Los Angeles Lakers: Wilt Chamberlain’s tenure in LA is underrated

Wilt Chamberlain was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers in his late years, winning a championship in the purple and gold; But he rarely receives appreciation for what he accomplished in Los Angeles.

Anthony Davis will hopefully be the latest in the line of big men to win a championship in Los Angeles. The hope that the season is not over is still alive and as long as this possibility endures, a championship is the aim of the Los Angeles Lakers and AD.

Among those legendary centers in Lakers’ lineage is Wilt Chamberlain, who spent the sunset of his career in Los Angeles.

Chamberlain played five seasons that resulted in four trips to the NBA Finals, and one championship in 1972 as part of the team that won 33 consecutive games. Obviously, Wilt was not at the peak of his game when he joined the Lakers, especially in an era where sports science was not as advanced as it is today in extending players’ longevity. But he was still much better than people think or numbers prove.

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Chamberlain joined the Los Angeles Lakers to give himself and the team a chance at the title against the Boston Celtics’ dynasty that had dominated the 60s. A Lakers team consisting of Hall of Famers Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, and later Gail Goodrich, added the most dominant center of the NBA.

He was past his thirties during his time in LA and he registered the lowest numbers of his career, especially the last two seasons, when he averaged “just” 14 points and 18.9 rebounds. But the team did not fail to deliver, albeit with some disappointing moments.

These numbers prove the decline of Chamberlain’s career, but still there are factors to be taken into account. He was part of a team led preeminently by guards, where Baylor, West and Goodrich averaged at least 20 points each.

Anyway, he played 44 minutes per game and kept distributing a constant four assists per game. The 7’1″ center had learned in his earlier days that dominating the game by himself was not enough to win a championship and that is why he decided to join the Los Angeles Lakers.

His only championship in Philadelphia came when he sacrificed some of his scoring to share the ball with his teammates, registering a career-high in assists in two consecutive seasons; 7.8 in 1967 and 8.6 in 1968. He also averaged 9 in their 1967 playoff run that resulted in the championship.

Chamberlain voluntarily took a huge step back in his time in Los Angeles, sacrificing majorly his stats in order to achieve the ultimate goal. He was still able to deliver big performances when needed, however, like 45 points and 27 rebounds in Game 6 of the 1970 NBA Finals, or the legendary 24 points and 29 rebounds with a broken hand in Game 5 of the 1972 Finals.

Had he played for a lesser team he would easily have maintained his averages for the coming years despite getting closer to 40 years old.

This is probably why he is kind of underrated. His big numbers and records tend sometimes to give the opposite effect on the opinion people have about him, thinking they are just a byproduct of his physical superiority over his opponents.

Well, isn’t LeBron James such a generational player and so superior to the rest of the league for his rare combination of speed, strength and playmaking skills, unforeseen before he arrived to the NBA? Then, should not he be considered the second greatest of all time (or so)?

When I look at aberrations like the Bleacher Report’s All-Time Player Rankings, which put Bill Russell, Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan in front of Chamberlain, I feel like people tend to forget and the Big Dipper’s legacy is not respected.

Certainly, championships have great importance in evaluating the success and greatness of a player. But they are not the only thing that counts. There are many different factors to be taken into account.

Those include, but are not limited to, stats, records, awards, the overall impact on the team and on the game. Furthermore, Wilt was not only a dominant force in the NBA because he was taller than his opponents.

He was a  great athlete. An outstanding athletics competitor in high school and college. He ran the basketball floor like a track and fielder, jumped to unseen heights that allowed him to block unbelievable shots, and had a superhuman strength that could result in him dislocating his opponent’s shoulder by blocking his shot.

That is why at 49 years old, still in top physical shape, he was still in demand. He was such a unique specimen. An unprecedented force and something that we have never seen anymore.

While Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is widely considered the best center in the history of the game for his scoring, championships and longevity, Chamberlain’s physical gifts put him, in my opinion, also in front of Kareem.

They unfortunately could not meet both at the pick of their prime, with Chamberlain being ten years older than Jabbar. But they however had incredible battles. And Wilt held his own against the young sensation from UCLA.

Wilt Chamberlain remains a legendary figure in the history of basketball, still owning many records. Yet, he does not receive the credit he deserves, especially for his Los Angeles Lakers years, forgotten and omitted in many discussions, maybe victim of the lack of game footage of his prime and of a voice to advocate his greatness due to his early departure.