How Wilt Chamberlain has been replaced by Ben Simmons

How Wilt Chamberlain has been replaced by Ben Simmons.

One of the most bizarre NBA stories in the last fifteen years is currently unfolding. Hence, even though the other parallels are a little too strange, I can’t help but dumb it down by drawing comparisons to another all-time great who was traded twice in his prime. While his fellow star center missed a significant portion of the season, 25-year-old Ben Simmons, a two-time NBA All-Defensive player and All-NBA player, recently locked up the top seed in the East.

As of right now, only the two clubs with the lowest run totals in the league are interested in trading for Simmons, suggesting that his apparent trade value is zero. Hoops Wire claims that the Timberwolves and Cavaliers are those teams. Even so, how is this even logical? And why does Chuck Klosterman’s statement, “I can’t think of any athlete whose reputation is so vastly inferior to his actual achievements,” which sums up Wilt Chamberlain’s career, feel so applicable today?

To begin with, both sportsmen were established stars before they entered the league. Aside from Oscar Robertson, Simmons was the only rookie in NBA history to record at least 1,200 points, 600 assists, and 600 rebounds. Wilt’s numbers were obviously astounding; his first nine seasons were unmatched by anything that has occurred before or after. In his inaugural season, he even took home the regular MVP and All-Star MVP awards. However, it’s possible that their early success sheltered their predicted improvement. That or they grossly miscalculated when it came to the fans’ perception of what it took to be great.

Allow me to clarify: Wilt’s obsession with records and statistics, which he valued more than actual victory, was his worst weakness. For instance, since high school, he has been obsessed with maintaining the meaningless trend of never getting fouled out of a game. John Havlicek gave this description in “Hondo.”

“He would alter his play after his fourth foul. I’m not sure how many opportunities for wins he may have cost his team by sitting out games after picking up fouls.

Hondo and John Havlicek.

In an attempt to appease the fans, Simmons posts pointless training videos of himself making threes against YMCA youngsters every offseason. Instead, it was, at most, a brief stoppage of the criticism. In the worst case scenario, it served as a magnifying glass into his biggest flaw and increased the pressure on him to make three-pointers against real NBA players.

Fans that support them find these instances of lack of common sense perplexing, leading us to conclude that they may not have a strong enough desire. There’s also the theory that their coaches spoilt them. I say “in theory” because Wilt’s career has truly gone around every corner, but Simmons’ career has not yet reached its peak.

Warrior’s owner Eddie Gottlieb is described by John Taylor in The Rivalry as having “spoilt Wilt something fierce…” … whatever team he played for would never be a true winner as long as he was uncoachable. Wilt played for nine different coaches in his fourteen-year career, and he made several financial retirement threats. For Simmons, though, head coach Brett Brown just witnessed an entire.