.

It bothers Hill that modern stars aren’t more familiar with his friend Chamberlain than they were growing up in Philadelphia, where Chamberlain began his NBA career with the Warriors before moving to California. After two and a half seasons in the Bay he returned to Philadelphia with the 76ers.

“Wouldn’t Wilt be the Babe Ruth of basketball?” Hill asked, his voice more than a little irritated.

This is a rhetorical question. Hill is disappointed that, in his estimation, Chamberlain does not receive the same respect from modern NBA players that Ruth receives from major league players.

Hill said, “He’s a legendary character who dominated his game like no other.”

“When Wilt came in it was a new game,” Hill said. “When Wilt was in high school, at Overbrook High School, he was on the ‘Ed Sullivan Show.’ … At the time, he was the most recognizable player from a basketball standpoint, who brought the game to a level not only in America but throughout the world. So, as he grew in the game, he laid the foundation for where the game is in popularity today.”

The NBA’s global expansion occurred in the decades after Chamberlain retired. milwaukee bucks star giannis antetokounmpo Little was known about Chamberlain growing up in Greece, but they’ve heard his name a lot en route to winning two MVPs and a title.

“Whenever you look at a statue, it’s always up there,” Antetokounmpo said. “Not just up there, but way up there. You ask yourself, was that really that impressive?”

Most of what Antetokounmpo knows about Chamberlain, he learned from watching “Bill Russell: Legend,” the Netflix documentary about the all-time great. boston celtics The Center was Joe Chamberlain’s primary rival.

“They were going back and forth, and you saw how dominant he was and what Bill was saying. He was trying to limit him as much as possible, but it was almost impossible,” Antetokounmpo said. “Now, we’re talking about Bill Russell saying this – one of the best guards to ever play his game. So, you can understand how impressive he was.”

Asked how Chamberlain would fare in this era, Hill scoffed, then referred his friend to some of their conversations with Chamberlain late in his life.

Hill said, “Wilt said it – if he were playing today, he’d be a franchise owner.”

Durant’s scouting report, derived from watching hours upon hours of Chamberlain highlights over the years, is almost as impressive.

“Athletic freak,” Durant said. “I mean, 7 feet [tall]Running like that, long arms, being able to almost dip without jumping, but still jump high. Could do anything, man. Big hands. So Wilt was definitely a force to be reckoned with, a guy that I think could definitely translate to any era.

“I wish I could have lived through that time, to see what opponents thought of him, how teams guarded him and what his aura was like in general. I would love to see it in real time.”

Even if Gilgeous-Alexander boasts a 20-point run, Chamberlain will have several significant record scoring streaks. Chamberlain still holds the records for most consecutive 30-point games (65), 40-point games (14) and 50-point games (seven). Legendary scorers like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and James Harden have targeted those runs over the years; No one has come close to breaking the record. Chamberlain is the only player to score at least 60 in consecutive games – and he has four-, three- and two-game streaks of at least 60 points.

Chamberlain’s rebounding stats look even more ridiculous than his scoring feats. He holds the NBA records for rebounds in a game (55), season (2,149) and career (23,924). Those records will likely never be broken, and it is almost certain that Chamberlain’s records for average minutes in a season (48.5) and career (45.8) will never be approached.

“They have all the records,” he said. Los Angeles Lakers star luka doncicWho scored at least 40 points in the first three games of the season, the longest season-opening streak other than Chamberlain’s five-game run to start the 1961–62 campaign and a seven-game span to start the following season.

“Whenever you hear about someone breaking a record, it’s, ‘Wilt Chamberlain did that too.'”

ESPN’s Matt Williams contributed statistical research for this story.