Despite his four MVP awards, eleven rebound champion titles, and seven scoring titles, fans frequently find themselves puzzled about why Wilt Chamberlain’s name rarely enters the GOAT discussions. According to Stephen A. Smith, there’s a single reason for this omission, and that reason is – Bill Russell!

“Regardless of his dominance – at the end of the day his No. 1 nemesis was Bill Russell. The great Bill Russell (had) eleven championships to Wilt’s two. End of discussion. You can’t have a nemesis and they out championship you by 11 to 2,” Smith stated on his podcast. “That is why Wilt is left off.”

Records that Wilt Chamberlain still holds to date

SAS correctly points out Bill Russell’s remarkable career achievements. Yet, it’s equally astounding that Wilt Chamberlain, despite retiring in 1973, maintains a strong grip on various NBA records. This undeniable fact solidifies his status as one of the Top 2 centers in the history of the game.

Despite his last appearance in the NBA occurring half a century ago, the 7’1” center still holds an array of cords that underscore his dominance in scoring, rebound, durability, and more noticeably his impact on the league.

‘Wilt the Stilt’ is not only the sole entity to have logged 100 points in a game and an average of 50.4 points per game in a season, but in the 1961-62 season, he astonishingly averaged 48.5 minutes per game. He also snagged 55 rebounds against the Boston Celtics in a single game in 1960.

In addition to these extraordinary records, the 1971-72 Finals MVP also boasts the most 50-point games (118), 60-point games (32), and 70-point games (6).

Wilt crowned Bill Russell as the GOAT center

Throughout the 1960s, Chamberlain and Russell engaged in fierce battles on the NBA hardwood, marking the league’s first rivalry. While they faced off repeatedly in the Finals, those intense encounters only deepened the mutual respect they held for each other.

In a remarkable display of sportsmanship, Wilt even crowned Bill the greatest center over him by asserting the profound impact the latter’s leadership had on the Boston Celtics.

“Well you know, yeah. I’ll pick Bill over me because he also helped his team a lot more than maybe I could have helped my team to win,” Chamberlain said. “Sometimes the pure power of you makes you more individualistic. I have said this before, Wilt Chamberlain on the Boston Celtics would not have been the same.”