“Could Wilt Chamberlain Outscore Michael Jordan? Exploring Legends of the NBA!”

“Could Wilt Chamberlain Outscore Michael Jordan? Exploring Legends of the NBA!”

A true gem in the great world of insults was dropped by J.J. Redick on ESPN in April. The former NBA guard claimed that Bob Cousy was “guarded by plumbers and firemen” in his prime while he was playing for the Boston Celtics in the late 1950s and early 1960s, demonstrating how dissatisfied he is with Cousy’s reputation as an NBA legend. It is truly unfortunate that Wilt Chamberlain isn’t present to witness this. As the Boston Celtics prepare to face the Golden State Warriors in the Finals for the first time since 1964, talk has turned to the late Mr. Chamberlain. It was Chamberlain versus Bill Russell of the Celtics for the first NBA title, and they were the San Francisco Warriors at the time.

Throw Redick’s remark under the bus. (Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West; alright, let’s stop there.) When we go back to the Chamberlain-Russell rivalry and the widely held belief that fans of the 1964 Finals were seeing a preview of things to come, we find a much bigger problem.