Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Saturday, April 4, 2015 – Wilt Chamberlain
Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Saturday, April 4, 2015 – Wilt Chamberlain
“Everybody pulls for David, nobody roots for Goliath.””
And
“With all of you men out there who think that having a thousand different ladies is pretty cool, I have learned in my life I’ve found out that having one woman a thousand different times is much more satisfying.”
And
“The man who won’t loan money isn’t going to have many friends – or need them.”
And
“I guarantee you, if you could give me 10 points in all those seventh games against the Boston Celtics, instead of Bill Russell having 11 rings, I could’ve at least had nine or eight.”
And
“I believe that good things come to those who work.”
And
“I get constant reminders from fans who equate that game and my career as one and the same.”
And
“And I remember leaving my place in L.A. and – my father is a big fight fan – and I said, ‘Dad, I got a couple of days off and I’m getting ready to go to Houston to sign to fight Muhammad Ali.”
And
“When you go out there and do the things you’re supposed to do, people view you as selfish.”
And
“If you have ability in a certain area, why not capitalize on it and improve it and use it?”
And
“We’re all fascinated by the numbers, as we were about the 100 points.”
And
“I couldn’t have come close without my teammates’ help because the Knicks didn’t want me to make 100.”
And
“You must understand as a kid of color in those days, the Harlem Globetrotters were like being movie stars.”
And
“They say that nobody is perfect. Then they tell you practice makes perfect. I wish they’d make up their minds.”
And
“Everything is habit forming, so make sure what you do is what you want to be doing.”
And
“Wilt was one of the greatest ever, and we will never see another one like him.” – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who broke Chamberlain’s record to become the NBA’s leading career scorer.
And
“When I started to play with him, he helped make me a better player. We seemed to have a real good feel together, I think it translated into a confidence with him. All players are generally judged by the number of championships they won. Unfortunately, he only won two. His greatness as a basketball player can’t be questioned. He was fun, we used to laugh at him a lot, some of the things that would happen. I once told him, no one roots for Goliath.” – Jerry West, former teammate and current executive vice president of basketball operations with the Lakers.
And
“As I grew up, Wilt the Stilt was the player. Just the things he was able to do. I guess one year they told him he couldn’t make as much money as he wanted because he couldn’t pass the ball, so he went out and led the league in assists. Watching Wilt, you always kind of got the idea he was just playing with people. That he was on cruise control and still 10 times better than anybody else that was playing at that time.” – Denver Nuggets Coach Dan Issel.
And
“Obviously, he was both literally and figuratively a larger-than-life sports figure of the 20th century. He dominated his sport like almost no one else.” – Atlanta Hawks president Stan Kasten.
And
“He was the NBA. He was the guy on the top. Wilt was the guy you talked about – he and Bill Russell. He was the most dominating center – the best center to ever play in the NBA.” – Former NBA center and Bulls coach Johnny “Red” Kerr, who played part of one season in Philly with Wilt and against him for six-plus years.
And
“He was always a person that I viewed as being bigger than life in more ways than one. I had recently heard through friends and associates that he hadn’t been feeling well, but again, I felt Wilt was a person who was able to overcome anything, so I was totally shocked to hear of his death.” – Al Attles, a former teammate of Chamberlain’s with the Warriors and now the team’s vice president and assistant general manager.
And
“Wilt Chamberlain had a great deal to do with the success of the NBA. His dominance, power, demeanor and the rivalry with Bill Russell says it all. He will be sorely missed by myself and everyone in the basketball community. Wilt was a great performer and a great athlete.” – Former Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach.
And
“He was a terrific guy. It is a great loss to the sports world. Wilt Chamberlain had a special place in basketball history and he will be missed. We had many battles with Wilt. He was a fun guy to be around; he was a ‘Gentle Giant.’ ” – Boston Celtics great and Hall of Famer Tom Heinsohn.
And
“I spent 12 years in his armpits, and I always carried that 100-point game on my shoulders. After I got my third foul, I said to one of the officials, Willy Smith, ‘Why don’t you just give him 100 points and we’ll all go home?’ Well, we did.” – Darrall Imhoff, who as a 6-foot-10 rookie center for the Knicks, guarded Chamberlain during his 100-point game.
And
“We’ve lost a giant of a man in every sense of the word. The shadow of accomplishment he cast over our game is unlikely ever to be matched.” – NBA Commissioner David Stern.
And
“It’s a shock to all of us in the basketball community. This is a guy whose impact changed the rules of the game … he changed the interior part of our basketball game.” – Los Angeles Lakers Coach Phil Jackson.
And
“He was more inquisitive than anybody I ever knew. He was writing a screenplay about his life. He was interested in world affairs, sometimes he’d call me up late at night and discuss philosophy. I think he’ll be remembered as a great man. He happened to make a living playing basketball but he was more than that. He could talk on any subject. He was a Goliath.” – Sy Goldberg, Chamberlain’s longtime attorney.
And
“He just was a wonderful person. He comes off one way, but he is truly a family-oriented person, a person who loves his friends and friends loved him. … He is a person that will always be one of our favorite, favorite people. Not only because he was a great basketball player, but he was a great son, a great brother, a great uncle and he was just a nice, nice person.” – Chamberlain’s sister, Barbara Lewis.
And
“I did see him about four times a week – big, strong, big smile. He always thought he could play still better than all the guys in the game could play. He is gone and I can’t believe it.” – Announcer Chick Hearn, who broadcast all of the Lakers games when Chamberlain played for them.
And
“The 76ers family is deeply saddened by the loss of not only one of our greatest players of all time, but by an incredible human being. We pass along our condolences to his family and join the millions of basketball fans around the world mourning this loss.” – 76ers owner Pat Croce.
And
“Wilt was a tremendous individual, I really got to know him when I was coaching at UCLA. He spent a lot of time with the team. As far as basketball, he changed the way the game is played. This is a great loss.”
– 76ers Coach Larry Brown
Wikipedia: Wilt Chamberlain
