#1 Wilt Chamberlain
Wilt Chamberlain was a maligned figure during his career. He was under constant criticism from writers and coaches. Wilt was a sensitive man and took the criticism to heart. As a result, he was a hard man to root for. As he famously spouted, "Nobody roots for Goliath."But Wilt's statistics are not only unparalleled, they are unapproached. During the 1962-3 season, he averaged 44.8 ppg (the second highest single season average ever). That was over 10 ppg game more than second place and over 16 points more than third that season. Yet, for Wilt, that season featured a decrease in his point average. The year before, he had averaged 50.4 points per game.
To give some kind of perspective, Michael Jordan scored 50 or more points in a game 38 times over his career (the second most of any player). Chamberlain beat that number in one season. Wilt led the league in scoring for the first seven seasons of his career. He once scored 100 points in a game, the record for a single game by 19 points over second place. Chamberlain was a historically prolific rebounder. He led the league 11 times and finished second two more times. His career average of 22.9 is the highest all time.
When he was criticized for scoring too much at the expense of his teammates, Chamberlain decided to change course. In 1966-7, he averaged 7.8 assists per game. The next year, he totaled the most assists in the league, accounting for 8.6 per game (more than Jordan ever averaged). Writers duly criticized him for being too unselfish. His career average was 4.4 per game.
Blocks were not kept during Chamberlain's career or this would be another paragraph filled with incredible statistics. So, instead, let's turn to field goal percentage. In 1966-7, he shot 68.3% from the field, taking 14 shots per game. The last year of his career, he shot nearly 73%, though his shot totals were significantly reduced. Wilt made 54% of his field goal attempts throughout his career.
Wilt faces a number of negative perceptions from the current fan. His statistics are so farfetched that they are almost discounted. The particularly ignorant will argue that his competition featured 6'6" white guys. Leave aside the racial aspect of the oft-repeated comment, it misrepresents the era that Chamberlain played in. There were more centers of high quality in his NBA than there are today, despite the far higher number of teams playing today. Wilt was a poor free throw shooter for his entire career. Chamberlain only won two titles, a significantly lower number than other players who will be featured on this list. But he played in an era of legendary teams. The Boston Celtics not only had Bill Russell, but they were stacked with great players, perfect role players, and arguably the best coach ever in Red Auerbach.
Furthermore, Wilt was a work horse. Writers unfairly accused him of lollygagging because he didn't exhibit excellence every minute he was in the game. But he averaged 45.8 minutes per game for his entire career (first all time). In 1961-2, he averaged 48.5 mpg (the most ever for a single season). Another astonishing mark is that the center never fouled out of a game throughout his entire career. Despite the enmity he received from the press, Wilt garnered 4 MVP awards. He was voted to the All-NBA team 7 times. He was also awarded the 1972 NBA Finals MVP.
From the time Wilt entered the league until the moment he left, every big man was compared to him. None of them even remotely resembled him offensively. Few besides Bill Russell were ranked ahead of him defensively. There wasn't a better rebounder. Is it too much to ask of a player to win every game he ever played? Is it too much to ask him to dominate every second he's out on the floor? Should he be judged harshly if this extremely athletic bigman doesn't produce to our impossible expectations? Wilt Chamberlain wasn't superman. He was merely the greatest player ever to take his talents to the NBA.
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