Wilt Chamberlain vs Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | The Rivalry of NBA Gods

and happy hairston goes down hard and jabar is hot and i must say this now and i never see the public before i i respect the korean and richie powers steps in very quickly between wilt chamberlain and kareem abdul-jabbar you didn't hate him he didn't hate me no not not at all yeah i had a lot of respect for him he has known you since he's 14 years old as a teenager in new york city al cinder had looked up to wilt i remember when he was in college i was first aware of him and wilt competed for the university kansas in the shot put the quarter mile and the high tone unbelievable and i thought who is this guy must be superman i saw him play i was in grade school in high school i i saw him average 50 points a game i saw him play a number of times that year i befriended queen when he was young and i think he liked me and and we did a lot of things uh together wilt was literally bigger than life you know i'd see him a lot you know because he hung out up in harlem observed his lifestyle wow you befriended him you showed him the ropes you literally gave him the shirt off your back you used to give him your own clothes took him to the latin quarter in new york once upon a time he kind of like took me under his wing you're my hero did you play with will at that time like ever play basketball with him well we come to the gym up in harlem and he used to lift up there and i sometimes i go in there with him i never thought crave a thing about basketball we'd play horse i used to beat him in horse why aren't you guys closing well you know i would say that you know athletes are really tough people to they have a lot of pride very very competitive and him and i are natural robbers everybody said that as a center i wasn't going to make it in basketball because i was not a big bruising type like wilt people participate why i don't know if it's a different game that i ever played that's when things more or less went south and i think it was more from cream side again as the competitor he's the guy that i got to take out he's the guy that i got to surpass he's the guy that i gotta beat kareem was the young lion coming up to take all of wilt's records and will wasn't gonna let it happen the 1971 western conference finals the battle of the giants the 12-year veteran wilt chamberlain guilt is four months from his 35th birthday against the second year pro alcindor at 24 years of age lou had led the bucks to the best record in the nba had been named the league's most valuable player and was the scoring champion whether he will admit it or not he wanted to try to prove to himself and to the world that he was a better scorer than will chamberlain you know i want to see if i could challenge the success of the world chamber with what is a better way to prove it than when you go ahead to here against that guy is to outscore it wilt versus kareem i mean this is hollywood script that was supposed to be this big showdown oh let's see how you know luau cendor is going to do against the great will chamberlain god did very well he got several thrown down on [Laughter] 1971 when we won the world championship he presented me for the first time in my career of basketball a guy that i felt at least at my state at that time i really needed some help to guard a torn knee tendon in the 1969-70 season sidelines wilt for almost the entire year when i started playing against him he was past his firemen by you know my third year in the league i was really worked out and he retired their good confrontation is centered on wilt chamberlain and luau sandor the game's old and new testament the most unstoppable weapon in the history of the nba who blocked that shot i woke up one or two when i was a rookie and then he never got another one it's the prettiest shot that i've ever seen in my life i tell you one thing you can't guard it you just couldn't guard it chamberlain has eight he blocked the shot but lou keeps it back that's the third block for chamberlain tonight he blocks another one that time he got the hook shot it's one of the finest defensive plays i've ever seen in basketball i blocked three of this guy hooks in a in a row two of the greatest ever just head to head watching wilt and kareem duel one on one was phenomenal it was fun to watch those guys back in against each other [Music] the big difference put on quite a show i had to go to boards harder and i had to try to run harder and just do some things that were a little bit different and see how he would handle me defensively chamberlain had another great game and the appreciation of wisconsin gave the dipper one of his sincerest most impressive relationship received in his career he said he was overwhelmed [Music] jabar had one big problem and i might have been his problem i think he feels as though maybe i was the guy who's getting in the way of true immortality for him will had a big ego and um he started taking shots at me and when when that happened i didn't like it you know and i let him know about it kareem in his book wrote an open letter an open letter to wilt chomper lane and says i kareem abdul-jabbar i'm going to be remembered for having contributed to teams and wilt's going to be remembered as an individual who didn't contribute to teams and was a whiner and a crybaby and a quitter and a quitter okay that's what kareem said in my criticism of cream i would say nine positive things about green i think a great deal of visibility on the basketball court the greatest offensive force i've ever seen well now played against him he was the greatest uh scorer i've ever seen like if i had to go to somewhere in the last play game give it to korea he wants it it does well with it if you had anybody in the game take a career the 10th thing i may say is that but i don't think he rebounds very well you still talk about kareem as the guy that just doesn't do it for the rebounds i don't think he's really doing the job there that he could do and he should do headlines the next day is wilt crystal scream for not doing his job rebounding but he can still go out there and do it scoring wise on these guys who you know should be killing him into kareem he turns to the right he's underneath he puts it up and in a power play against elijah one here's the ball the kareem dribble around elijah wants slam dunk in the reverse scott down he really defused them at the other end down the middle kareem a hook shot of eight is good magic with it in the cream so is this one of ten that's good lakers get it that's right he can't do it all the way to kareem for the slam dunk kareem abdul-jabbar he's got 40 points do you miss kareem well no i missed nothing not seeing him out there he was a great player oh no question the greatest hakeem elijah went out to get jordan's jordan takes him to end the game the rocket's beating them again and it's long after the game and michael's putting his shoes on we're just chatting and he says it's a good thing they can't ever get out of the west i said why is that he says we got no answer for that big monster i don't know that we can be i have to believe there's every part of you that says you're as impactful or better than anybody else who's ever played the game i think so what did kareem do better than you that you will acknowledge because he's going to see this now what did he do that was better than you and the fastest of of the game yeah you scored better than i did he rebound better he passed better than i did do you run better than i did you know hard obviously around it's in the career kareem swing left right hand 12 footer the new king of story has ascended his throne the pictures tell the word if i we was conscious about thinking about is anyone going to break this record i'd have probably put that record way out of sight off the court uh he had to kind of like had to absorb all the light there was no light for anybody else it was all about and he was just that type of guy will chamberlain for whatever reason was jealous of green and wilt never missed an opportunity to attack kareem in print what about your dream skills now will where i think they've demanded a great deal i think maybe the man should be taught about five years ago i knew i wasn't going to get a job uh with that with that kind of salary if i quit so you know why quit he's out there making three million dollars a game i'm making like absolutely nothing so i really can't talk about him except i think it's time for him but you know to join me but i never really went to his measures to talk about you know quitter i mean i played in games in situations where i'm sure a great many athletes would never play tonight wilt chamberlain will come on the floor his right wrist so sore he cannot really grip the basketball wilt knew that that he was the guy on the team that we looked up to that he was a guy that was going to help us win there have been times when i really wondered how the man could play with a crackbone on his hand because he is a right-hander and he's got to use it yes he does [Music] a lot of people don't realize that he actually i mean he really did sacrifice wilt is not looking to score he's looking mainly to pass the ball off to rebound and played a good defense so he can kind of get away with it without worrying about the fractured bone in his hand we have to contain you know each individual to a certain extent but we'll have to guard them for the team and that's what is on my mind it's just what we can do best to stop their team i had the privilege when i was in college at ucla to see wilt go head-to-head with kareem abdul-jabbar when i'm 17 18 19 years old oh my gosh [Music] [Music] sensing the magnitude of the moment and understanding the precarious nature of a possible game seven the veteran lakers captain chose this moment to stand before his team will call the team meeting he said listen i've always been the best center in the league i was better than russell but russell had the best teammates and russell what now this young kid jabbar is the best center in the league we the lakers had a better supporting cast of what kareem had let's get this thing over with right now the sooner the better don't give them any more hope against chamberlain goes with [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] good defensive play by wolf [Applause] macmillan gets his cut off in the fourth quarter wilt just took over the game [Music] wilt's there puts it up and in chamberlain basket counts foul wilt chamberlain getting instructed from sherman and jones how to play jabar and these driving jabar are crazy kareem abdul-jabbar gives it to bobby sandbridge watch the shot great play my turn up until this point it's a standoff between the guys in the middle i don't know what statistics are chased by chamberlain timberland knocks it away a beautiful defensive play by wilson well backing in underneath chamberlain here it goes for javar trampoline takes it away it'll go to milwaukee javar missed it [Applause] chamberlain cleared one minute ago chamberlain muscles in a whistle and a foul he is not a great threat at the free-throw line will said i am going to make sure that we win had a score of about eight or ten points in two or three or three minutes to give us a chance to win uh the game looks like they got a cinch with three seconds two seconds one second the game's over the lakers have won they beat milwaukee four out of six chamberlain had made good on his work leaving the lakers pass in defending champion bucks and landing los angeles in the finals once more he's met every challenge he's crossed every bridge the los angeles lakers are the world champions of basketball if you guys were both in the crime wouldn't that have been a great thing how would have been our backyard one-on-one i was too i'm too strong for marine and if you're gonna go one on one you take it through the basket but suppose you'd have a sky hook whoa i'm gonna tell you something as fast as it looks you didn't miss by that much you just seem to make two in a row you know i had to step up fast there you go i just take the last three up front this is the one i'm talking about get it up get it up i would have also loved to have a chance to play this marine when i was going 50 points again you

Channel: Foobas Sports

Views: 1,370,028

Keywords: NBA, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Shaq, Charles Barkley, Open Court, James, Harden, Lebron, Oscar, kareem, Giannis, Curry, Klay, Durant, Davis, Embiid, 76ers, Bulls, Pippen, Celtics, Championship, highlights, goat, pistol, westbrook, hakeem, stories, myths, legend, lilliard, fight, interview, best, dunks, moments, greatest, top, career, defense, fame, prime, jump, Kobe, last, documentary, Warriors, Philadelphia, Doctor, training, workout, duncan, iverson, contest, giannis, davis

Id: qbGXDaU27YM

Length: 15min 30sec (930 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 12 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/coastalmarker99]

Wilt was very rarely outplayed by an opposing center in the playoffs. IMHO, though, he was only statistically outplayed by a prime Kareem in the 71-72 WCF's, but, by virtually every account of those that witnessed that series, he outplayed Abdul-Jabbar.

As for the 71-72 WCF's Wilt held Kareem, who had shot .57.4 against the NBA during the regular season, to a .45.7 FG%. Furthermore, over the course of the last four pivotal games of that series, he had reduced Kareem to a .41.4 FG% and he was 35 with bad knees think about that. An old 35 year old Wilt was shutting down Kareem and sending the skyhook back multiple times throughout the series.

The two also battled in the 70-71 WCF's, and here again, a prime Kareem, and a 34-year-old Wilt, only a year removed from major knee surgery, were a statistical wash. BTW, Chamberlain held Kareem to FG%'s of .48.1 and .45.7 in those two series, in seasons in which Kareem shot .57.7 and .57.4. And he outrebounded Kareem in both, as well.

This is one reason I’m lower on Kareem than most (still easily top 6). I just can’t buy the GOAT talk. To twice, in one sequence, reject the most unstoppable shot in the history of the game as a post-injury older player vs the young buck at full extension really drives home a point for me.

I have head to head prime Wilt vs KAJ as going to Wilt. I cannot draw any other conclusion based on that clip. Singular, yes. But clear. The skyhook wasn’t beyond an old Wilt’s reach. And for me, that’s a dealbreaker. Wilt > KAJ at peak. My eyes demand it. I’m open to other evidence though that people want to give to me.

[u/Beef_Supreme69]

As gaudy as Kareems longevity and counting stats are, Wilt was a Fucking man among boys. Prime wilt against Kareem could have been a bloodbath.

No disrespect to that legend Kareem though. Just a testament to how unreal Wilt was

[u/coastalmarker99]

I have always thought that Wilt is better than Kareem as he was the better player in all areas of the game besides free-throw shooting.

And that if the two had matched up against each other when Wilt was younger and in his prime that Wilt would have obliterated Kareem on the boards and performance-wise just as Moses did in the 1983 finals and Nate did in 1973.

[u/freezer76]

To me this is the most important matchup in the history of the nba, think about how much time these guys careers covers. It just puts the sum total of great bigmen in to context from Bill Russell to Shaq indirectly. People don't realize but Wilt wasn't like washed when he retired, he was really just bored. He did a bunch of exhibition stuff showing off what a freak he was.

For what it's worth growing up in the 90s these were the two guys my dad used to say were the greatest of all time with Wilt being the GOAT. A lot has changed since then obviously. People rarely put these two in their top 5.

[u/swrowe7804]

I never watched Wilt play. From a career perspective, I say Kareem is the greatest center of all time. Hakeem had the greatest peak of any center I've seen though. Again, I've never seen Wilt play. Maybe he had a greater peak than Hakeem. I don't know. But I still say Kareem is the goat center from an accomplishment and longevity perspective.