Michael Jordan was awestruck when he met another athlete for the first time.
Michael Jordan, who is rarely easily impressed, was deeply moved during his first meeting with one of basketball’s all-time greats.
Jordan, a six-time NBA champion and former Chicago Bulls shooting guard, achieved numerous accolades, including being named NBA Finals MVP six times and winning Olympic gold with Team USA. He retired in 2003 after two seasons with the Washington Wizards, earning widespread acclaim as the greatest of all time.
However, Wilt Chamberlain is still celebrated by some as the greatest. Chamberlain remains the only player to score 100 points in a single NBA game, achieving this feat on March 2, 1962, in a 169–147 victory for the Philadelphia Warriors over the New York Knicks. He also averaged 50.4 points per game during the 1961-62 season, a staggering achievement.
Chamberlain’s impact on the game was immense, and he was described as an unstoppable offensive force by the NBA’s official website.
When Jordan met Chamberlain for the first time, he was in awe. “Meeting Wilt Chamberlain was a privilege,” Jordan said, acknowledging that he had finished second to Chamberlain in several individual and career stats. Chamberlain’s warm congratulations on Jordan’s career left a lasting impression.
Jordan, a passionate basketball fan, expressed his respect and admiration for the players who paved the way for his own success. Chamberlain’s career statistics are remarkable, including being the only player to score 4,000 points in a season and setting single-game records for most points (100), most consecutive field goals (18), and most rebounds (55).
Though Chamberlain retired as the all-time leader in career points with 31,419—a record eventually surpassed by players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Dirk Nowitzki—he considered Meadowlark Lemon, a Harlem Globetrotter, as his greatest player of all time.
