Why they rank here
The most statistically dominant athlete any team sport has produced. Chamberlain's 1961–62 season — 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds per game, including the 100-point game in Hershey on March 2, 1962 — will never be approached; he averaged 48.5 minutes that season by playing overtimes on top of full games. He led the NBA in scoring seven straight times, in rebounding 11 times, and, after being criticized as selfish, led the league in total assists in 1967–68 — the only center ever to do so. His career marks of 30.1 points and a record 22.9 rebounds per game came with four MVPs and, contrary to the empty-stats caricature, two of the most dominant championship teams ever: the 68–13 Philadelphia 76ers of 1967 and the 69–13 Lakers of 1972, both of which broke the Celtics' grip. The honest case against him is Russell — a 1–7 head-to-head playoff series record and repeated Game 7 defeats — plus chronic free-throw shooting near 51 percent. But as a force of nature, no one else comes close.
Career profile
Each bar shows how this athlete compares with the strongest in our all-time list for that metric.
Head-to-head
Compare career numbers side by side.