NBA stars reflect on Wilt Chamberlain as SGA ties record

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tied Wilt Chamberlain for the most consecutive 20-point games in NBA history with 126.

MVP IN TIME SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER is on the verge of breaking an obscure NBA record.

Few probably knew that the longest scoring streak scoring at least 20 points in league history was 126 games until recently, thanks to Gilgeous-Alexander, whose mastery and metronome-like scoring consistency made it a relevant number.

Gilgeous-Alexander tied the record with another 20-point performance in Monday night’s Western Conference rivalry against the Denver Nuggets and can break the record on Thursday when the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Boston Celtics at home (9:30 p.m. ET, Prime)

But it probably wouldn’t take much guesswork to figure out who has held this record since 1963.

When it comes to NBA records, Wilt Chamberlain is always a pretty good guess.

More than half a century after his retirement, Chamberlain’s name remains on dozens of pages in the NBA record book. Several of these records will likely belong to Chamberlain permanently, including his 100-point game, of which no video footage exists.

Several of the game’s modern stars have racked up incredible numbers that have only been accomplished by Chamberlain. “The Big Dipper” is almost synonymous with spectacular statistics, but generations later, most modern stars who put on an “only-Wilt” type production don’t know much else about the Hall of Fame big man who died in 1999 at age 63.

“Not much other than he was incredibly dominant,” Gilgeous-Alexander recently told ESPN. “According to the statistics, he did what he wanted and it was like…”

Gilgeous-Alexander paused mid-sentence, searching for the appropriate words to put Wilt’s legend into perspective.

“Honestly, it almost seems like a mythical creature,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s not real.”

WHILE GILGEOUS-ALEXANDRE is poised to knock Chamberlain’s name off the top of a record, with his numbers during his streak still pale in comparison to those in the Hall of Fame. Over his last 125 games, the Thunder star has accumulated 4,057 points, 582 rebounds and 803 assists. Chamberlain can’t match that last number, having contributed just 306 field goals during his 126-game streak. But he pulled down an unimaginable 3,230 rebounds and scored 6,193 points, an average of 49.2 per game. Gilgeous-Alexander had five games with at least 49 points during the streak (Chamberlain had 66, including his legendary 100-point game).

Chamberlain led the NBA in total points during his first seven seasons in the league and eventually became the first player in NBA history to cross the 30,000 point mark. He retired after the 1972-73 season with 31,419 career points, a record broken 11 years later by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Six other players have since passed Chamberlain on the all-time scoring list, most recently Kevin Durant earlier this season.

“I mean, I know a lot about Wilt,” said Durant, who remembers being impressed and fascinated as a middle school student reading about Chamberlain. “I know a lot about his career just from studying. I mean, I remember in seventh grade I saw Wilt’s stats and it stuck with me. I couldn’t believe a guy would score 50 points a game with 25 rebounds. So, I’ve always been a fan of Wilt, even as a kid, which is crazy, just because of the numbers.

“Even though you don’t see a lot of highlights, the numbers stand out so much. And then you don’t believe it’s real until you start seeing other players’ numbers and you start comparing them to him. It’s like, I can’t believe this guy was actually a real person. … Larger than life in his day – one of them.”

Nikola Jokic knows comparisons well. As he began to rack up MVP awards and incredible statistics, he often saw Chamberlain’s name when members of the media and the Denver Nuggets’ public relations staff placed those numbers in historical context. This season, Jokic could join Chamberlain as the only center to lead the NBA in assists.

So to better understand the one to whom he was often compared, the Serbian center conducted its own research. He searched for Chamberlain highlights on YouTube.

“Of course I did,” said Jokic, who broke Chamberlain’s records for triple-doubles by a center, although Chamberlain would have had countless more if blocks were an official stat during his career. “But I didn’t really concentrate and study his game, let’s put it that way. Yeah, just to see what he looked like, how he moved. Just to see, to have in mind.”

Jokic saw one of the most unique big men step foot on the NBA floor. Chamberlain was 7 feet 1 inch, 275 pounds and was a track and field star at Overbrook High and the University of Kansas, competing in the sprints, long jump, triple jump, shot put, discus and setting a Big Eight indoor record in the high jump.

“He was definitely athletic. He was definitely athletic,” Jokic said. “I think he can definitely still play in this era. [Watching Chamberlain’s highlights] it was just to see how much faster, bigger and stronger than everyone else he is and still a talent. So, I think he could still play at this time.”

JOEL EMBIID IS one of the few NBA players who can say he broke one of Chamberlain’s scoring records. Two years ago, the Philadelphia 76ers 7-footer scored 70 points against the San Antonio Spurs, breaking Chamberlain’s long-standing record of 68. As the last dominant big man in the franchise’s long lineage, Embiid has heard many stories about Chamberlain’s exploits from someone who witnessed them.

“I actually know quite a bit because of Sonny Hill,” Embiid said of the 89-year-old known in Philadelphia as “the basketball mayor,” who serves as an executive advisor to the Sixers. “He was his guy, so he always talks about Wilt. Ever since I got to Philly, he’s always telling me a bunch of stories. I know quite a bit, but obviously what you know is all the stats and all the records.”

Hill, a former broadcaster of CBS and Sixers games who still hosts a Sunday morning radio show in Philadelphia, attends every Sixers home game and regularly engages in conversations with Embiid and other players.

It annoys Hill that modern stars don’t know Chamberlain better, his friend since they grew up in Philadelphia, where Chamberlain began his NBA career with the Warriors before moving to California. He returned to Philadelphia with the 76ers after 2½ seasons in the Bay.

“Wouldn’t Wilt be the Babe Ruth of basketball?” Hill asked, with more than a hint of exasperation in his voice.

It’s a rhetorical question. Hill is disappointed that, in his opinion, Chamberlain doesn’t receive the same kind of respect from modern NBA players that Ruth does from the major leagues.

“He’s a legendary figure who dominated his sport like no other,” Hill said.

“It was a fledgling sport when Wilt came along,” Hill added. “When Wilt was in high school, at Overbrook High School, he was on the ‘Ed Sullivan Show.’ … At that point, he was then the most identifiable player from a basketball standpoint to bring the game not only to the American level but throughout the world. So as he rose in the game, he laid the foundation for the popularity of the game today.”

The NBA’s global expansion occurred decades after Chamberlain’s retirement. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo knew little about Chamberlain who grew up in Greece, but he heard his name a lot on his way to winning two MVPs and a title.

“Every time you look at a stat, he’s always up there,” Antetokounmpo said. “Not just up there, but way up there. You kind of wonder if he was really, really that dominant?”

Most of what Antetokounmpo knows about Chamberlain he learned from watching “Bill Russell: Legend,” the Netflix documentary about the all-time great Boston Celtics center who was Chamberlain’s chief rival.

“They were going back and forth, and you saw how dominant he was and what Bill was saying. How he was trying to limit him as much as possible, but it was almost impossible,” Antetokounmpo said. “Now we’re talking about Bill Russell saying that – one of the best defenders to ever play his game. So you understand how dominant he was.”

When asked how Chamberlain would behave in this era, Hill scoffed, then quoted his friend in some of their conversations late in Chamberlain’s life.

“Wilt said this: If he played today, he would own the franchise,” Hill said.

Durant’s scouting report, gleaned from watching hours of Chamberlain highlights over the years, is almost as expansive.

“An athletic freak,” Durant said. “I mean, 7 feet [tall]running like that, arms long, being able to almost dunk without jumping, but can still jump high. I could do anything, man. Big hands. So Wilt was definitely a force to be reckoned with, someone who I think could definitely adapt to any era.

“I wish I could live in that era just to see how opponents thought of him, how teams guarded him and just his aura, in general. I would love to see that in real time.”

Chamberlain will have many significant streaks even if Gilgeous-Alexander claims the 20-point streak. Chamberlain still holds the records for most consecutive 30-point games (65), 40-point games (14) and 50-point games (seven). Legendary scorers such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and James Harden have targeted these runs over the years; none came close to breaking the records. Chamberlain is the only player to score at least 60 points in consecutive games – and has had streaks of four, three and two consecutive games of at least 60 points.

Chamberlain’s rebounding stats seem even more ridiculous than his scoring exploits. He holds the NBA records for rebounds in a game (55), a season (2,149) and a career (23,924). Those records will likely never be broken, and it’s almost certain that Chamberlain’s record for average minutes in a season (48.5) and career (45.8) will never be approached.

“He has all the records,” said Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic, who scored at least 40 points in the first three games of the season, the longest season-opening streak after Chamberlain’s five-game streak to start the 1961-62 campaign and seven-game streak to open the next season.

“Every time you hear someone break a record, it’s, ‘Wilt Chamberlain had it too.'”

ESPN’s Matt Williams contributed statistical research to this story.