You Tube Gold: Wilt Chamberlain On Meeting Michael Jordan

This is a small but interesting clip of Wilt Chamberlain being interviewed at an All-Star game and being asked about meeting Michael Jordan.

Apparently he had never met Jordan and said he was “in awe” like everyone else and suggested they get together sometime to talk further.

Jordan said he was interested and we think they did talk a few times after this because there was a great story about the two.

Apparently, while they were both diplomatic in public, in private their competitive natures came out and they debated which of them was the better player.

Neither one of them ever yielded to anyone on the court or in an argument so things got a bit feisty.

Chamberlain had a reputation for having the last word though and he did in that debate too, telling Jordan that the difference between them was that “they made rules to make the game harder for me and they made rules to make the game easier for you.”

He was correct in that assessment and there wasn’t much Jordan could say so you can reasonably say Chamberlain won that argument.

Incidentally, we’ve looked for this picture for a long time. You rarely ever saw Jordan look even slightly less than supremely confident. In this picture with Jordan, though, Chamberlain is clearly asserting physical dominance while Jordan is not making eye contact.

Make of it what you will. Chamberlain had that effect on a lot of people.

Incidentally, you can see some other famous names in the clip. Rick Barry is to Chamberlain’s right and behind him, it looks like Evander Holyfield talking to Julius Erving.