Basketball miracles

Chapter 63 [The Emperor Who Poured Cold Water]

To increase the hype and appeal of the NBA season, Commissioner David Stern collaborated with the media to interview many retired Lakers legends and then release news articles.

Elgin Baylor, Gail Goodrich, Jim McMillan, and others who participated in the Lakers' 69-win season and 33-game winning streak have all expressed their best wishes to the Lakers and encouraged them to win the championship with a record-breaking performance this season.

Records are meant to be broken, not admired. Exploring the unknown and challenging limits is human nature.

Baylor was so moved he almost cried, and he spoke the most, overwhelmed with emotion. He had a very deep affection for the Lakers, being a loyal player for one team, which was incredibly unfortunate.

Baylor is one of the most tragic superstars and the most famous uncrowned king in NBA history, having lost all eight of his NBA Finals appearances. Remarkably, Baylor retired after playing only nine games for the Lakers in the 1971-72 season, and the Lakers immediately went on to win the championship, awarding him a championship ring in recognition of his past contributions to the team.

Xiao Tu felt that Baylor was visibly past his prime, and even hearing him praise himself made him a little uneasy. If Baylor had insisted on finishing that season, the Lakers would most likely have lost the championship again.

Don't ask why, it's just a mystery.

This guy's subsequent tenure as general manager of the Clippers was disastrous; he drafted nothing but busts. If he had been given the number one pick in 1998, he could have drafted Olavokandi.

There were also discordant voices, including one from "The Emperor" Wilt Chamberlain.

The Lakers' momentum this season has been too strong, and Wilt Chamberlain couldn't sit still any longer; he had to speak out. Even before he retired, he disliked Kareem Abdul-Jabbar when he first entered the league, and the two had many verbal battles.

Chamberlain was very frustrated because he also felt the Lakers had a good chance of winning the championship this season. He really hoped Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would break his leg and retire soon, so he wouldn't have any more accolades.

In 1982, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had already surpassed Wilt Chamberlain in the number of championships, and another title would have been his fourth. If LeBron James has half as many championship rings as Abdul-Jabbar, who will still talk about him as the greatest player in NBA history?
Wilt Chamberlain was the Lakers' starting center back then, so naturally, reporters interviewed him. He first mocked Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, calling him a softie who couldn't grab rebounds and only used hook shots, then went on to say that Xiao Tu, who grabbed the most rebounds and liked to attack the rim, was severely overrated.

This Los Angeles reporter really wanted to ask: "Where's your logic?"

Clearly, some people don't need logic; they just want to throw cold water on the Lakers.

Chamberlain said, "He (Xiao Tu) is doing well in today's game, but he wouldn't be as effective as me or other players of the same era."

According to the King, the NBA of the 60s, with its eight teams battling it out, was that terrifying. Even a team as strong as the Celtics only had a best playoff record of 8 wins and 2 losses, having lost to him once.

Yes, back then the NBA playoffs only had two rounds of series.

There weren't many games, but they were very intense. Back then, Wilt Chamberlain, who was even stronger than Shaquille O'Neal (as he claimed), mainly scored with layups, hook shots, and jump shots... Now, Xiao Tu, who prefers dunks, definitely wouldn't be able to do that.

Then Chamberlain launched a scathing attack, bluntly stating that the current NBA is a bunch of trash playing, with defense that is negligible; otherwise, Xiao Tu wouldn't have been able to put up such numbers in his rookie season.

The reporter asked, "Which team do you think is stronger, the current Lakers or the Lakers of the 1971-72 season?"

Chamberlain pursed his thick lips, his expression disdainful. "Of course my team is stronger. Modern NBA teams don't play defense, so there's no comparison at all."

The defense of those 12 teams back then was truly formidable. It's only been 12 years, but reporters still remember the scenes from that time.

Chamberlain averaged 14.8 points per game that season with a 42.2% free throw percentage... Although he was guarded like a bricklayer at the free throw line, his confidence was unmatched, and he dominated the entire league with his words.

When the interview was published, Jerry West and Pat Riley, who had been teammates with Chamberlain, were speechless.

They weren't angry; they just didn't know how to evaluate their former teammate.

Because Chamberlain was always bragging, he never stopped. He was even quite funny, making it impossible to get angry at him.

What can they do? Call him an idiot? They fought side-by-side back in the day, it's too much to ask. But Chamberlain's disdainful attitude towards the current Lakers is truly disgusting.

Ultimately, they decided to do nothing and let Chamberlain run wild in the media. Most fans knew what kind of person Chamberlain was anyway, and their comments would only give the Celtics and other opponents something to watch.

Xiao Tu read the news, completely disregarding Chamberlain's comments. He just hoped the guy would say more in the future. Let the storm rage on; comparisons create buzz, and buzz generates traffic.

Should I argue with him?
I'd rather not, because I'm sure some people will say I'm disrespectful to my seniors.

Wilt Chamberlain racked up incredible stats with the Warriors early in his career, making him the NBA's all-time leading stat-padder.

他最离谱的1961-62赛季场均出战48.5分钟（从不下场包含加时赛），出手39.5次命中20球，命中率50.6%。再加上场均17次罚球，他砍下了50.4分25.7篮板2.4助攻。

How incredible is this statistic? Let's put it this way: he took as many shots as Xiao Tu, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Magic Johnson combined this season.

Chamberlain seemed invincible in the regular season, but his stats plummeted in the playoffs. His field goal percentage dropped to less than 50%, leading to losses, and his free throw shooting was ridiculously bad.

Unable to win a championship with the Warriors, LeBron James decided to embark on a super team strategy in 1964, transferring to the 76ers.

1966-67赛季76人全队6人得分上双，第四得分点场均都有18.5分，阵容碾压对手。张伯伦季后赛场均21.7分29.1篮板9助攻，作为球队的第二得分点终于拿下了生涯首冠。

After his teammates' performance declined, the King was driven away and transferred to the Lakers to form a super team. As the team's fourth scoring option, he won the 1972 championship.

Despite only winning two championships in his career and never establishing a dynasty, LeBron James never lost an argument, firmly believing himself to be the greatest player in NBA history. His low scoring efficiency in the early playoffs wasn't a problem; he claimed he lacked good teammates. His declining scoring in the later stages wasn't a problem either; he stated he no longer cared about scoring.

Xiao Tu knew that Chamberlain was arrogant and would never praise other star players, including Russell, who had beaten him countless times. Similarly, even if fans worldwide liked Xiao Tu, Chamberlain wouldn't say a good word about him. Asking him to praise a rookie was like asking him to stab him to death.

No, Chamberlain's physical abilities were the best in the world, he was a decathlete, how could a knife possibly kill him?

Instead of getting him to praise me, I'd rather just shoot him for five minutes straight.

A day later, something funny happened: many American fans immediately mocked Chamberlain, without needing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Shawn Yue to give interviews and retaliate.

After Chamberlain made these remarks, almost no one believed his nonsense.

At the end of last season, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar surpassed Wilt Chamberlain to become the all-time leading scorer, and this guy immediately started spouting nonsense, even clamoring for a comeback, only to be met with countless jeers. He probably thought that as long as he expressed his dissatisfaction, people would come to appease him, even though he's been retired for many years.

The main reason no one believes Chamberlain is that he hasn't been retired long enough. Most American basketball fans have seen him play and know how unprofessional the NBA was back then; anyone who believes him is an idiot.

Xiao Tu had met quite a few people who admired Chamberlain.

Forty years from now, many people will believe the boasts Chamberlain made.

In his previous life, Xiao Tu often saw posts online praising Chamberlain while simultaneously belittling others. Some Chinese casual fans believed that if Shaquille O'Neal had played in the NBA in the 60s, he definitely wouldn't have been able to beat Chamberlain, a legendary figure who disregarded the rules.

Legend has it that the rules at the time didn't allow physical contact, so even someone as strong as Wilt Chamberlain had to play cautiously, and Shaquille O'Neal's aggressive style would get him fouled out by halftime. Chamberlain was also stronger defensively because his physical strength was unmatched, as evidenced by his rebounding numbers.

Chamberlain's 100-point game might have been more than 100 points, because there was no three-point line back then, and many of his three-point attempts were counted as two points. Also, the NBA didn't have block statistics back then, otherwise Chamberlain would have averaged more than ten blocks per game.

Wilt Chamberlain once broke an opponent's toe while dunking; he was truly incredible. While it's incomprehensible to most people—how did that unfortunate guy even manage to get his toe near the rim?

In a parallel universe, Chamberlain was born at the wrong time and didn't live to see the internet age; otherwise, he would have been very pleased to see the comments from netizens. By then, he had already been mythologized—who said he slept with 20,000 women but didn't have any illegitimate children?
After reading the news, Xiao Tu was filled with emotion.

Poor Chamberlain, he didn't receive the respect he deserved in his own era. It's fortunate there's no internet; if American fans' comments reached his ears, he might turn into an emo (a derogatory term for someone who is overly enthusiastic or frustrated).

The Lakers continued with their lives as usual, playing games as usual, unaffected in any way. In the locker room, they talked about Chamberlain's comments, finding them quite amusing and a joke.

Xiao Tu benefited from this, with more and more fans enjoying discussing him. If he continues to improve, will Chamberlain continue to look down on him?
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(End of this chapter)