In the past, teams were led by strong Centers like Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Abdul-Jabbar and Chamberlain were both elite players, so the question on everyone’s mind is: Who was better? I will be using their statistics, awards, and personality to make the decision.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989. He played 1560 games. Throughout his career he used his graceful and crafty movement to average 24.6 points per game. His shooting was on point and precise. His unstoppable force helped him have a field goal percentage of 55.9% and he had 72.1 % on free throws. He also had 3.6 assists per game. Over his career he had 273.4 win shares. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a fearsome player. Using all these skills, he led and still leads the NBA in the most points at 38,387.
Wilt Chamberlain played for the Philadelphia Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers from 1959 to 1973. He played in 1045 games. Throughout his career he used his strength to average 30.1 points per game. His phenomenal ability helped him have a field goal percentage of 54.0%, and he had 51.1% on free throws. He also had 4.4 assists per game. Over his career he had 247.3 win shares. Wilt the Stilt was a fiery player. He was so hot, one time he scored 100 points in one game.
Throughout his career Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won countless awards. His career was full of many achievements: nineteen time All-Star, six championship rings, 11 time all defensive player, Finals MVP twice, Rookie of the Year 1969-1970, two time scoring champion, four time block champion, fifteen time All-NBA, and six time MVP. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is remembered as one of the greatest of all time due in part to these awards.
Throughout Wilt Chamberlain’s career he won a numerous amount of awards. His career was full of dominance and achievements such as being: a thirteen time All-Star, seven time scoring champion, 1967-68 Assist champion, ten time All-NBA, four time MVP, two championship rings, two time all-defense team, 1971-72 Finals MVP, and 1959-1960 Rookie of the Year. Wilt Chamberlain is remembered as one of the greatest of all time due in part to these awards.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a phenomenal man on and off the court. If he was not playing basketball he was helping society in any way he could. Abdul-Jabbar cared about women’s rights as much as men’s, and he tried to understand how women felt. When interviewed by Donald McRae, Abdul-Jabbar said, “Men don’t understand what attractive women go through. We do not get on a bus and have somebody squeeze our breasts.” While Abdul-Jabbar was sympathetic, Chamberlin was the complete opposite. Chamberlin claimed he slept with 20,000 women, and when asked about the situation by Eddie Deezen he responded, “I was just doing what was natural–chasing good-looking ladies, whoever they are and wherever they are.”
In conclusion, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain are two of the greatest centers of all time. But after reviewing this I have decided to go with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the better Center. I have chosen him because of his personality and achievements. Wilt had better stats, but when thinking about an athlete I just don’t look at their career, I judge a person as a whole.
