Was Wilt Chamberlain the Greatest Athlete in History?

[Cassandro]

Setting aside his basketball records, Wilt Chamberlain's size, strength and physical ability put him in a different class than any other athlete I can think of. It was as if all of these elements had been packed into 7' giant without any corresponding compromises. For example, he had a 48" vertical leap that has only been matched in the NBA by Michael Jordan, who was 50 pounds lighter. Wilt was also a world class track & field athlete in college, and later considered a serious opponent to fight Muhammad Ali. Amazingly, he would still be a first round NBA draft pick, some 70 years later.

Have any other athletes ever equaled his physical dominance in so many areas? If so, please list them.

 

[gtopa1]

Dunno. He sounds a hefty unit though.

Greg

 

[Blaster]

Setting aside his basketball records, Wilt Chamberlain's size, strength and physical ability put him in a different class than any other athlete I can think of. It was as if all of these elements had been packed into 7' giant without any corresponding compromises. For example, he had a 48" vertical leap that has only been matched in the NBA by Michael Jordan, who was 50 pounds lighter. Wilt was also a world class track & field athlete in college, and later considered a serious opponent to fight Muhammad Ali. Amazingly, he would still be a first round NBA draft pick, some 70 years later.

Have any other athletes ever equaled his physical dominance in so many areas? If so, please list them.

Wilt screwed more women than any other great athlete so that would make him the GOAT.

 

[bluzman61]

Setting aside his basketball records, Wilt Chamberlain's size, strength and physical ability put him in a different class than any other athlete I can think of. It was as if all of these elements had been packed into 7' giant without any corresponding compromises. For example, he had a 48" vertical leap that has only been matched in the NBA by Michael Jordan, who was 50 pounds lighter. Wilt was also a world class track & field athlete in college, and later considered a serious opponent to fight Muhammad Ali. Amazingly, he would still be a first round NBA draft pick, some 70 years later.

Have any other athletes ever equaled his physical dominance in so many areas? If so, please list them.

I believe he was the greatest basketball player ever. Going WAY back I believe the greatest athlete ever was Jim Thorpe. He excelled at SO many different sports.

 

[Manonthestreet]

 

[Lockback]

Chamberlain would be high on the list.
I think Shohei Ohtani is in the mix now too.

 

[Eman623]

Jim Thorpe was easily one of the most versatile athletes ever, playing baseball, basketball and football professionally, and also winning gold at the 1912 Olympics in track and field.

 

[Cassandro]

I believe he was the greatest basketball player ever. Going WAY back I believe the greatest athlete ever was Jim Thorpe. He excelled at SO many different sports.

What makes Chamberlain unique is that he would still be the world's greatest athlete TODAY.

 

[bluzman61]

What makes Chamberlain unique is that he would still be the world's greatest athlete TODAY.

He DOMINATED basketball. He averaged over 50 points a game one season and he scored an amazing 100 points in a game that season. He dominated the league in rebounding most seasons, even outrebounding the great Bill Russell. He pretty much changed the fabric of the game. That is why I consider him to be the greatest basketball player of all time. Michael Jordan would be runner up in my humble opinion.

 

[DGS49]

Arnold Schwartzeneggar said that Wilt was the strongest person he ever saw. That is saying something. They were working together on a Conan movie (or something) and would work out before shooting to pump up their muscles. Wilt's bench press was 600 lbs, or close to it. He did lat extensions with 135-150 lbs.

Wilt's jumping and running abilities were on par with the best in the NCAA when he was briefly in college.

It would be difficult to imagine another professional athlete with his combination of size, strength, quickness, and jumping ability.

It is generally acknowledged that he CHOSE to play the low post as a finesse player, not pushing people around, as Shaq did a few generations later. Had he been a brute, nothing could have stopped him but the referees.

 

[DGS49]

Regarding the Cassius Clay fight that never happened. Wilt's manager put it to him as follows:

You are the best basketball player on the planet, and he is the best fighter, right?

Imagine what you could do to him on a basketball court.

Now ask yourself why he could not do that to you in a boxing ring. Wilt quietly stopped talking about that proposed match.

 

[Cassandro]

He DOMINATED basketball. He averaged over 50 points a game one season and he scored an amazing 100 points in a game that season. He dominated the league in rebounding most seasons, even outrebounding the great Bill Russell. He pretty much changed the fabric of the game. That is why I consider him to be the greatest basketball player of all time. Michael Jordan would be runner up in my humble opinion.

Jordan was a fantastic player, but it should be remembered that the rules were bent to improve his statistics, like allowing him four steps to the basket. Chamberlain had special rules created to stop him, including having to dribble before he shot. In spite of that, he was still the greatest offensive AND defensive player of all time.

 

[Woodznutz]

Setting aside his basketball records, Wilt Chamberlain's size, strength and physical ability put him in a different class than any other athlete I can think of. It was as if all of these elements had been packed into 7' giant without any corresponding compromises. For example, he had a 48" vertical leap that has only been matched in the NBA by Michael Jordan, who was 50 pounds lighter. Wilt was also a world class track & field athlete in college, and later considered a serious opponent to fight Muhammad Ali. Amazingly, he would still be a first round NBA draft pick, some 70 years later.

Have any other athletes ever equaled his physical dominance in so many areas? If so, please list them.

But could he swim?

 

[Cassandro]

Regarding the Cassius Clay fight that never happened. Wilt's manager put it to him as follows:

You are the best basketball player on the planet, and he is the best fighter, right?

Imagine what you could do to him on a basketball court.

Now ask yourself why he could not do that to you in a boxing ring. Wilt quietly stopped talking about that proposed match.

If Wilt had trained as a boxer from an early age, he probably would have been world champion. But there was no upside for him to fight Ali at a later stage of his career.

 

[Woodznutz]

If Wilt had trained as a boxer from an early age, he probably would have been world champion.

Sure, with his 12-inch reach advantage.

 

[odanny]

Most points to start a season in the first 5 games:

1) Wilt Chamberlain - 264 - (1962)
2) Wilt Chamberlain - 256 - (1961)
3) Luka Doncic - 200 - (2025)
4) Michael Jordan - 197 - (1986)

 

[Cassandro]

It needs to be remembered that Wilt played in in low top Converse tennis shoes. If he had modern basketball shoes, he would have been even more dominant.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

Setting aside his basketball records, Wilt Chamberlain's size, strength and physical ability put him in a different class than any other athlete I can think of. It was as if all of these elements had been packed into 7' giant without any corresponding compromises. For example, he had a 48" vertical leap that has only been matched in the NBA by Michael Jordan, who was 50 pounds lighter. Wilt was also a world class track & field athlete in college, and later considered a serious opponent to fight Muhammad Ali. Amazingly, he would still be a first round NBA draft pick, some 70 years later.

Have any other athletes ever equaled his physical dominance in so many areas? If so, please list them.

Bo Jackson played professional football, professional baseball, and won the Heisman Trophy in college. He scored a TD in the Pro Bowl and hit a homerun in the All-Star game. Has Wilt beaten that? Not quite.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

But could he swim?

He could just walk on the bottom of the pool. No need to swim.

 

[marvin martian]

Setting aside his basketball records, Wilt Chamberlain's size, strength and physical ability put him in a different class than any other athlete I can think of. It was as if all of these elements had been packed into 7' giant without any corresponding compromises. For example, he had a 48" vertical leap that has only been matched in the NBA by Michael Jordan, who was 50 pounds lighter. Wilt was also a world class track & field athlete in college, and later considered a serious opponent to fight Muhammad Ali. Amazingly, he would still be a first round NBA draft pick, some 70 years later.

Have any other athletes ever equaled his physical dominance in so many areas? If so, please list them.

Didn't he claim he banged 20,000 women?

If true, that's definitely GOAT territory.