DIPPER

                  DIPPER

Recently, I listened to a podcast by Malcolm Gladwell.  , Ostensibly it was about Wilt Chamberlain, arguably the greatest basketball player of all-time.  Chamberlain’s exploits were Herculean. He once scored 100 points in a game.  He averaged over 50 points scored over a season.  At 7’1” and 275 pounds, he ran like a gazelle, and could jump like he had springs in his legs.

In the 1960’s, with the sexual revolution in full bloom, his sexual exploits were legendary.  And when he finished playing basketball at the age of 36, he founded a beach volleyball league, and was legendary as a volleyball player into his sixth decade.

In fact, Chamberlain ran hurdles for Kansas in college, and dominated this, as well.

Before I move too far into this, I need to acknowledge many may believe Michael Jordan, or LeBron James, or Kobe may be the greatest of all time. Or that Bill Russell, who has eleven rings (11!) may have been a better center.  I am not disputing anybody’s opinion.  Recently, I read a poll that listed Wilt as the fifth greatest CENTER of all-time.  I scratch my head about this one.

No convincing anyone here, but the NBA instituted a new rule based on Chamberlain’s dominance.  The three second rule, stating that an offensive player can only stay in the lane for three seconds at a time.  When a league alters the rule book to engender balance among it’s players because of one single player, it speaks volumes about the greatness of that player.

Back to the 100 point game.  It was not televised.  There are audio recordings still in existence, but only 4,000 people attended, and it was on the road.  How many people were still there at the end of the game is anyone’s guess. 

Remarkably, Chamberlain went to the foul line thirty two times!  This is an NBA record still standing almost SIXTY years later.  Even more remarkably, he sunk twenty eight free throws, another record still standing, albeit tied by Adrian Dantley.

What is remarkable about this is that Chamberlain was a notoriously horrible free throw shooter.  His lifetime average hovered around 40%.  And yet, on this night, he hit 87.5%!

And the dirty little secret is that he shot them underhanded.  

And even more remarkably, he stopped shooting this way.  And he went back to being a horrible free throw shooter.  

And why did he do this?  He once admitted that he felt silly shooting underhanded, and it made him feel like a “sissy.”

Let’s break this down for a minute.  One of the, if not the most virile men who ever roamed the planet, who claimed to have bedded over 20,000 women, stopped excelling at the free throw line because it made him feel like a “sissy”.

Let’s get back to those who may point to Michael Jordan or Kobe as the greatest of all-time.  Invariably, the argument moves to the fact that Michael and Kobe had eleven World Championships between them (six and five respectively).  Wilt had just two.  

And the hell of it is, Wilt was in several seventh game Championships that went down to the wire.  And if Wilt would have been able to shoot free throws at 80-85%, he would have been an asset on the floor in the final minutes of close games.    Instead, he just wore a target on his back that screamed “FOUL ME!”

So the teams would send in their second or third string center, foul Wilt, who would go to the free throw line, miss one or both shots, and the other team would get the ball back, with little time run off the clock, and several chances to close the gap, or pull away. 

And arguably the greatest player who ever graced the court would become a liability for his team.

Those who argue for Michael or Kobe would say that these players would do anything to win.  Nothing stood between them and league domination.  As opposed to Wilt, whose threshold for embarrassment held him back from being a truly complete player.  

The shame of it is, unlike many of us, Wilt figured out how to overcome his weakness, his Achilles heal.  He just chose not to stay with the plan.  He cheated his teammates, coaches and fans out of several more Championships by bowing to his ego.  

Here was a player, unlike any before or since, who stopped himself from elevating to an even higher plateau.  Stopped himself for no other reason than being self-conscious.  And in era when the average male stood 5’8”, and Wilt stood 7’1”,  one might think he would have overcome this obstacle.

In the final analysis, Wilt chose to be less self-conscious about being woefully deficient in an important, even vital part of his game, than looking different, and excelling.

And as we, the readers think about this, let’s invite ourselves to consider where we hold ourselves to mediocrity by not trying or practicing something that may take us out of our comfort zone.  Where might flipping that switch take us to the next plateau, or to the stratosphere?