YouTube Gold: Beautiful Video Of Wilt Chamberlain And Kareem Abdul-Jabbar In Action

A supreme rivalry between two brilliant big men

The Wilt Chamberlain/Bill Russell rivalry was the foundational rivalry in NBA history. They were both immensely gifted big men who played on another level that no one else could approach. Chamberlain could do superhuman things like average 50 ppg and score 100 points in a single outing. Russell simply could not be beaten in the post-season.

That was in the 1960’s though and Russell retired in 1969. But in 1970, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar entered the league and he was a great talent too. And it wasn’t long before Wilt had another defining rivalry.

That came late in his career though. In 1970, Chamberlain was 34. He had begun to slow down to an extent but was still a spectacular talent. And when it came to Kareem, things got personal. Wilt was never going to go easy on Kareem, as you’ll see in this video.

Look how hard he makes Kareem work. And note too just how often he gets Kareem’s shot at its apex. It’s unbelievable! Who jumps that high?

Both men were immensely talented and proud and neither wanted to give an inch to the other. It didn't last long but it was nearly as powerful a rivalry the one between Chamberlain and Russell.