Wilt Chamberlain 1972 NBA Finals Game 5. MVP Performance. (24/29/8/8) 

That Lakers team still has the longest win streak ever at 33 games. Great team!

Wilt is the greatest, no question.

Great time to be a kid watching basketball back then. I think the 70's were the most fun times of my life.

Tears of joy that day. First and only title for Jerry.

Laker Coach Bill Sharman. A very underrated coach.

The Logo, Jerry West, had a great year in '72 and led the NBA in assists while scoring 25 ppg. As per 1st year Coach Bill Sharman's request, Wilt played lock down defense in the paint and dominated the boards with an average of 19 boards a game which allowed the great laker fast break to get off to a running start. Even though both players were in the twighlight of their careers, Wilt and West played at such a high level on one of the greatest NBA teams of all-time.

I still can't believe there's any debate over who's the GOAT? 24/29/8/8 with a broken hand? C'mon.

Look at their dribbling technics. No hands dipping under the ball

It's crazy every time i see Wilt finish around the basket without dunking. That finger roll over the top of defenders with 2 arms on him is ridiculous. His turn around was butter. Imagine him coming up in an era like this he could handle the ball and shoot deep jumpers, with his athleticism. Smh. You think Embid id a problem?

He was awesome this night. He pushed past the pain which sometime pushes us to be better!

PEOPLE TALK ABOUT DOMINANT PLAYERS . NOBODY DOMINATED THE GAME LIKE WILT CHAMBERLAIN. IN HIS 14 YEAR CAREER THE MAN NEVER FOULED OUT OF A GAME !!!GREATEST PLAYER OF ALL TIME . END OF CONVERSATION!!!😶😶😏😏😏

Chamberlain footage still amazes me. To play like this at the end of his career shows you how dominant of a player he really was. He could adapt into pretty much any system in any era. Would have loved to see him on the Bulls in the 90's, they probably could have won 10 Championships in a row and got close to 80 wins that one year. West and Frazier had sweet jump shots also and would average big numbers today.

it's crazy that wilt playing this game with broken hand, many nowadays players will not play the game if they broke one of their hands... The willingness to play amazes me

Imagine if his hand wasn't broken?!!! Wow.....

For the bulk of this game, the Knicks had four HOF players on the court: Walt Frazier, Jerry Lucas, Dave DeBusschere, Earl Monroe. All of those guys were also on the recent 75 greatest players list. Two other players getting the most minutes on that team included Bill Bradley, a solid All-Star player, who was inducted into the HOF (I believe predominantly for his international play), and a gritty, 6’10” defensive-specialist and role player, who would go onto become one of the greatest coaches in NBA history, Phil Jackson. It was against that team that an aging, injured Wilt had this amazing performance. Absolutely incredible.

Did you see West and Wilt Stats Wilt had at 8 blocks29 rebounds24 points With 2 bad hads wrapped in bandages at the end of this career as West! I know it's a different style then today's but a true b-ball fan can Appreciate all styles Believe me those 2 would dominate today

I was 11yrs old and remember this. I was living 200 mi north of LA.

Clyde Frazier is hands down one of the most underrated players of all time. So good.

Keith Jackson, such a smooth professional. Bill Russell has such a sense of humor.

I think at 2:58 is Phil Jackson hanging on to Wilt’s arms as he goes up for the lay in. That’s the time Jackson was talking about when having a discussion with John Salley about the differences between Shaq & Wilt describing just how strong Wilt was.

This is wilt chamberlain arguably at 3/4 speed whose lateral movement was nowhere near what it used to be and he was still intimidating in the centre position. This wasn't his finesse game but when he wanted to he could dunk and nobody in the game of basketball could stop him! Imagine what would have happened if the wilt that had a 50.4 average points for a season with 25 rebounds add 48.5 minutes a game and that one season alone stands out, he was playing Bill Russell 9 or ten times and he scored 62 points against the Boston Celtics and throw in a remarkable record 55 rebounds, if that wilt has turned up and he had, had a team with a peak West or a Elgin Baylor.

These were my two favorite teams at the time. So many of my all time favorites on the court! I was sort of rooting for the Knicks but felt good for the Lakers and especially JW.

Plenty of players could get you 24 points. I only knew of one other who might get you 29 rebounds. Who else, ever, could get 24 points, 29 rebounds, 8 blocks and 8 assists, in one game. I would say this was, arguably, I guess, the greatest individual all around performance, by an individual, injured, or not.

24 points, 24 rebounds, and 8 assists with a broken hand? And this was an aging Wilt. That's the 🐐 no doubt about it!

Thanks for the video. This LA team was fire!

Back in the day when Refs weren't blind and weird like today

Great block by Wilt at 4:29

This was how Wilt put it "The '67 Sixers was a great team and the best I've ever played with but my '72 Lakers team were a real team who got the most out of everybody!!"

Wilt: GOAT

Very exceptional play from Chamberlain. The big man as the pivotal player was on the way out because when they block at one end, they rarely block at both ends in a series. To a versatile player, a blocked shot was notice of a missed assist opportunity.

Jerry West. Amazing this was his only championship as a player. The Celtics had his number.

It's pretty amazing how much smoother the play and ball movement is and how much better the overall shooting is (except Jerry West) than just 3 years earlier in the 1969 championship. I just watched the 2nd half of that great game 7. And it a really a shame that the great Elgin Baylor missed all of this, retiring earlier that season.

Nicely done!

The snare on that beat 🔥

One thing not mentioned in this video: wilt savaged Jabbar & Oscar to get to these finals

A thought came to mind. Keith Jackson was so smooth on the mic that I believe he would have been a great rapper if he had wanted to go that route.

👑WILT CHAMBERLAIN#13 .. DA MOST ATHLETIC AND DOMINANT ATHLETE .. EVER ..

Wilts last game.... 23 points.... 21 rebounds.... 3 assists.... 2 blocks....3 steals....

I never saw him play. I think his numbers are so astronomical that it's hard for us to make sense of them. He was too good for us to understand. I think that's why no one mentions him as the greatest- we can't imagine anyone that much better than everyone else. One look at the record book should end all conversations. I will agree with Jordan who was interviewed about who was the greatest. He said it's not fair to anyone to try to compare eras, just appreciate how good ALL these guys were. That said, no one has ever been that much better than his competition except maybe Babe Ruth. PS- Clyde could play!

That was an awsome Laker team 72, 33 straight wins during the season. If i remember right Jim McMillan replaced Elgin Baylor that year, Jim had thighs like oak trees, like earl campbell thighs for BB player. I loved this team when i was a kid, My friend got to be Jerry West so i had to be Gail Goodrich when we played hoop at school. The archille's heel for the Lakers back then was they had weak bench play in the 60's compared to the Celtics and in the early 70's compared to the Knicks. Not this year though, Lakers were prime.

Imagine trying to shoot over Wilt. Sort of like shooting at a basket on the other side of the Empire State Building.

He looked like a giant.

Much Gratitude

It's good to see this game again after so many years. On another note: I will forever be puzzled about why people insist on spelling "led" as "lead" (in the same way people spell "lose" as "loose" and "woman" as "women").

Man wish we would of have those 100 points fame made by chamberlain..is crazy the media wasnt recording all those game knowing how famous was wilt..during that time baseball and boxing were film not sure why not all wilts games..im talking about when he was scoring a lot and he was younger

Been a while since watching that game.

Wilt averaged 7 blocks a game for career I believe , only Bill Russell came close ....gutty effort with a broken hand

Goat. Period. Full stop.

Who came in to be all around for a tall talent basketball player..and after Bill and who else ! He deserves the mvp or close with J.West.

Blocks should have an asterisk as they were an unofficial stat at this time

THE BEST EVER ..........

Wilt was a Paul Bunyan figure,. Arnold Schwarzenegger said "strongest man i`ve ever seen by far."

It's clear Wilt Chamberlain was OP and broken.

Media makes a big deal out of Jordan playing with the flu. Fact is the Bulls probably win the game without him. Wilt plays with a broken hand and still has a monster game.

The wilt haters should have seen this too; but when you see only what you want to see, it’s amazing what can be “missed”!

Notice how Willis Reed in 1970 is remembered for his inspirational performance in the Knicks winning the championships but is Wilt remembered the same way for his MVP performance in 1972 when he played injured?

Everyone talks about flu game or Isaiah Thomas ankle game but not this ,give Chamberlain his flowers

No one palming the ball, no one walking, and both teams playing defense. Real basketball! Jerry Lucas was great, but not beefy enough to stop Chamberlain. I believe Reed was injured most of the year. The Knicks win it in 1973 when Reed returns. Also, if Bill Bradley became president in 1992, this would be a much better country.

Some of the Knicks' moves are quite strange. Frazier going to the basket near Wilt is a block. Frazier was 6'4 and Wilt was 7'1. A bit reckless.

Wilt is my goat

goat goat GOAT

WILT CHAMBERLAIN IS THE BEST BASKETBALL PLAYER EVER IN THIS EARTH PERIOD NO QUESTIONS ASK THE ONLY REASON WHY WILT CHAMBERLAIN CAN BEAT CELTICS BOSTON WAS BECAUSE BOSTON ONLY NOT GOT BILL RUSSELL BOSTON GOT 8.MORE HALL FAME IN THAT TEAM.AND WILT CHAMBERLAIN WAS ONE MAN ARMY CAN'T BEAT THE BEST TEAM EVER IN BASKETBALL HISTORY BY HIM SELF BUT

I wish they recorded blocks in wilts prime.

Lakers swept the Bulls 4-0 in the best of 7 semifinals, beat the defending champion Bucks in 6 in the Western Conference Finals and in the NBA Finals, Lakers beat the Knicks 4-1 to win it all.

The lost art of rebounding and blocking shots! Too bad they didn't count blocks in Wilt's day -- otherwise he would have that record as well! The GOAT! Sorry Michael!

Granted the Lakers did have the record winning streak that season.....BUT the Knicks were without Willis Reed that championship series.

Salud!!

This video would be awesome if you could turn up the background music so that you can't hear anything else.

Note how Chamberlain who could have Shaq ripped down the goal on any play was always very gentle. Black Men showing aggression in that era was highly frowned upon, especially in sports.

The only nba championship wilt and jerry won for the Lakers.

But why this beat track?

Damn, that seemed like more than 8 blocks by Wilt

By his standards, Jerry West's performance throughout the 1972 playoffs, including the finals, was sub par.

Greatest center of all time

Why Wilt did not win regular season MVP that year is anyone's guess.

Nothing said a Countdown to the Title like the fans at The Forum.

Most dominant!

Wit had skill, but his physical ability and height allowed him to do most of the plays you see in this video.

Well,no duh he’s gonna dominate with no center competition making him work for those points. 😅 what happened when Willis Reed came back the following year. Wilt beating up on Jerry Lucas and dave debusschere for his second title. Then you wilt fans get mad when people say Hakeem was better. 🤣

3rd Greatest player of All Time and better than LeBum 🔥

Where was Willis Reed? Out with an injury I assume.

Ya know...the thing with Wilt is... He could score 30- some points and yet his rebound numbers were usually higher.... Fact is and without exaggerating , NOONE has come into the league & shattered every record...like the Big Dipper. No1 comes close. You an MJ-fan...so am I! Big Bird fan..yup. My fav player to watch...Sir Charles...No one comes close...Wilt was SOOO dominant , they had ta down-play hs accomplishments , cuz so many of his records were gonna end up being too far ahead of his time...Wouldn't be fun yet acknowledge to a certain degree , Wilt Chamberlain. If all stats were taken back then , today , they might say...Who does that Jordan guy think he is....Chamberlain?? Wilt was delt a crappy hand interms of , He was so much better than everyone else , they HADTA downplay it... and THAT'S why he was so braggadocio. Best player to ever play...still needed love...I find that thought...insperational.

It took a such team with different skills and their moves to play and succeed to win their first one or by another team with different talents or it's their moves & time to make the right play..

Players before had horrible footwork.. They take multiple steps for simple moves that wd have only needed 1 or 2 steps today.. Its like theyre running on a hot plate, tippy toeing out of balance all the time.. So gangly and uncoordinated.. Any Post 80s teams would absolutely wreck these plumbers

Walt Frazier coulb ball

WTF is the "coach lost them the championship" headline? Uhh...wrong year on that one bro. Do you mean '69?

Great clips, horrible music mix. Too loud.

That music was painful

Admittedly, the NBA players today are perceptibly better athletes. However, the game has tragically lost the concept of teamwork and unselfish play. Watching this clip is vastly more entertaining than the run and gun style today. The three point show hit has eliminated the dominant role of the center and post play and has pushed it on the perimeter thus rendering it predictable and boring. Long live the game of yesteryear

I was surprised to see how the refs would get close to the action on court. Seems like they could have easily interfered with some plays. Don’t see this anymore.

Question: WTF was Willis Reed?

Where was Willis Reed?

That was Phil Jackson??

Came to see wilt highlights and this guy put everyone's highlights...wrong title

Why is the music louder than the commentator calling the game? Annoying!!

The 1972 Knicks without Willis Reed lost 4-1; with Reed in 1970 they won 4-3 and again in 1973 with him they beat the Lakers 4-1... if he had not been injured in 1972...?

Jerry West is Steph Curry before Steph Curry.

if anyone was around then you would have known that the knicks could have beat them. the knicks won the first game and debuscherre injured himself with a hip pointer and never played again in the series. debuscherre was a great player. if you notice the knicks beat them the next year.

You can see a hand with a cigarette at 1:19 That is impossible today :)

Without Willis Reed 'twas an easy job.