Michael Jordan is unlikely to be starstruck often, but his first conversation with one of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball was a memorable one.
The former Chicago Bulls shooting guard, a six-time NBA champion, has won it all. From being crowned the NBA Finals MVP on six separate occasions, to winning Olympic gold with Team USA.
He eventually brought the curtain down on his illustrious career in 2003 after two seasons with the Washington Wizards, and many proceeded to label him the GOAT.
But some still regard Wilt Chamberlain as the greatest.
Chamberlain remains the only player to ever score 100 points in an NBA game, when he made history for Philadelphia Warriors in a 169–147 win over the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962.
He even recorded 50.4 points per game during the 1961/62 season – a remarkable feat all things considered.
Chamberlain’s legacy on the game was huge. He was basketball’s unstoppable force and ‘the most awesome offensive force the game has ever seen’, according to the NBA’s official website.
In fact, Michael Jordan was in awe of Chamberlain when they first met.
“I got the chance to meet Wilt Chamberlain for the first time, which I thought was a privilege for me being that I finished second to him in a lot of individual stats and career stats and scoring stats,” Jordan said.
“He was very nice to visit. He came up to me and congratulated me on my career.”
He added: “I’m a basketball enthusiast, and I honor and respect the people that gave me the opportunity to excel at this game, to make a living at this game. To see a lot of those guys, it was a privilege for me.”
The stats around Chamberlain’s career are nothing short of remarkable.
He was the only NBA player to score 4,000 points in a season and set NBA single-game records for most points (100), most consecutive field goals (18) and most rebounds (55).
He retired as the all-time leader in career points with 31,419, which was later surpassed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Dirk Nowitzki.
In his biography, however, Chamberlain named Meadowlark Lemon as his greatest of all time.
Lemon, who played for the Harlem Globetrotters, was ‘the most sensational, incredible basketball player’ he’d ever seen.