“How much money would you bet on it?” Wilt Chamberlain called out Michael Jordan for a 1-ON-1 to settle the GOAT debate
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Michael Jordan is un-guardable to many and the greatest of all time to several others. The league is ever-changing due to the nature of players than entered the league every year. Often we see someone having continuous dominant performances that stretch through a season and even an entire career much like MJ. But no one has come close to the cards your airness brought to the table.
But to compare between two players from completely different eras may be close to impossible as the league has always been involving every season. Jordan was a very dominant player during his time who could score and defend on an elite level. His game earned him title wins every time he played in the finals. He has six NBA rings and Finals MVP awards including five league MVP award and multiple All-NBA selections under his name.
The talent speaks for itself, does it not?
Wilt Chamberlain challenges Michael Jordan to a 1-ON-1 basketball game
Before the reign of the Chicago Bulls dynasty, the league experienced several other players who dominated the court. Some of these players include Bill Russell (11-time NBA champion), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (All-time leader in scoring), and of course, Wilt “The Stilt” Chamberlain. Players like him have also been looked at as the greatest all time in their era.
Wilt once spoke about having a 1-ON-1 game against the greatest of all time, Michael Jordan. “I know basketball is a team game, and you’ve already made Michael Jordan number 1, but if you had to have Wilt against Michael, my prime and his prime, how much money would you be willing to bet?” he said.
However, according to the odds on Sporting Pedia, we for sure know who’s the goat.
Will Michael Jordan be able to defeat The Stilt in a 1-ON-1
Both players come from two very different eras of basketball. In today’s league, the three-point line is a very important factor for scoring the ball. The line was only introduced after Wilt retired 1973. The former rookie league MVP scored 100-points in a game and averaged 50.4 points and 25.6 rebounds shooting 50.6% from the field in his third year in the NBA. All this without the three-point line and with lesser rules on physicality.
Michael Jordan comes from an era with more court spacing, the three-point line and several other new rules that forced the reduction of physicality. Obviously just like Chamberlain, MJ was also a freak of nature. His best averages were 37.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists also coming from his third year.
The league during his time consisted of much more dominant players in their own rights and faced numerous rule changes that made it tougher to be physical. A match between a seven-footer and a 6”6 guard? Would it have been possible? Maybe in today’s position-less league.
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