Now that Shaq has finally retired, there’s going to be thousands of articles, blog posts, and stories memorializing his 19-year career. And rightfully so. Shaq was one of the most dominant players in the history of the NBA, period. But, was he THE most dominating player ever? PSH doesn’t think so. With our Philadelphia-centric slant, let’s take a look at how O’Neal’s career numbers stack up against Philly’s own Wilt Chamberlain.
| Shaquille O’Neal | Wilt Chamberlain | |
| Seasons | 19 | 14 |
| Total Points | 28,596 | 31,419 |
| Total Rebounds | 13,099 | 23,924 |
| Points Per Game | 23.7 | 30.1 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 10.9 | 22.9 |
| Best Statistical Season | Los Angeles Lakers ’99-’00: 29.7 ppg/13.7 rpg | Philadelphia Warriors ’61-’62: 50.4 ppg/25.7 rpg |
| MVP Awards | 1 | 4 |
| Championships | 4 | 2 |
| All-Star Selections | 15 | 13 |
| Scoring Titles | 2 | 7 (consecutive) |
If that table isn’t enough, here are some other things to think about:
The NBA didn’t keep statistics on blocks or steals during Chamberlain’s career, but if it had we can all be sure Wilt’s numbers would dwarf Shaq’s. The Big Dipper was a bona fide game-changer: the guy was responsible for more rules changes than anyone else in the history of the game. Like I said, Shaq is one of the most dominant players in NBA history and comparing his numbers to Wilt’s shows just how special a player Chamberlain was.
Shaq apologists always raise the competition each player faced as a reason for Chamberlain’s astronomical numbers. I don’t buy it. Sure, the average size of Chamberlain’s opponents was smaller than those of O’Neals, but Chamberlain dominated because of his own size, speed, skill and strength. And since when does height compare to scoring dominance? (See: Shawn Bradley, Manute Bol, and George Muresan). Chamberlain played against 6’10” Bill Russell 142 times, which is a large enough sample size for his stats to mean something. During those games, Wilt had matching averages of 28.7 ppg and 28.7 rpg while Russell averaged 23.7 ppg and 14.5 rpg.
And don’t assume that in their primes, Shaq was stronger than Wilt. The 7’1″ 275 lbs. Chamberlain was a track star and devoted gym rat at Kansas. He even worked out with Arnold Schwarzenegger in California. He bench pressed 465 lbs. in college while Shaq could put up 450 lbs. People talked about Wilt’s strength more than anything:
The greatest play I’ve ever seen was one of the last games of the 1966—67 season and we were playing Baltimore. We were going for the best record in NBA history. There was a play earlier in the game where Gus Johnson had dunked one over Wilt. Gus was a very strong player. I weighed 220 pounds, and with one hand Gus could push me out of the lane. The man was a physical specimen 6-foot-6, 230 pounds all muscle. He loved to dunk and was a very colorful player. When he slammed it on Wilt, he really threw it down, and you could tell that Wilt didn’t like it one bit. Later in the game, Gus was out on the fast break, and the only man between him and the basket was Wilt. He was going to dunk on Wilt— again. Gus cupped the ball and took off—he had a perfect angle for a slam. Wilt went up and with one hand he grabbed the ball—cleanly! Then he took the ball and shoved it right back into Gus, drilling Gus into the floor with the basketball. Gus was flattened and they carried him out. It turned out that Gus Johnson was the only player in NBA history to suffer adislocated shoulder from a blocked shot. — Billy Cunningham
Once Wilt got upset with me and dunked the ball so hard that it went through the rim with such force. that it broke my toe as it hit the floor. — Johnny Kerr
In my rookie year, Wilt was involved in a pick-and- roll play and suddenly Bill Russell was off Wilt and guarding someone else, and I had Chamberlain. Wilt took me down near the basket and caught a pass. Being the bright kid out of Ohio State I thought I was, a I figured, “No problem. Wilt isn’t a good foul shooter. I’ll grab him.” Well, Wilt didn’t like being held. I reached around from behind and held both of his arms. He wasn’t going to let some rookie stop him, So Wilt took the ball—and me—up. He dunked the ball and I hung there on his arms, both of my feet off the ground and hanging on to Wilt’s arms for dear life until he put me down. — John Havlicek
Shaq’s numbers clearly don’t stand up to Wilt’s. And those who think Wilt dominated only because his competition was weak are painfully mistaken. Shaq was great, but Wilt was the best: the most athletic and dominant big man in the history of the NBA.
