Michael Jordan is widely regarded as the best player in NBA history by many NBA fans. Jordan was a great scorer, a great defender, and a six-time NBA champion. Although Michael Jordan was a tremendous player, some basketball fans feel Wilt Chamberlain may be the best player in NBA history.
Varied people have different ideas on what makes a great NBA player. Some people feel that NBA Championships make players great, while others believe that numbers define a player, and still others believe it is a mix of both. Whoever feels that championships matter more than statistics should consider Bill Russell to be the best player of all time because he won 11 championships. Championships, on the other hand, are not as meaningful to most people as statistics since they represent a team achievement. Let’s look at Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain as examples.
Due to his perfect Finals records, Michael Jordan is largely recognized as the best player of all time. MJ appeared in six NBA Finals and never lost a game. He didn’t even allow any club to push him to a total of seven games.
Jordan also has a slew of individual honors to back up his claim. Wilt Chamberlain, one of the greatest players of all time, did poke fun at MJ as the GOAT on occasion.
Wilt was adamant that he was the GOAT, and he had some pretty compelling evidence to back up his assertions.
REBOUNDING
Wilt Chamberlain holds the record for most rebounds with 23,924 to Michael Jordan’s 6,672. Wilt Chamberlain had a career RPG average of 22.9, whereas Jordan had a career RPG average of 6.2. Chamberlain’s highest season RPG average is 27.2, while Jordan’s highest season RPG average is 8.0.
BLOCKING
Blocks were not recorded until the 1973-74 season, which was Chamberlain’s final season. However, data on blocked shots can be found in 112 of Wilt’s 1305 NBA games, according to press archives and game videos. Wilt Chamberlain averaged 8.8 blocked shots per game in 112 games when statistics were collected (The most official recorded BPG in a season is 5.56 BPG by Mark Eaton). Michael Jordan’s highest BPG in a single season was a meager 1.5 BPG.
Wilt Chamberlain did not have the same level of success as Michael Jordan. Wilt Chamberlain, on the other hand, was a statistically superior player. Chamberlain was a more effective scorer, rebounder, shot blocker, and passer. Michael Jordan won championships, while Wilt Chamberlain put up incredible numbers. If you feel that winning championships is what makes a player great, then Bill Russell or Michael Jordan would be the best players in NBA history. However, if statistics are the most essential component in determining a player’s legacy, Wilt Chamberlain should be regarded as the best player of all time.
SCORING
Over the course of their careers, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain each averaged 30.1 points per game. Michael Jordan has the highest season PPG average of 37.1, while Wilt Chamberlain has the highest season PPG average of 50.4.
PASSING
Wilt Chamberlain has approximately 1,000 more assists in his career than Michael Jordan. Wilt Chamberlain, on the other hand, once led the league in APG and had the greatest APG average of any center in NBA history. Chamberlain’s APG average for his career is 4.4, whereas Michael Jordan’s is 5.3. Michael’s highest season APG average is 8.0, whereas Chamberlain’s highest season APG average is 8.6.
REBOUNDING
Wilt Chamberlain holds the record for most rebounds with 23,924 to Michael Jordan’s 6,672. Wilt Chamberlain had a career RPG average of 22.9, whereas Jordan had a career RPG average of 6.2. Chamberlain’s highest season RPG average is 27.2, while Jordan’s highest season RPG average is 8.0.
The Tiles and Fame Journey
Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan, in the end, transformed the NBA superstar position. As a rookie, he scored 28.2 points per game and was selected as an All-Star starter by the fans. Jordan was so popular that NBA players all across the league were irritated by the amount of attention he was getting. Isaiah Thomas orchestrated a “freeze-out” on Jordan during the All-Star game, in which players refused to give the ball to Jordan.
Jordan returned to his previous form in the 1987 NBA season, producing his finest season ever and the most prolific scoring season in NBA history by anybody not named Wilt Chamberlain, after missing practically the whole 1986 NBA season due to a fractured foot. Jordan averaged 37.1 points per game and, aside from Wilt Chamberlain, was the only player to score over 3,000 points in a season. He also showed his defensive skills by being the first player in NBA history to record more than 200 thefts and 100 blocks in a single season. In the MVP vote, he came in second to Magic Johnson.
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Jordan was named regular-season MVP for the first time in 1988. On 53.5 percent field goal shooting, he averaged 35.0 points per game. He was the first of two players to win the MVP award and the Defensive Player of the Year title in the same season.
Jordan intended to pursue a professional baseball career after his initial retirement from the NBA in 1993, in order to appease his stepfather, who had been slain a year before. Michael Jordan’s father, James Jordan, had long aspired to be a professional baseball player. Michael’s attempt at baseball failed, and he returned to the NBA in the midst of the 1995 season. Jordan started slowly, but in his sixth game back, he scored 55 points.
For the next three seasons, Jordan continued where he left off. He went on to win three more scoring titles, tying Wilt Chamberlain for the most in NBA history with 10. During those three seasons, he appeared in every game (246 in a row).
In 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, and 1998, Michael won six NBA titles. His club has never lost in the NBA Finals, and Michael has been named Finals MVP in each of his six series. His six MVP trophies tie him with former Lakers guard Magic Johnson, former Lakers center Shaquille O’Neal, and current Spurs forward Tim Duncan for the most in NBA history.
Jordan led the Bulls to 69 victories and their fifth NBA title in 1997. With a buzzer-beating jump jumper, he won Game 1. He turned up one of the most iconic performances in NBA history in Game 5, with the series at 2-2, now known simply as the “Flu Game.” Doctors advised Jordan that he had a food illness and that he would not be able to play in the game. Despite this, he played in the game and scored 38 points for the Bulls, including the game-winning three-pointer with less than a minute remaining. After the game, Jordan sank into the arms of teammate Scottie Pippen. He was named MVP of the NBA Finals for the sixth time.
Jordan led the Bulls to 69 victories and their fifth NBA title in 1997. With a buzzer-beating jump jumper, he won Game 1. He turned up one of the most iconic performances in NBA history in Game 5, with the series at 2-2, now known simply as the “Flu Game.” Doctors advised Jordan that he had a food illness and that he would not be able to play in the game. Despite this, he played in the game and scored 38 points for the Bulls, including the game-winning three-pointer with less than a minute remaining. After the game, Jordan sank into the arms of teammate Scottie Pippen. He was named MVP of the NBA Finals for the sixth time.
Whereas
That season, Chamberlain averaged 37.6 points per game, over eight points more than Bob Pettit’s single-season record. With 27 rebounds per game, he set a new single-season record. He won Debut of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards to top off a fantastic rookie season. He was also named MVP of the All-Star Game. Wilt broke both marks again in 1961, averaging 38.4 points and 27.2 rebounds per game. Chamberlain became the first player to reach 3,000 points in a season and remains the only player to reach 2,000 rebounds.
He earned his first field goal percentage title and still holds the single-game rebounding record with 55. He was so dominant that he scored more than 30% of his team’s points and grabbed more than 30% of their rebounds.
Wilt replied with 50.4 points per game in 1962. He scored almost 4,000 points in that season. Only five other players scored more than 2,000 points that season. Only one player has ever scored more than 3,000 points in a season: Michael Jordan in 1987 with 3,041 points. If Barry Bonds had hit 73 home runs and the next best single-season total was 55 in baseball, or if Tom Brady had thrown 50 touchdown passes and the next highest single-season total was 38 in football, the equivalent would be. Wilt averaged 48.5 minutes per game that season, making him the first player in NBA history to average more than 48 minutes per game in a non-overtime game. Wilt was ejected from an overtime game and missed eight of a potential 3,890 minutes that season. That season, he had 45 games with 50 points or more. Michael Jordan, on the other hand, scored more than 50 points in a game 37 times during his career.
Chamberlain was a human-operated scoring system. He once had a streak of 65 games in a row in which he scored 30 points or more (roughly four-fifths of an NBA season). He has 32 games when he scored 60 points or more. The remainder of the NBA has accomplished this feat a total of 29 times. Michael Jordan accomplished this feat five times, once in the playoffs. Six times, Chamberlain scored 70 points or more in a game. The NBA as a whole has done it four times.
Wilt’s scoring supremacy continued for the following several years. During his first seven seasons, he topped the league in scoring. He crushed the rest of his competitors to the point that it wasn’t even a competition. His seven scoring titles were won by over eight points per game on average over the next closest NBA player.
Wilt was also a famous ironman in the league. He appeared in every second of every game 79 times out of a possible 82 times in 1962. He once played 47 games in a row without missing a single second of the action. He played about 46 minutes per game on average during his career. Wilt averaged more than 43 minutes per game as a 36-year-old in his last NBA season, good for third in the league. During his career, he topped the league in minutes per game nine times. Wilt averaged 45.8 minutes per game during his career, more than three and a half minutes more than the next greatest NBA player.
Wilt was also the best rebounder in basketball history. Eleven times, the man with the incredible 50-inch vertical jump led the NBA in rebounding. He came in second place twice against opponent Bill Russell. In terms of overall rebounds (23,924) and rebounds per game, he retains the records (22.9). He has six of the top seven rebounding totals in a single season. He owns 14 of the NBA’s 24 known 40-rebound games (Bill Russell has eight). His record of 55 rebounds in a single game, which he set against the legendary Bill Russell, will never be surpassed.
Wilt Chamberlain is the owner or co-owner of 72 NBA records. There isn’t a single statistic or aspect of the game where he didn’t excel.
He changed into the NBA’s all-time chief in general rebounds, rebounds according to the game, subject intention percentage, loose throw attempts, and mins performed 9 times, mins performed 8 times, factors scored, factors according to the game, subject dreams made and subject dreams tried seven times, video games performed 5 times, and assists once. The NBA’s second-worst free-throw shooter once led the league in made free throws.
Wilt was the definition of an all-around basketball player. He made baskets, collected rebounds, blocked shots, and passed the ball to teammates. He was regarded as an above-average ball stealer, with the same level of durability as baseball hero Cal Ripken Jr. and football star Brett Favre.
The most significant contrast between Jordan and Chamberlain is their playoff performance, when “The Big Dipper” faltered regularly, particularly in seventh-game scenarios. His postseason efforts haven’t come close to matching or even approaching those of his archrival, Michael Jordan. Wilt lacked the big-play ability and showed little flare in the postseason. He’d never be known for his ability to come through in a pinch. He was feared in the playoffs just because of who he was, but he was no longer seen as the overwhelming force he had been throughout the regular season.
Wilt concluded his playoff career with a 22.5 point per game average, meaning he averaged only points per game after 1964, despite averaging over 33 points per game in each of his first four years in the postseason. Much of this, however, may be ascribed to the fact that 108 of his 160 playoff games (about two-thirds) took place after he was forced to focus on defense. His postseason rebounding was substantially better than his regular-season rebounding (almost two rebounds a game higher). He had about the same number of assists per game as his teammate, but he was considerably poorer at free throws. His numbers, on the other hand, were nearly identical to those from the regular season.
Wilt had a fourteen-year NBA career in which he won two NBA titles. Only three-game 7s late in his career kept him from completing his career with five NBA championships.
Wilt Chamberlain lost a heartbreaking game seven for the third year in a row in 1970. Wilt’s Lakers met the New York Knicks in the seventh game of the 1970 NBA Finals. This was the game in which an injured Willis Reed scored the game’s first two baskets. The Knicks won by fourteen points over the Lakers.
Wilt won his first NBA title with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1967. This team has been dubbed “the greatest team in history” by Wilt himself. Wilt averaged 21.7 points, 29 rebounds, and nine assists per game in the postseason. He missed six seconds of playing time on average each game.
As a member of the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers, Wilt won his second NBA championship. Both the 1967 76ers and the 1972 Lakers have been named among the NBA’s top 10 teams. On the 1972 Lakers, Wilt’s role was not that of the team’s top player. Rather, he concentrated only on rebounding and defense. He only scored 14.7 points per game but grabbed 21 rebounds.
Jordan equaled Chamberlain for the most scoring titles in a career with 10, including a record-tying seven in a row. With his amazing style of defense, he thrilled the basketball world, and for most of his career, MJ was regarded as the game’s best offensive AND defensive player. As a player, he had nearly no flaws.
He was one of just three players in league history to win both the scoring championship and the Defensive Player of the Year award in the same season, in 1987. He was named Most Valuable Player five times during the regular season, with an unheard-of ten-year gap between the first and last honor.
Michael left professional basketball at the age of 32, having won three titles in a row, one more than Wilt had in his whole career. He dabbled in baseball for a year before returning to basketball. When he returned, he turned around a squad that had been struggling in the postseason into an immediate victor. He went on to win three more titles in a row.
His six NBA Championships came in a row, and the Bulls would have made it eight in a row if MJ hadn’t retired from the game for a year and a half. His teams won 25 of the 26 postseason series that were available to them. Jordan was selected Most Valuable Player six times on the grandest stage of his career, which is a record.
Unlike Wilt Chamberlain, who saw his teams lose to Bill Russell in the playoffs year after year, Michael Jordan triumphed against his greatest foes. After three straight postseason exits by the renowned Bad Boys, he eventually upset the Detroit Pistons in 1991. Jordan won NBA titles with five different clubs, including the Lakers, Rockets, Suns, SuperSonics, and Jazz (twice). Magic Johnson, Clyde Drexler, Charles Barkley, Gary Payton, and Karl Malone were all worthy opponents in the Finals.
There has never been a more clutch athlete than the legendary Chicago Bull guard. In the postseason, MJ increased his regular-season scoring average by nearly 10%, the equivalent of Ty Cobb hitting.414 in the postseason.
His walk-off shot withinside the first spherical of the playoffs towards the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1989, his sixty-three factors in a double additional time loss to the eventual global champion Boston Celtics in 1986, his 38 factors withinside the “Flu Game” withinside the 5th sport of the 1997 NBA Finals as opposed to the Utah Jazz, his series-prevailing soar shot in sport six of the 1998 NBA Finals as opposed to the Utah Jazz… The listing may want to move on indefinitely.
Michael Jordan’s supremacy was unstoppable. With the game on the line, no one has ever been more trusted to take the game-winning shot. In the last minutes of a game, no athlete has ever been more feared than Michael Jordan. And no basketball player—indeed, no athlete—has triumphed more often when the odds were stacked against him than the famous Michael Jordan.
Only one guy, the legendary Wilt Chamberlain, has topped his regular-season achievements. However, no one in the history of the sport, including the immortal Wilt Chamberlain, has ever matched or even come close to matching his postseason achievements and awards.
Michael is not only the greatest basketball player of all time, but he is also the most dominant athlete in history.
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