it definitely happen. i’m not one of those ignorant people who believes everything i see online. i do my research. plus i’m not on social media often so i don’t see those outrageously stupid takes.
It happened it's a fact lol. Wilt's stats are very inflated as a result of primarily pace and playing as much of the game as possible but he's still one of the greatest athletes ever in this sport period. One anecdote is Wilt tore his patellar tendon 14 games into the 1970 season, he returned in 4 months and played the entirety of the playoffs and actually played well especially coming back from that injury in 1970. For reference Bernard King tore his ACL in the mid 80s and missed a whole season.
@Realest1ne Yeah, the only reason I didn't mention them is because I see more teenagers making these ridiculous statements. I mean they so stupid that by their own logic they shouldn't exist because they didn't see their grandparents and parents having sex. It's beyond repair with this younger generation mentalities.
@JaKingScomez You must be because if you aren't you wouldn't be offended. But, even if you aren't the point still remains about how you mfs love coming into sports debates and don't even know what you talking about. I bet you don't even know who George Mikan is outside of what some idiot so called sports analyst said when they call him a plumber but you mfs will count those 5 titles he won but discount his impact. Pathetic excuses for so called fans.
THANK YOU, i'm glad the radio broadcast got mentioned. I find it odd how people tend to not refer to it when discussing the 100 point game, Basketball is not even my main sport of interest and even myself has known of the audio
@@jordanjenkins1671 Basketball is my second main sport and I also had no idea. Thinking about it, it of course makes sense that the Game was broadcasted on Radio, that just was the way you usually got your Sports at the time, but I genuinely never thought about it in the context of this Game, hence why I never looked it up.
Im so confused on people thinking that this is fake, we have footage of wilt having multiple 70 games, and we all agree he has the most 50 point games. And youre telling me he cant get 100 not once?
i think it happend but to explain it for you as to why ppl come to the conclusion that it is fake: 70 points are still 30 away from 100 and its not like a 5 point performance that is 25 points away from 30, the 30 points after 70 are so much harder since 99 percent of players never score that much. Secondly he scored exactly 100 points not 99 not 101 exactly 100. Thirdly i think back then they didnt always count the points per player as thightley as today, it might just be, that they awarded some of his teammates baskets to wilt bc they forgot who scored it since the nba wasnt about stats that much back then. Also the nba had good reason not to exactly lie but maybe count in favour of wilt in order to get media attention and more money since that game would create headlines. Furthermore there are some inconsistencys. Wilt said he scored all the way till the end of the time clock running out, but in the radio brodcast of the 4th quarter the commentator talks abt how ppl are storming the field. And sure ppl are hot from the line sometimes but that was unheard of, again i personally think it happend but for all the listed reasons it might not have
@@Michiiigring I understand you believe it happened. This is just my counter to that logic. Wilt was never a great free throw shooter and had multiple 70 point games, in his hundred points game he made 25 free throws 70 +25 gets you 95 points. So if this 70 point night happened to land on a day he was absurdly hot from the line (which is definitely possible) would place him so close to 100 it's very possible for him to reach it
@@trutru9018That doesn't mean "no defense." that's an indication of pace. Just like playing iso ball is not an indication of "defense." It is a slower pace. Now you know.
Lmao exactly. People really think that. Apparently by that logic the civil war, Abraham Lincoln getting assassinated, slavery, etc. Never happened. These cynics really need to snap back to reality.
Its more just unbelievable. No one has done it since. Not even close tbh even, beyond that theres no footage at all. I mean deniable plausible at least. They have games filmed from the 1800s bro they got mlk and the moon landing. They have most other sports in tape from that time just the one time someone did something that no one has ever done theres no proof but 7 people who saw it? Come on 😂😂
@@brucesmith1544 regardless, that woujd happen today if anyone else comes close to scoring 100. No team wants to be the team who lets a guy drop 100 on them. Embid and Doncic a few days later proved it can be done (especially with 3s) if one plays the full 48.
Harvey Pollack is literally a Day 1 NBA employee and has more credibility as a stats keeper than almost anyone ever, having been credited for making many basic stats like steals, blocks, turnovers, and offensive rebounds official stats. To say that he straight up *lied* about the 100 point game even with the Philadelphia bias is to discredit a literal legend of the sport who made it possible to quantify the game to the extent that we do now.
That means absolutely nothing to the generation of people who decide that if they don't believe something, then it didn't happen. Apparently, to them, reality is just an opinion.
Should mention that the opposing team would also have to be in on it. How do you convince them to get publicly humiliated and put in the record books for all time?
Trust me bro the Leauge wasn’t nearly as big back then😅certainly wasn’t faked or planned when he dropped 100 he was on a three game streak of 50+ games
His team scored 169 points that game. 100 points is roughly 59% of the team's score which isn't exactly nothing unusual. For context, Kobe scored 81 points out of his team's 122 points that game which is roughly 66.4% of the team's score.
Consider another reality... You are the PG for an NBA team. You have a player the defense can't seem to stop. He scores nearly every time you pass him the ball. Who are you passing to every time the opportunity arises?
Awesome video, Jonny! Great counterarguments and great job debunking the conspiracy theories. I am a millennial and I appreciate your discussions about NBA history. There is so much to learn about the league and the game. It's fascinating and intriguing. Have a great Thursday :)
It’s the same with the space race. Moon landing deniers all want to say it was fake and blah blah we never went to the moon. Except the Soviets themselves acknowledged that it happened. If there’s going to be one staunch denying naysayer, it would be your literal nemesis. If they don’t deny it, then it should be a big indication of its validity.
Looking at it from the other other side every superstar is just ai and the last 20 years of basketball didnt happen. Everybody in the dtands was ai and anyone that says they were there is just lying.
Wilt Chamberlain to average 50 ppg with crowded low block and more crowded lanes with hatchets 🪓 defenders that will beat you up and without 3 pointers is insane !!!! Wilt Chamberlain definitely did score 100 points !!!!!! How many other players would even pass 70 points without 3 pointers ? Wilt Chamberlain was a machine a Demi god like stamina
@@Eddy-nv3zx that's like saying Michael Jordan would be a dunking Mathisse Thybulle in today's 3-point oriented game. I.e., that's the dumbest shit I've ever heard - surely no real person could genuinely have this ridiculous belief?
@@Eddy-nv3zx name the weak era reasons ? Are we still human or did we evolve to aliens 👽? How did the defense skillfully evolve if you can’t touch a player today ?
I'm already subscribed and a fam of your channel! But THIS ONE is one of the BEST videos about basketball I've ever seen!!! 30 years of basketball here and I give you 40 points at ANY NIGHT at 47 years of age!!! KEEP UP YOUR EXCELLENT WORK!!!
Genius book of world records? :/ Not saying this wasn' solid info, it was, but for anyone who's followed up on Wilt's career and his 100-point game, it's known stuff. The meatriding is overkill. Find a less unoriginal way to compliment people.
@@joshchambers5163 what else are you supposed to do whe people try to find 10000 different ways to discredt what you did? We got the go tos like Oh he played in 60s Oh he played againist plumbers Oh he played againidt 6 foot dude If all people gonana do is discredit what he did by blatantly lying hows wilt at fault for tryna make what he did sound actually correct Sure some thing he said prob werent true But alot of things he actually did people just dont accept
@@joshchambers5163Wilt did embellish. But guess what there is recorded documented results. From his track and field meet, games, even his work out with the Chiefs. So what does it matter if he exaggerated no one is basing anything on what he said.
An old friend of mine played in that game. He played for the Knicks. I used to tease him because he only scored 8 points that night. We talked several times about that game and Wilt's accomplishment. I like your video a lot. Your arguments are quite sound. My friend passed away a while ago and as those who were actually there continue to depart this world more and more doubters will emerge. Your video should help keep history alive.
For me, it’s impressive and inflated at the same time. I feel the same way when a guy drops 70 today. I appreciate his talent to do it, but I also recognize that its an offensively inflated era
@@jonnyarnett70 in this era is more impressive than a 70 by wilt imo, given how many fewer possessions and play time is needed now, plus how efficient it is now. luka scored 73 on 91% true shooting, which is wild
@11DowningStreet I disagree. Defense has been heavily restricted in the 2019+ Era, and the 3 point line (which didn't exist in Wilt's era) is used more frequently than in all other eras inflating scores.
I recently saw a video that included important details of this game. When wilt got to 70 he was tired and had no intention of getting 100 but the crowd was chanting “we want 100” his team was doing everything they could to get him the ball, the other team was trying to freeze the ball and take turns fouling to stop him anyway they could. I always assumed he was selfish and the other team wasn’t trying but every guy on both teams was trying everything to stop it or make it happen and the whole building was going crazy, a historical night for everyone there.
After the game he rode with a few of the Knicks players and they got on him. Saying how could you score 100 on us and how disrespectful that was. He ended up apologizing to them. There is a lot of information that says Wilt was selfish and only cared about stats. But a lot of his teammates say that wasn't true or their experience.
@@iamhungey12345 Wilt was misunderstood a lot. They would label him selfish and only caring about his stats. Just to then say he chokes for not scoring more in the playoffs. Didnt matter if he out preformed his individual opponent. It really bothered him that no matter what he does he can't win everyone over. In a lot of ways he is similar to Kd. Both won championships so people can't use it against, and to removing any doubt as to how great they are. Two guys who shouldn't care what people think or say about them yet they both care a lot.
Another factor to consider is that the game was played in Hershey Pennsylvania not in Philadelphia or in New York City. This was because the NBA was trying to increase its fan base by holding games outside of the teams home cities.
The media is more moaning about the rules and how the officials interpret and apply those rules more than anything. Plus it has more to do with the over glorification of the gross style of basketball that was the 90s/early 2000s more than anything. Scoring now is in line with how it was from the 60s through the 80s.
i actually always really like hearing your perspective because so many older players get disrespected being called plumbers and all that shit and it's completely unfair to them. people are nuts talking like the older generations were trash compared to today and that shit is just not true so im glad you always value all of basketball history not just recent stuff
You know if players today could just average 48 minutes a night they'd probably score 100 points too. But too many times people forget stamina is an actual athletic stat, and not a single player in nba history other than wilt lasted 48 minutes night in night out for all 82 games, and did it in the highest paced era of all time! Todays players cant even give us 40 minutes back to back without crying for load management lmao. 😂
Facts… then when u look at the box score for both teams it kinda makes sense, because of the high volume of scoring today. I agree with the minutes restriction but I kinda disagree w the stamina argument… because the same players we watch today could play pick up all day without getting tired.
As someone who teaches history, I think what we are facing here is the classical problem of anachronism, people have the tendency to believe that they are living in the best moment in time and that everyone and everything that came before is to result in this specific glorious moment (try to explain to a class of 13 years old that their opinion is simply not better than that of everyone who ever lived haha) I remember that when Pelé passed away, there was a montage of him doing dribbles that modern players do, but that was 70 years ago... And it was hard to keep the narrative that he was playing against gardeners, bricklayers that only played futebol part-time. I see the same thing happening with guys like Kareem, Chamberlain, Oscar, West... Thankfully, we have guys like you, a proper historian, doing the job of treating the history of the sport with an open mind and respect.
I agree and that was my opinion too. But what I find interesting is this isn't the same for other sports here in the US. Look at babe Ruth for baseball. Boxing is Muhammad Ali. Basketball fan really don't appreciate the sports history for some reason. When someone mentions Wilt another will say yeah but he played with bums.
@@jasonnelson6624 good question. I think old footage has an odd look to it in general especially when we use our technology to try and “update” or alter it to be clearer. Some of the people in that wilt video straight up looked like AI tho and that’s what kinda scares me too. Where is the point where we genuinely can’t tell the difference.
@@calvindomin441 I got an old black and white tv for you that will give you a horrible picture so you know it's legit. Lol I suppose all the fake stories don't help either.
There is a radio call of the game. There was maybe 10,000 people there in Hersey Pennsylvania and they didn’t tape many games back then (remember before Bird and Magic in the 80’s games were tape delayed) and after Wilt scored 100 on the Knicks he took the bus back with them to New York instead of Philly with his team because he liked the clubs better in NY.. Wilt was a god and it’s sad that this new gen needs to tear him down because his numbers are so godly
One of the most underrated aspect of Wilt game is his stamina... he literally played the whole season without subs... so it is no surprising his number is that great... if great players today can play 48mins ..they can achieve that also that .. but did they have that stamina?..also let not forget the travel in 60s... not private jets etc..... so it is unfair to call them plumbers...
Honestly, Wilt's possible quintuple double is more unbelievable but barely anybody talks about it let alone criticize it like the 100 point game. But I still believe that quintuple double happened when it was recorded by one of the NBA's greatest statisticians and source of historical records Harvey Pollack. Being a Gen Z myself, there is no question that Wilt belongs in the GOAT conversation.
It kills me when people think Wilt Chamberlain wouldn't be good today. He wouldn't be as dominant but he'd still absolutely be one of the best players in the league. He was one of the most freakish athletes in human history _and_ knew how to play the game.
I wish they were legitimately counting all those stats back then. I know pollack was but they weren't tracking them. It would be crazy to see how many blocks and steals wilt and Russell got. They would be the all time leaders by a long shot
It does feel ridiculous to have to make this video, but it’s all over, man. Pat Mcafee’s show on ESPN was talking about whether or not it’s fake, Mike Korzemba (one of the biggest BBall RU-vidrs) made a short about it possibly being fake, and it’s ALL over TikTok with people claiming it’s fake. If left unchecked by people who know the details, that narrative will only grow stronger over time.
These kind of perfect storms happen very often. Think about the Giannis 50 point game in the Finals. In a vacuum, you could say that it seems suspicious that a notable bad free throw shooter suddenly went 17/19 in the biggest game of his life to win an NBA championship (also, right on the 50th anniversary of the Bucks' only trophy???). The NBA is where amazing happens.
it absolutely happened. Even aside from all of the evidence in the video, there was no shortage of people who didn't like Wilt back at the time. If it was being said that he scored 100 in a game, and he really didn't, TONS of people would have been happy to say that and shove Wilt under the bus. All this crap about "it never happened" didn't start until YEARS later. It's nonsense.
This was 60 years ago, not 600. People started acting as if it was some fairytale passed through generations and not a real event that still has its living witnesses.
The only people that deny Wilt's 100 are those with recency bias who can't stand the fact that the older game and it's players were just better. For the most part, today's player's are more athletic. Wilt was an exception, but more athletic does not necessarily translate to better play. Today's players are playing the game the NBA gives them, so it's not all their fault, but the NBA hasn't been worth watching in decades.
@@MRWEDAWESTWould you care to explain your reasoning? Gymnasts are better athletes than anyone in the NBA, yet very few people follow gymnastics. Athleticism isn't all that matters in basketball. Larry Bird is considered the GOAT by some, and even in today's watered down league, Jokic and Donca are tearing up the league and they are not jumping out the gym doing windmill 360s.
EXACTLY! Players of the past played with ACTUAL basketball IQ, competitiveness, and strategy.....as opposed to modern "superstars" in THIS era play what's pretty much INSTINCTIVE freestyle basketball!
During the NBA at 50 in 1997 I had a CD soundtrack that has a bunch of NBA stuff on it. The audio from wilt's 100 point game was on there. I dislike this new era sometimes because if it isn't on video to them it doesn't exis
People who don't believe this happened are ridiculous and haters of one of the greatest NBA players in the game.. Even Kobe & Shaq on video said he was the Goat!
Just want to put on record; I am a millennial and I’m a fan of your channel. And I think you are one of the goats because of your basketball knowledge. Keep it up 👍
...okay so this A.) isn't a stat and B.) is not something that actually happened, unlike his 100-point game. Wilt once told someone "what's an extra "0" between friends?" Not sure why you'd preoccupied with this.
@@Xenon-h9zI'm not sure why you think someone making an obvious joke is "preoccupied" with something. Actually if anyone seems preoccupied by here it's you. You obviously looked into it enough to discover a quote from Wilt about it. Weirdo.
It was absolutely real. Didn't he average 50 points a game that season, no 3 pointers? Along with 26 rebounds a game, and who knows how many blocks? The vast majority of his scoring came from a medium range turn around fade away. Wilt did it all with terrible coaches and average teammates, including multiple Finals against the Celtics (a team with how many Hall of Famers?). When he finally had good coaching and teammates, Wilt won Championships. Nothing fake about it.
I'm tellin' y'all.. the best basketball journalist ever.. jonny freekin' arnett.. the most thorough and impartial basketball head out there.. you gotta have a national spot somewhere.. not espn tho, they'd just sully yous
The problem with the "Per Minutes" stats is that stamina is not considered. I don't see think that all players would keep the same intensity if they play every single minute of the season. I think that stats would drop, at least a little bit. So that makes Wilt stats even more impressive.
usually season highs are double the season average for a player. if you doubt the 100 then might as well say he actually only averaged 30ppg that season
Ok I’m Ngl I jut didn’t think it happened cause it sounded weird that the nba wouldn’t have a 100 point game on video but u have shown me that this is a real game that happened
I’m just 25 years old. But I very much respect the older legends of the game. It just blows my mind the lack of respect younger folks give to these legends.
The only thing that makes me skeptical is that he supposedly shot 28/32(88%) from the free throw line. What are the odds that a career 50% free throw shooter who at his worst shot 38% from the line in a season shoots 88% from the line at a volume of 32 shots. Almost astronomically unlikely.
Wilt had a hot hand for FT's leading up to his 100 point game. (2/25) 67 pts on 17/22 FT shooting (2/27) 65 pts on 15/20 FT shooting (2/28) 61 pts on 13/17 FT shooting (3/2) 100 pts on 28/32 FT shooting (3/4) 58 pts on 10/16 FT shooting
His opponents knew it was happening, hated that it was happening to them, did everything to stop him, and congratulated him afterwards because they weren’t dickheads. Just because it wasn’t filmed.
I don't care if people wanna say Wilt played against short white plumbers or whatever. No matter what, you have to respect playing every minute of every game for an entire season. 48 minute average. That is unheard of. He would still be elite today just using that endurance. Dude could run up and down the court nonstop, literally.
Wilt Chamberlain holds the record for most points scored in a single game in NBA history with 100. No other player has reached or surpassed that record. The only one that came close was the late Kobe Bryant, who scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in 2006. After 62 years, it remains a tough challenge for an NBA player to break this record. However, fans still question whether Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points. The main point of their doubt is that there is no video footage of this matchup, which wasn't televised or broadcast by any TV channel. Thus, doubters say there is no proof of his 100-point game and that it never happened.
People who are haters of the history of the game and its former players are illogical. Just like saying this era of the league is the best it’s ever been 😂
@@michaelbarnes2126 bruh what? They can easily hit a mid range jumper. But the game these days is driven by analytics. Mid range jumpers are inefficient. Layups and dunks give you the same 2 points and if you step back a few feet you can get 3. That’s how the game is played. A lot of Guys are hitting 3s at the same rate that guys used to hit mid range shots.
@@CodeineAbdulJabbar but yet teams give up the mid range jumper and most players can’t not make it. You not gonna do something and tell me you are so good that you don’t have to, when numerous times in playoffs has shown that is false. As much as analytics try to drive the mid range shot away it’s still relevant today, which is why all those players keep choking now many than often these days. The jump shot has too much variance on it and isn’t that reliable unless you are the greatest shooter in the world and most are not. So it’s still beneficial to shoot inside the 3 point line.
And if guys really were hitting the 3 as much as they hit the 2 point shots there would be much better 3 point shooters in the league not everyone has a 40% 3 point shooter on their roster. Stop lying please lol
Goodness even Knicks players on the opposing team like Darrall Imhoff, Willie Naulls, Quinn Buckner and Ritchie Guerin have time and time again said it happened against them. So have Wilt's teammates like Tom Meschery, Al Attles, Paul Arizin and Joe Rucklick have gone on record about it. As was Harvey Pollack who was perhaps the greatest statistician in NBA history who was there recording everything. Put this shit to rest already. Jesus.
Wilt had a hot hand for FT's leading up to his 100 point game. (2/25) 67 pts on 17/22 FT shooting (2/27) 65 pts on 15/20 FT shooting (2/28) 61 pts on 13/17 FT shooting (3/2) 100 pts on 28/32 FT shooting (3/4) 58 pts on 10/16 FT shooting
It’s truly amazing the denial that exists just because people can’t wrap their brain around how good Wilt truly was. If the hockey GOAT was as fiery of a debate people would say the same about Gretzky. Same for Simone Biles. Yes it’s possible that someone is THAT much better than everyone else.
I appreciate that you took the time to address the idiotic ramblings of TIKTOKERS of all people. I'm sorry, but the argument should have been over once "Tik Tok" was mentioned. At least, not taking seriously. But since many youngsters are susceptible to anything, this video is important. Thank you. Now, if someone can make a similar video addressed to Kyrie Irving about the Flat Earth...
How about "Nobody who attended the game denied it."? Seriously, there were over 4,000 people in the stands that night, and *none* of them disputed the account of the game in the newspaper the next day. No letter to the editor, no articles about outraged fans and corrupt scorekeeping, no Knick fans complaining of a rigged game. You're trying to tell me that not only is this account made up, but they got 4,000 members of the public to go along with it? Get real.
No one is counting the players score in the stands. If someone is scoring all game and is everywhere no one is gonna question even if they did what proof would they have? You arr very simple minded
@@joshchambers5163That is *absurd*. How many NBA games have been in the past 50 years where there was an error at the scorer's table discovered? The last example I can find is a Pacers - Lakers game from 2017 which the NBA corrected after the fact, because Glenn Robinson III was awarded 3 points for a basket he made where he was over the line. You're telling me that all 4,143 fans in the stands ignored the scorekeeper pushing up the box score in between baskets, and literally no one noticed? Again, this whole premise requires the cooperation of the NBA, the fans, the opposing team, the press, and the U.S. government all colluding to inflate the legacy of a player who, to this day still holds 67 *other* unbroken individual NBA records.
Look, I grew up in the '90s. I never knew a world without cable TV. But it's not that hard for me to imagine a world with only a few channels, and how the hundreds of games per season played in a sport that was semi-popular may not get comprehensive coverage on those 3 channels. It just baffles me that some zoomers out there can't wrap their heads around this
It happened. The real question is how legit was it. His team intentionally fouled every possession in order to stop the clock and give him the ball. This is factual. Whole bench played with sole purpose of fouling to stop the clock and feed him the ball. Today this would not be allowed. It happened but deserves a HUGE asterisk. This is not my opinion, this is facts.
I had heard about this maybe being fake and came here looking for info. I was kind of weighing the arguments and then got to the part where we have audio of it.... What's the controversy, again?
love ur videos as a young nba fan how much should what era someone played effect how you rank them ? is it unfair to compare a wilt to an embiid, should we value how good someone was for their time or how good they are period
I'm wondering how he shot free throws in that game. In the three games before he had also been very solid going 17/22, 15/20, and 13/17. 61-62 was also his highest FT%.
Also curious if his underhand free throws were better than the other ones. Just because it worked for Barry doesn't necessarily mean it would work for someone else.
IMO... the biggest news of this event is if someone - anyone - can come up with footage of the opposing team's locker room at half time. I would pay money to actually hear their coach asking the question, "Who the hell is supposed to be guarding Wilt?"
Rather than discrediting Wilt's 💯 points record, they should ask instead if today's NBA superstars should beat or tie the 💯 points record and that would take some time.
This makes me realize although still very impressive a perfect storm of things had to happen to achieve this. This is possible in todays game but would have to be a specific scenario like this.
The issue is that it doesn’t matter how “possible” it is or his stats at the time, or what people say or how bad the other team was. The problem is that there’s no direct evidence of it happening. That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, there’s just no good reason to believe it definitely happened.
He definitely scored 100 in that game-an old black & white recording had snippets of the action and I couldn’t believe how many of those underhanded (granny shots) free throws he hit, although the film didn’t have all of his plays.
