YouTube Gold: Wilt vs. Kareem At The Summit
Two of the greatest big men in the history of the game battled relentlessly in the early ‘70’s
The defining two rivalries in NBA history are Bird vs. Magic and Wilt Chamberlain vs. Bill Russell.
Chamberlain and Russell came in to the league just a couple of years apart with Russell debuting in 1957 and Chamberlain in 1959.
That rivalry consumed the 1960’s until Russell retired in 1969.
But Chamberlain almost immediately had another rival when Kareem Abdul-Jabber entered the league later in that same year.
Chamberlain was considerably older; he was born in 1936 and Jabbar was born in 1947. But even in his 30’s, Chamberlain was still a phenomenal athlete. In this video, you get a good sense of what he could do. Only a handful of players ever blocked Kareem’s skyhook. Bill Willoughby did it but it was ruled a goaltend. Bill Walton got one but he got it from behind before Kareem got the ball up. Chamberlain got it several times and at its apex too.
You see that in this video plus the two stars talk about what they respected in each other’s games. As great as Jabbar was, you see Chamberlain pushing him around and muscling him inside.
Both of these guys were supreme, dominant centers. The game has changed a lot but having a really good big man is still a huge advantage.