{"id":94190,"date":"2025-08-19T11:36:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T11:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/94190\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T11:36:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T11:36:15","slug":"could-chamberlain-have-averaged-nearly-nine-blocks-a-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/94190\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Chamberlain Have Averaged Nearly Nine Blocks a Game?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Wilt<\/a><\/p>\n

Wilt Chamberlain Blocking Shot<\/p>\n

In the comments of my last article<\/a> Wilt Chamberlain\u2019s name came up, along with the stat nugget that Chamberlain averaged 8.8 blocks per game over a stretch of 112 tracked games in the last 1960s.<\/p>\n

Could this figure be true? I\u2019m dubious. When it comes to Chamberlain, there\u2019s a lot of legend. At least some of them are probably true. Some of the stories are larger than life, which also happens to be the title of a 2012 biography on the big man.<\/p>\n

With conjuring game footage from 1959 (his rookie season) to 1973 (when his career ended) currently outside my skillset, I dug into archived message board conversations, unearthed some old spreadsheets, and enlisted the help of Deepseek to accelerate running regression analyses using data from when the NBA started tracking more stats to create formulas to estimate what kind of shot blockers Chamberlain and his rival Bill Russell might have been.<\/p>\n

The regression analysis would suggest that tales of 8+ blocks per game might be somewhat exaggerated. The formula suggests Chamberlain was a prolific shot blocker, though perhaps not an outlandish one. The estimate suggests he peaked at about 5.3 blocks per game in 1960-61 \u2014 his second season.<\/p>\n

The estimator guesses he averaged 5.2 blocks as a rookie and averaged around 4.4 per game for his career. In the famous 50 points, 25 rebounds, he\u2019s guesstimated to have averaged 4.9 blocks per game.<\/p>\n

Impressive numbers but well short of 8.8 per game.<\/p>\n

This regression has Russell pegged as a comparable shot blocker \u2014 also at 4.4 per game over the course of his career. Russell may have peaked slightly lower \u2014 around 4.8 per game in 1963-64 \u2014 his eighth season.<\/p>\n

This regression does not settle the issue, of course. There are likely better ways of running the analysis that could produce more accurate results.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also Mike G\u2019s post on the old APBRmetrics message board. Mike pointed out that since the NBA began collecting blocks, that no player with more than 1,000 minutes has ever surpassed 1.6 blocks per personal foul (Manute Bol in 1986-87).<\/p>\n

Chamberlain famously didn\u2019t foul much \u2014 about 2.0 fouls per game during his career despite playing more than 45 minutes per game. Neither did Russel (about 2.7 fouls and 42 minutes per game).<\/p>\n

Assuming Chamberlain and Russell were just as good at blocking shots without fouling as Bol was that season, their estimated per game blocks actually drop \u2014 4.4 to 3.2 for Chamberlain, and from 4.4 to 4.3 for Russell.<\/p>\n

But what if they were twice as good as Bol at blocking shots without fouling? In other words, 3.2 blocks per foul? Now we\u2019re getting into the range of those 112 tracked games that allege Chamberlain blocked 8.8 per game.<\/p>\n

Using 3.2 blocks per foul as the rule of thumb, Chamberlain\u2019s estimated career blocks per game swells to 6.4. This method estimates he peaked at 8.2 in 1969-70\u2026which also happens to be the season he missed 70 games with a ruptured patella tendon.<\/p>\n

If we assume Chamberlain was even better at blocking shots while avoiding fouls than twice as good as the all-time recorded best \u2014 let\u2019s push it 4.0 blocks per foul \u2014 we arrive at 8.0 blocks per game for his career. His full-season peak would have been 9.4 per game. At 35 years old. Hmm.<\/p>\n

For Russell, using the 3.2 blocks per foul ratio yields a guesstimated career average of 8.6 blocks per game. It suggests he blocked 10.1 per game twice \u2014 at ages 32 and 33. It suggests he rejected nine or more in three other seasons \u2014 rookie year, season four, and his final season.<\/p>\n

Are these higher end guesstimates possible? Theoretically, though I admit to skepticism. I think it\u2019s reasonable to think Chamberlain and Russell averaged somewhere between the low and high ends I mention above \u2014 4.4 per game on the low end, and 8+ on the high end.<\/p>\n

There were more possessions per game during their careers (especially earlier), and both played far more minutes than players do today.<\/p>\n

So, while I kinda suspect the 8.8 blocks per game might contain some hyperbole, it\u2019s not out of the realm of possibility to think the greats of old might have put up numbers like this. Their other numbers were insane too. Could he have done it? I mean, it\u2019s at least possible.<\/p>\n

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