Changing the Wilt Chamberlain "Loser" Narrative; One Reader at a Time

May. 16, 2016

You've heard the narrative endless amount of times. Bill Russell = Ultimate Champion. Won the NBA championship 11 of 13 years. Wilt Chamberlain = Selfish. Couldn't win. We don't have much more than old stories and incomplete statistics to back those claims up. We did not see them play. But we hear it so much that it has become "True."

Let me put it into context for a younger generation. Look at the below stats from a typical Wilt Chamberlain vs Bill Russell playoff series. And this is the type of Narrative that favors Bill Russell. Bill Russell always seemed to win. Wilt always seemed to rack up statistics. But does Winning = Greater?

Oh wait!!! These are not Wilt vs Russell...This is the GREAT Ben Wallace vs the Loser Shaquille O'Neal. Obviously Ben Wallace is greater than Shaq, right? Obviously Ben Wallace had Shaq's number (figuratively speaking), right? That is the same type of Narrative that Bill Russell gets. Now don't get me wrong. I am not comparing Ben Wallace to Bill Russell. Bill Russell is an all-time great. But my point is just because he won more, doesn't make him greater. Michael Jordan has changed our thought process on Sports/ Winning/ Greatness, to the detriment of history. Since Jordan, a superstar has to win, win a lot, and not lose in the finals. Lebron gets dinged because he made it to 5 straight NBA Finals but only won 2. That is a byproduct of the Jordan generation. But the Jordan generation also impacts how we view the past. In terms of winning, Russell is the closest thing we have to compare to Jordan (in terms of "winning"), and others then get dinged.

What if I told you that Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell met in the NBA Playoffs in 8 series in their careers. Bill Russell won 7 of the 8. You automatically think Russell had Wilts number. What if I told you that in the 8 elimination games they played Wilt outscored Russell 215 to 113 (not a typo). What if I told you that in the 7 series that Russell's team won, Celtics won the elimination game by a combined total of 25 points (average 3.5 point victory). What if I told you that 4 of those 7 series that Bill Russell's teams won, they won on a game winning shot or steal by a Celtic not named Bill Russell. What if Bill Russell's teammates missed those shots? Would the Russell Narrative be different? What does 4 clutch plays by the other team really say about Wilt Chamberlain being a winner or a loser.

In team sports "Championships" only define a legacy for NFL Quarterbacks and NBA GOATS. Nobody cares how many Championships Jerry Rice (not a quarterback) has, and nobody cares how many Championships Scottie Pippen (great but not GOAT) has. Their legacies are dependent on other things (Rice = Statistics, Pippen = All Defensive teams). By the same measure everyone cares about Dan Marino (is a quarterback) and Jerry West's (in the GOAT discussions) Championship counts; or lack there of. That said, is that completely fair. This is still a team game. Dan Marino can not catch the touchdown passes he throws and he can not stop the other team from scoring. An NBA Player can do it all (Look at Lebron James in the Finals last year), but it's still a team game with 4 other players on the court playing offense and defense. Is it fair? If Wilt's stats were transposed into the Baseball world he would be Babe Ruth. 714 HRs. 0.314 Batting Average. Does anyone know how many World Series he won? (7 just as an FYI, but nobody cares).

Its a narrative driven by 11 championships > 2 championships. Russell deserves a lot of credit for the 11 championships. And Wilt may deserve some of the criticism. But definitely not the extent in which they are viewed. I know for the Russell supporters regular season does not matter, but did you know that Wilt beat out Russell in the ALL NBA 1st Team 7x (Russell beat out Wilt 2x). That is an individual award. Championships are a team award.

Question - At the end of the game do big men have the ball?
Answer - No. They can dominate the entire game but at the end, its likely in someone else's hands.

Look at recent history. Who made the clutch game winning shots? Centers? No. The dominant bigs get their team in position, and a clutch perimeter player makes the heroic buzzer beaters. Hakeem Olajuwon? No. Sam Cassell, Kenny Smith, Mario Ellie, and Robert Horry made the heroic shots, not Hakeem Olajuwon. Shaquille O'Neal? No. Kobe, Fisher, Horry made the heroic shots, not Shaquille O'Neal. Tim Duncan? No. Sean Elliot, Robert Horry, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli ,not Duncan / Robinson. Google the greatest Playoff Moments and rarely will you find a big mans name in there. I wont list the usual suspects on there. My point being is that the results of the game especially if they are within 1 basket can not be solely on the center because he likely does not have the ball. The same goes for back in the Russell Chamberlain days.

Wilt vs Russell. They played each other 49x in the NBA Playoffs spanning 8 hard fought series (4 of the 8 were 7 game series). Wilt outscored Russell in 43 of the 49 games (87.8%). Russell beat wilt 29x (59%). Below is a graph to show you all their playoffs head to head matchups. Wilt DOMINATED Russell. But Russell's teams usually won. Do we talk about the "other" HOF's on those Celtics team. Bob Cousy, John Havlacek, Sam Jones, KC Jones, Tom Heinsohn, Frank Ramsey, Tom Sanders, Bailey Howell, Bill Sharman. True they weren't all playing in the same season, but regularly there were 6-7 HOFers on a Bill Russell Celtics team.

Just for fun, though "regular season" is meaningless to the "Championships Only" crowd. They played each other 95x in the NBA Regular Season over a 10 year span (~9-10 games a year). Wilt outscored Russell in 91 of the 95 games (95.8%). Russell beat wilt 57x (60%). Below is a graph to show you all their regular season head to head matchups. Wilt DOMINATED Russell. But Russell's teams usually won. Again, what about the "other" HOF's on those Celtics team. Bob Cousy, John Havlacek, Sam Jones, KC Jones, Tom Heinsohn, Frank Ramsey, Tom Sanders, Bailey Howell, Bill Sharman. True they weren't all playing in the same season, but regularly there were 6-7 HOFers on a Bill Russell Celtics team.

What about the narrative that Bill Russell was Clutch and Wilt was a Choker? Everyone remembers the "Havlacek steals the ball" but what they do not know is that the Celtics had the ball, and "Clutch" Bill Russell inbounded the ball into the wires hanging from the ceiling which gave the ball back to Wilt's 76ers. What about the importance of a game? How does Wilt's scoring change from Closeout Games, Elimination Games, to Game 7s. With Closeout games being the least important compared to Elimination Games and Game 7's. In 36 Closeout games Wilt averaged 23.4 ppg (and a 3.3pt win). In 22 Elimination games Wilt averaged 31.2 ppg (and a 5.7pt win). In 11 Game 7's, Wilt averaged 29.9ppg (and a 6.6pt win). Below is every playoff game Wilt played in and the results, and some additional commentary regarding the results. The story isn't just told by "W/L".

1960 - In his Rookie Year (which he won Regular Season MVP), Wilt had a 53 point game in a game 7esque round 1 win over the Nationals. He lost in the 2nd round to Boston on a game 6 last second tip in by Tom Heinsohn (not Bill Russell)

1961 - Wilt again played against the Nationals and lost in 3 games

1962 - Arguably the greatest statistical year in sports history (Wilt Averaged 50ppg and scored 100pt in a game), Wilt had a 56 point game 7esque 1st round against the Nationals. In the 2nd round he once again lost to the Celtics on a Sam Jones game winning shot (not Bill Russell)

1963 - The Warriors were sold to San Francisco and Wilt's key players refused to move. It was a lost season.

1964 - In the 1st round Wilt dominated 10x All NBA 1st team Bob Pettit and scored 39 in a game 7esque round 1 win. In round 2, Wilt loses to the Celtics again though nearly tripling the "clutch" Bill Russell's scoring statistics. Maybe the 6 other HOFers on Bill Russell's team had something to do with the win.

1965 - Again Wilt loses in game 7 of round 2 to the Celtics. This time the famous "Havlicek stole the ball" (not Bill Russell. Not only was it not Bill Russell. The only reason the 76ers had the ball was because Russell turned the ball over on the previous inbounds pass).

1966 - Wilt again loses to Boston. This time doubling Russell's point production and scoring 46 pts in the elimination game loss. But again Russell is the clutch one.

1967 - Wilt finally had some Russellesque type help. Beat Boston in the 2nd round with a 24 point blow out in the close out game 5, and would go on to win the Championship. Wilt averaged 18ppg, 29rpg, and 7apg in the Finals.

1968 - Wilt again loses in game 7 of the 2nd round to Boston. This time by 4 points. In game 7 Chamberlain's teammates shot 8-25, 2-10, 8-22, 8-22, and 7-17. Wilt scored 14 pts and 34 reb vs Russell's 12 pts and 26 reb.

1969 - Wilt joins the Mighty Lakers, but again loses to Boston in game 7. This time in the Finals. This time by 2. This time Chamberlain hurt his knee with 5 minutes to go and was not allowed back into the game by his coach. Don Nelson iced the game with a desperation shot that gave Boston a 4 point lead (not Bill Russell)

1970 - Wilt had another game 7 dominant 35 point win in the 1st round. In the Finals against the Knicks, Wilt lost in game 7. This time to the famous Reed limp and Frasiers 36pts 19ast and 7reb performance.

1971 - Wilt again won the 1st round game 7. This time he did it all alone without West or Baylor. In the 2nd round, the lack of help was too much against Jabbar and Robertson

1972 - Wilt and arguably one of the greatest teams of all time (won 69 games and had a 33 game win streak) won the championship, and Wilt won the Finals MVP.