The Wilt Chamberlain Question: What Should NBA Acknowledge?

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love has 51 straight double-doubles which ties the record for consecutive double-doubles since the ABA-NBA merger. Some have tried to diminish his achievement because he plays on a bad team and doesn't have a definitive impact on the defensive side of the ball. I was watching Around The Horn yesterday and Tony Reali brought up an interesting question, "Why don't we acknowledge Wilt Chamberlain as the official record holder?" Chamberlain has 227 straight double-doubles which means Love has to go the rest of this season and almost two more full seasons of double-doubles.

I know that Chamberlain's double-doubles record is pre-merger but why do we recognize Wilt's 100-point game since that was pre-merger as well? Basketball is different from football and baseball in terms of eras. I can understand stats being kept in baseball in terms of "dead-ball" and "live-ball" era. I can even understand the AFL-NFL merger. However, basketball is different in that it's easier to score points with the institution of the three-point line and defenses have gotten weaker. I don't know about you but I will recognize Chamberlain as the all-time leader in consecutive double-doubles.

1. Does his team's bad record diminish Love's achievement in any way?

2. Should they acknowledge Wilt as the record holder regardless of the merger?

3. Is Wilt the most underappreciated great player in NBA history? If not, who is?

 

[ROCKY VS CENA OMG]

1. Yes. It does it is a great achievement however who else is on the T'wolves? Since the talent is so low Kevin Love gets more opportunities to get a double double.

2. Yes. They should and everyone knowledgeable about basketball realizes that Wilt got 227 straight double-doubles.

3. Yes. The man was a one man wrecking crew and was unstoppable in the 1960's. The problem was basketball didn't reach the level of popularity it did in the 1980's. Had Wilt done this after 1976 he would be compared to Jordan, Bird, and Magic as the best players ever.

 

[CH David]

Just because you are on a bad team it doesn't lessen your accomplishments. Ernie Banks played on some bad Cubs teams and still won the MVP twice. Anyone who says that just isn't that smart. It's no small task to get a double-double in a game, and he has gotten 51 in a row. Haters can hate but he is making plays regardless of his teammates sucking or not. Surround him with better talent to get more wins, Lord knows he is doing what he can to help the team win.

They aren't going to but they should. Pre-merger or post who gives a shit? It's basketball and it's part of a legacy. It's not like he was in the ABA when he amassed his double-doubles, he was an NBA star. Cy Young amassed his 500+ wins in the dead ball era, but the MLB still recognizes it as the most wins ever. I see no difference here. Different eras can be the comparison I guess.

No doubt a great player. He just happened to be pre-merger and before a greater amount of competition came about. He won two NBA Championships but maybe some people feel with his talent he should have led his teams to more. That's not the point though. He led the league in rebounds 11 times, scoring 7 times, and a four time MVP. He's definitely up there on the list.

 

[nwocongo]

Yeah playing for the Twolves may diminsh it a little bit for some people, don't get me wrong its still impressive and he's going out there and performing at a high level, but theres plenty of rebounding opportunities with Michael Beasley shootin up all those bricks night after night.
Wilt's record should be recognized, if they wanna say "Love holds the NBA record" thats fine but every time that is said they need to mention since the merger and give Wilt's record.
Wilt is powerfully underrated, alot people shit on him and just write him off as being a big man in a game full of lesser opponents, but that is complete BS, he was constantly double and triple teamed, he dropped 50 on Bill Russell in a finals game. That description is more fitting of George Mikan. Wilt had a quadruple double once,but its not recognized because it was before blocks were kept as a stat, 24 points, 32 boards, 13 assists and an estimated 12 blocks.

 

[Alberto_Del_Burrito]

It's still an NBA player playing and doing this vs. NBA teams.
It's not like he's doing this vs. a college or highschool team or something. They're still professional basketball players.
Wilt deserves the record acknowledgment in my opinion though. I mean 227 straight double doubles is mind blowing.
It doesn't take away from it, but I feel that he deserves better for so much production.

So if Wilt isn't acknowledged for his rebounds, shouldn't it be the same for his 100 points.
Then again the NBA wouldn't want a rapist to have the highest # of points in a game. (Kobe is guilty!)

 

[SSJPhenom]

1. Does his team's bad record diminish Love's achievement in any way?

I don't think so. Look, he may be on a horrible team, true, however he is still going out there against other great NBA teams and players and getting those rebounds and points. People can knock on Kevin Love all the want to, however, he is one of the hardest working players that we have in the league and he deserves recognition for that. I'm happy for all of his success.

2. Should they acknowledge Wilt as the record holder regardless of the merger?

I think they should. I mean, they took some teams from the merger that are still alive today. So why not acknowledge Chamberlin as the record holder?

3. Is Wilt the most underappreciated great player in NBA history? If not, who is?

I think he is, but there's a reason that he is under appreciated. That reason is, the lack of competition that he had during his era. Let's be honest, the only other dominant big man from his era that was as skilled as Chamberlin was Bill Russell and what happened when they went head to head? Russell won most of the time. I honestly think that if Chamberlin played in this era, he wouldn't have had the numbers that he had back then. He would have been going up against Shaq, KG, Yao, Dwight Howard, Jermaine O'Neal, Hakeem the Dream, Tim Duncan, Gasol, and so many others.

 

[Big Sexy]

1. Does his team's bad record diminish Love's achievement in any way?

Not at all. There have been plenty of great players on shitty teams who have never been able to do what Love did. It's unfair to take away from his achievement because the T'Wolves suck.

2. Should they acknowledge Wilt as the record holder regardless of the merger?

Yes. He did it against inferior and smaller competition but a record is a record. If they want to say Love has the post merger record then that's fine.

3. Is Wilt the most underappreciated great player in NBA history? If not, who is?

Not even close. Wilt Chamberlain is known as one of the greatest players of all time and that's exactly what he was. No one has ever really unappreciated him at all. The most unappreciated player in NBA history is Dominique Wilkins. People always remember him as a high flier who won a couple dunk contests but he was so much more then that. He was inexplicably left of the the 1992 Dream Team as well as the NBA's 50 greatest players list. This is a guy who averaged over 25 points per game for 10 straight seasons including two seasons over 30 points per game. Only 5 other players have averaged over 25 ppg for 10 straight seasons. He was an elite scorer, very good rebounder for his position, and he carried the Hawks franchise for many years.