Wilt Chamberlain Unreal Block in Game 7 of 1962 ECF (Questionable Call...

[coastalmarker99]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RFeBW9WdEs
Was it a goal tend or did the ref make the wrong call.

[coastalmarker99]

In the great Wilt biography "Wilt: Larger than Life", here is what author Robert Cherry wrote about this game: " Wilt and Russell played one another to a standoff. A controversial moment ensued when referee Mendy Rudolph called Wilt for goaltending on a hook shot by Tom Heinsohn. Coach McGuire and Wilt were certain Wilt had made a legal block, but the call stood, giving Boston a 107-102 lead with 1:24 left in the game. But later Wilt dunked a teammate's missed shot and was fouled by Heinsohn in the process. He sank the foul shot, an example of how he usually made the critical ones. He had tied the score with 16 seconds remaining. Then, with only 3 seconds to play, Sam Jones, one of the NBA's all-time clutch performers, hit a jump shot giving Boston a 109-107 victory and the Eastern Conference title.


In a 1997 interview with Bob Costas, Wilt said it was his toughest loss as a pro: "We took them to the limit. They were a great basketball team. We were becoming a great basketball team"

[coastalmarker99]

No other player in history has come close to achieving what Chamberlain did in 1962 with what he had to work with. He defied all the odds. Take Wilt off that team and the Warriors would be dead last in the league in fg% at .402 and his teammates would collectively shoot an even worse .352 in the playoffs.

And although Wilt finished second only to Russell in playoff defensive win shares, the Warriors were still the absolute worst defensive team in the league. On top of that, 7 of the top 10 playoff defensive win share holders that year were all Celtics players. The Warriors had no business being in the East Finals and were not even favored to win a single game against Boston. Yet Wilt managed to push that sorry cast of characters to a Game 7 two point loss.

Wilt did everything necessary to win that game 7 otherwise it wouldn't have been that close. In fact, the papers praised Wilt for playing "outstanding defence" while sharing scoring with his teammates. He was literally all over the place. But after Guy Rodgers fouled out and the Warriors began to trail he immediately went to work and tied the game by himself. And in the end, all it came down to was Boston barely squeaking by on technicalities.

Bottom line is that what Wilt did in the 1962 playoffs was incredible, and no other player could've come close to what he accomplished with the amount of success he had given the cards he was dealt.

[coastalmarker99]

For those who say Wilt "only" scored 22 in this game and "only averaged 35 PPG in the playoffs don't realize that it was a strategy. the coach McGuire pretty much said to Wilt, something along the lines of "Okay you got your points in the season, pass the ball and play defence now, and win." Also McGuire's strategy was to ride the hot hand, and example being Tom Meschery in this case, and Paul Arizin in the previous series against Syracuse. Many believe and some of the players such as Tom Meschery, and Al Attles believed that if McGuire stayed, the Warriors could have eventually won a championship. That year people predicted a sweep for Boston, but it was an intense 7 game series. Problem was McGuire quit in the summer because the team was sold to a Credit Card Company from San Francisco and he was unwilling to re-locate, as well this would be the last game of Paul Arizin's remarkable Hall of Fame career.

[coastalmarker99]

a instance in Chamberlain's postseason career often discussed is 1962, particularly when he "only scored 22 points" in Game 7 against Boston when he averaged 50.4 in the regular season. I invite everyone to take a good look at Chamberlain's schedule that year. Right after averaging 48.5 minutes a game in the regular season he gets only one day of rest before meeting Syracuse in the semifinals that went down to a deciding game which Chamberlain put up a 56 point, 35 rebound performance to win. Then he gets only one day of rest again before meeting the Boston Celtics who, on other hand, got ten straight days of rest. In a series where Boston was predicted to sweep the Warriors it went down to a Game 7 and decided by one basket.

There is a story behind his 22 points in that Game 7. Warriors coach Frank McGuire asked Chamberlain to play out of pivot more. Tom Meschery continued his hot shooting from Game 6. Tom Gola returned from injury and also shot well. This took pressure off Chamberlain to focus more on defense Wilt blocked 15 shots in this game. The game was close all night. With 50 seconds to go in the 4th quarter and the Warriors down by 5 points, Wilt tied the game by himself with 16 seconds left. On the Celtics' last play Paul Arizin was guarding Sam Jones, who freed himself off a pick and made the game winning shot. Chamberlain left his post to try and block it but didn't get there in time.

All that game came down to was in the final minute when the referees slapped Chamberlain with a questionable goaltending call, which put Boston up by five. Then on the Warriors' last possession, they were given fewer seconds to respond thanks to a shot clock error. So basically Boston made it out alive against a much more inferior team on technicalities. Warriors coach Frank McGuire was so upset at the preferential treatment the officials were giving the Celtics all game long that he punched the referees' locker room door after the game was over.

[coastalmarker99]

After scoring 33, 42, 35, and 41 points against Russell in the first 4 games of the series, Wilt shifted his focus to playing defense in the last 3 games of the series. In this game, Wilt blocked 14 shots and this should have been his 15th blocked shot. As shown in the clip, the Celtics were leading 107-102, but Wilt scored the next 5 points to tie the score at 107. Just another in a long line of examples of why the claim that "Wilt was not a clutch player," is a complete myth. Sam Jones subsequently won the game with a 20 foot jump shot.

[DoctorP]

As a corrupt NBA referee I would definitely let that one go for entertainment value but it looks like a clear goaltend

sweet footage

[FireDavidKahn]

On its way down.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Probably a goatend but its close. The fact Wilt actually got that thing is incredible.

[Psileas]

Incredible sequence of him going up there and then immediately try to save the ball.
I hope 70sfan posts highlights from the whole game.

[ArbitraryWater]

Incredible block although a goaltend, but honestly I don't like that he grabbed it.. he should have seen that the ball was probably going long to my eyes, and not touched it.. but Wilt was more highlight drilled. Showing everyone what he can do.

[ClipperRevival]

He got pretty up there. Probably close to 2 full feet above rim. Still a choker though.

[RRR3]

Jlauber/Lazeruss?

[AlternativeAcc.]

Clumsy tard couldn't even keep the ball in play

The ball wasnt going in, so his goaltend ruined their chances at victory

Low IQ plays in crunch time smh

[DoctorP]

Clumsy tard couldn't even keep the ball in play

The ball wasnt going in, so his goaltend ruined their chances at victory

Low IQ plays in crunch time smh

:lol

yeah this is some Javale McGee shit right here

[Psileas]

Clumsy tard couldn't even keep the ball in play

The ball wasnt going in, so his goaltend ruined their chances at victory

Low IQ plays in crunch time smh

*Looks at label below name.*
Yup, I've seen enough.

[Uncle Drew]

coastalmarker99 = Lazaruss?

[AlternativeAcc.]

*Looks at label below name.*
Yup, I've seen enough.

Easy goaltend call, Wilt displayed low IQ by attempting a block so late on a ball that had no chance of going in

Him fumbling the ball out of bounds adds insult to injury. Theres a reason this dude is labeled as a choker

[Horatio33]

coastalmarker99 = Lazaruss?

I thought that. Not enough capitalisation of random words.

[Psileas]

Easy goaltend call, Wilt displayed low IQ by attempting a block so late on a ball that had no chance of going in

Him fumbling the ball out of bounds adds insult to injury. Theres a reason this dude is labeled as a choker

You apply zero era context, that's the problem. You're obviously unaware that it was a pretty common thing back then to have such blocks unwhistled, the same way Harden is practically never called for traveling in his step backs, Iverson wasn't generally called for ball carrying, elite defenders get away with defensive murders, Shaq got away with crashing opponents with his elbows etc. And it'a ludicrous to expect someone to have complete control of the ball immediately after blocking it at 12 fvcking feet high. If anyone had a cat's chance in hell to keep possession, it would be someone like Wilt.

[Psileas]

I thought that. Not enough capitalisation of random words.

Incredibly, not everyone who knows his stuff abour Wilt and writes more than a a couple of lines is Lazeruss. Not even here.

[coastalmarker99]

Wilt was 8 of 9 from the line in game 7. Interestingly he also went 8 of 9 and 8 of 10 in the previous two games. In 1962 the Warriors were dead last in the league in defense, allowing the most points by their opponents than any other team. The Celtics with Russell (in 10 games) averaged roughly 122 points against the Warriors in the regular season. With Wilt anchoring the defense they managed to hold Boston to a lower average of 112 points in the postseason. And while Wilt shot 46.8 against the Celtics in that playoffs (he averaged 47.1 against Russell's Celtics in the regular season, hardly a drop-off) his teammates only shot .355 combined. Yet despite this they pushed Boston to a game 7 two point loss when they were expected to be swept. Also the Warriors had only 1 day of rest following the grueling 5-game Syracuse series before the East Division Finals began whereas the Celtics had 10 straight days of rest

[coastalmarker99]

He got pretty up there. Probably close to 2 full feet above rim. Still a choker though.

I disagree with the view that Wilt is a choker. In elimination games, from 1960-66, Wilt averaged 40ppg in 12 games. He had 3 of his 4 50+ point games were in those elimination games all wins that's not a choker. Also in his NINE game seven's in his post-season career, Chamberlain averaged 24.4 ppg, 26.3 rpg, and shot .626... which is not only the highest FG% ever in game seven's by an all-time "great"...it was achieved in league's that shot about .435 on average.

[coastalmarker99]

He got pretty up there. Probably close to 2 full feet above rim. Still a choker though.

In 1968 Wilt set a postseason record 49.3 minutes a game against the Knicks, leading all players in points, rebounds, and assists. In his last postseason series, the 1973 finals, he played every minute of every game being a few months shy of turning 37 years old. 8 of Wilt's 9 postseason triple-doubles came within this last half of his career. In 1967 Wilt set a postseason record 41 rebounds over Bill Russell, set a record four consecutive triple-doubles, and shattered the record for most rebounds in a triple-double with 38. Post knee injury Wilt had to play in four postseason series that went all the way to a game 7. In those games, Wilt averaged 24.3 points, 24.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and shot .603 from the field while putting in a staggering 47.3 minutes a game. No player has ever dropped 20/20/5/.600 in a game 7 yet an older Wilt averaged that across four game 7s in the last four years of his career coming off knee surgery.

[Horatio33]

Its mental how people write paragraphs of prose about a man who retired in 1974 and died in 1999. Either they like debating about a great basketball player or they really have no life of their own to speak of. And I'm referring to all Stans, no just Wilt Chamberlain Stans. Why do have you no outside life?

[coastalmarker99]

Its mental how people write paragraphs of prose about a man who retired in 1974 and died in 1999. Either they like debating about a great basketball player or they really have no life of their own to speak of. And I'm referring to all Stans, no just Wilt Chamberlain Stans. Why do have you no outside life?

Most of the world is in quarantine or lockdown and debating about Wilt and other basketball players like LeBron is interesting and for the record Wilt retired in 1973, not 1974.

[Horatio33]

Most of the world is in quarantine or lockdown and debating about Wilt and other basketball players like LeBron is interesting and for the record Wilt retired in 1973, not 1974.

Proves my point, you're writing paragraphs about a man who retired nearly fifty years ago.

[Elosha]

He got pretty up there. Probably close to 2 full feet above rim. Still a choker though.

That's a notoriously bad camera angle to judge someone's height. You can take off 4-6 inches on the perceived height. I'm not sure if you took that into account. He still got up for the block no doubt. Probably around a 30-33 inch jump, which is very impressive for a big man.

[JohnFreeman]

Chamberlain was not impressive in anyway. I play harder opponents in pickup games