Shaquille O’Neal’s views towards Wilt Chamberlain are quite complicated—a strange balance between mutual respect and competitive spirit. Shaq once acknowledged, “Thanks to guys like Wilt and Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] and Hakeem [Olajuwon], I am who I am today.” Despite some heated remarks, Shaq insisted there was no real hostility. “I know he didn’t dislike me,” Shaq said. “And I didn’t dislike him. What went on was more fun than anything.” He wished they had spent more time together, learning tricks from each other, just as he had with Kareem and Hakeem.
Yet, it seems like with all the respect Diesel has for Wilt, there is also a hunger to prove himself. Last year, he went all in on the latter. He boldly stated, “Want me to answer this for you, Doc? I would have bust Wilt’s a-s!” He explained that seeing his idol play with Wilt would have fired him up. “Watch this Wilt, in the first play of the game, I’m going to try to knock his m—–g teeth out his mouth.”
Dr. J responded by acknowledging that while the two played in different eras, Shaq’s versatility would have made for an intense battle. He pointed out that Wilt regularly faced Bill Russell, often dominating him individually, but Russell’s team usually won. He concluded, “Shaq versus Wilt. Man, that’s a question for the ages.”
Recently, during TNA Stats Madness, a debate arose between Wilt’s 100-point game and Kobe Bryant’s 81-point performance. When asked for his vote, Shaq simply answered, “WILT 100.” This was surprising because just days earlier, when choosing between Magic Johnson’s 42/15/7 NBA Finals game and Wilt’s 100, he picked Magic. He justified his choice by saying, “There was no footage of the 100 points. And if you believe that, then you believe this,” holding up a sign that read, “I’m Light Skin.”
However, when discussing Kobe’s 81 points compared to Wilt’s 100, Shaq’s reasoning shifted. He stated, “I got to go with big man Wilt 100 points, even though there is no footage. It’s been talked about since when I was in high school, when I was in college, so it must be real.” He took a complete 180 with these words! Well, the difference in the reasoning left fans stunned.
It led to fans questioning, “No way Shaq said Wilt over Kobe 81… this gotta be APRIL FOOLS ”. Someone claimed, “Braww This Guy Still Hating Kobe! .” Meanwhile, one fan pointed out the video of him asking for footage as proof. Well, it should be safe to say that it was not an April Fool’s joke. After all, the video was uploaded on April 2nd. Only Shaquille O’Neal knows what caused this change in opinion.
Did Wilt really drop 100? Lou Williams has doubts
Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game is one of the greatest achievements in NBA history. But did it really happen the way the record books say? Lou Williams isn’t so sure.
“At that time, we didn’t have this sophisticated stats system that we have now,” Williams said. He believes that without dedicated stat keepers, the numbers could have been inflated. And when you compare it to Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game, things start to seem off.
“Kobe Bryant had 81, and he only had two teammates in double figures,” Williams pointed out. “I’m not buying that you can get 100 points and you got other teammates that had 17 or 18 points to go along with that.” That’s a fair question: How did Wilt manage to hit 100 while still sharing the scoring load?
(Original Caption) Wilt “The Stilt” Chamberlain, 7-foot Kansas Center, displays the mitts which have deflected 127 enemy shots during Kansas’ first twenty games this season.Wilt’s hands measure 9 1/2 inches from wrist to tip of middle finger and 11 1/2 inches from spread thumb to spread little finger. Thus far Chamberlain has blocked potential of 254 points, or, as Kansas opponents are shooting 35 cents, 88.9 points.Wilt is ranked first nationally in rebounds at 26 per cent,running 3rd nationally in scoring 29.20 average.
The lack of video footage doesn’t help the case. Outside of a partial radio broadcast and that famous photo of Wilt holding up a “100” sign, there’s not much proof. If it happened today, we’d have dozens of angles, slow-motion replays, and social media clips. But in 1962? All we have is a box score.
And let’s talk about the game itself. As Wilt got closer to 100, the Knicks tried to stall, while the Warriors did everything possible to feed him the ball. Was it a genuine performance or a setup to make history? Williams leans toward the latter. “At that time, I don’t think people cared, and it just went their way,” he said.
So, did Wilt really drop 100? Maybe. But without hard evidence, the debate isn’t going anywhere.
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