When asked about Michael Jordan, Wilt said Jordan was a "period player" and went on to say that Jordan's drives and dunks would have had him thrown to the floor back in the 60s via players like Jim Loscutoff. Jordan's game is suited for today, where such hotdogging is allowed. Wilt pointed out that his offensive game depended on fade-aways, finger rolls, and hooks more than anything and that Jordan probably dunked the ball 3 or 4 times more in his career than Wilt did.
Wilt went on to say that Jordan is not the type of player that dominate
a game defensively, such as Bill Russell and himself could. He went on to
do say (after the interviewer asked him about Scottie Pippen) that
Pippen was a better defensive player than Jordan.
When asked who the greatest player ever was, Wilt said that "greatest"
is a subjective term, but he said that no player ever did the things
that he did on a court. He said that in this sense, he would take Oscar
Robertson 2nd to himself. No player influenced the rule book as much as Wilt. He was so dominant that they had to make up rules to try and contain him. No player has ever led the league in rebounding and assists (let alone
the former and fg% and points). He said that he believes that not only
was Oscar better than jordon, but also Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and
Walt Frazier.
The farter we get away from Jordan's retirement and away from the media hype, the more fairly we see the shortcomings of Jordan. Wilt pointed out how he was far more athletic than Jordan, and cited a 52" verticle leap (I believe Simon had asked
about this before, and I told him it was from his days a
Globetrotter)...yes, Children, Wilt was a 7'0" high jumper in college
who won the Big 8 in the high jump his junior year. He pointed out how
he was the fastest man in the NBA (yes children, Wilt also ran track),
and how he was much stronger than Jordan. However, he pointed
out, people don't want to acknowledge his speed or agility, but only the
strength, because agility and athleticism aren't traits associated with
"Goliath."
Wilt pointed out that he could shoot outside shots (very true, I have
video footage of this -- and Red Holzman also said the same...see
http://members.tripod.com/~airjudden/wilt/) and could bring the ball up
court (I have video footage of him leading fast breaks in college), but
in the pros that wasn't his job. He was smart enough to give the ball
to Guy Rodgers, who was an EXCEPTIONAL ball handler. Players back then
weren't into showcasing their individual talents because they had a
better sense of team play and how to function as a team.