The two greatest basketball players to ever come out of Pennsylvania, Wilt “The Stilt” Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant
Kobe and kids, above and Wilt Chamberlain
Photos courtesy of Pinterest and Philadelphia Inquirer
… very different players from very different eras
A few years ago, a former high school basketball coach in the Philadelphia area was asked who the greatest player in history was.
Cecil Mosenson, then 87-years-old, never hesitated: Wilt Chamberlain.
Mosenson, however, was biased, but he was able to make a great argument in favor of the former Overbrook High School athlete. As a 22-year-old, he became the high school coach of Chamberlain in the 7-foot, 1-inch center’s senior year.
The ex-coach made that argument in a book entitled “It All Began With Wilt,” and he made it in a documentary film “The Greatest Player Ever,” according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
However, younger basketball fans may disagree, especially those from Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, a Philadelphia suburb. Kobe Bryant’s father, Joe, had been playing professionally in Italy, but the family moved to Lower Merion after he finished his career.
The Kobe to Philly story
That changed the school from one that was basically unknown on the court to one of the best,
When Bryant arrived as a freshman a year removed from living in Italy, Lower Merion was not a traditional basketball power. Bryant’s attendance there had nothing to do with the institution’s prowess on the hardwood, but simply because the area was where the family settled when Kobe’s father, Joe Bryant, returned from his years playing professionally in Europe.
“We are a relatively small school,” said Bryant’s high school coach, Gregg Downer. “The suburban schools would be labeled soft. The inner-city schools would be labeled gritty and tough. Kobe set the foundation and showed us how to do it.”
Martin Rogers, “Kobe Bryant: 'Lower Merion made me who I am’,”
USA Today,” March 27, 2016
His first year at Lower Merion, the team compiled a 4-20 record, but he scored 2,883 in his four-year career, and as a senior, the team captured a PIAA state championship in 1996.
Kobe was perhaps not a great teammate because he was impatient,
“(Kobe) was a difficult teammate in terms of how demanding he was,” said Downer, who has won two subsequent state titles. “But I think he was a good teammate in the sense that he held people accountable. I just don’t think he had real natural leadership skills at that age. His form of communication was ‘If you’re not giving 110%, you’re going to hear from me.’ ”
Mike Rogers, USA Today, March 27, 2016
Wilt had graduated from Overbrook High School in the Overbrook section of the city, one that has seen 11 other athletes make it to the NBA. He graduated from high school in 1955 after becoming the leading scorer in state history and leading his team to three consecutive city league titles. In his senior season under Mosenson, he score 74, 78, and 90 points in three consecutive games.
One team, Germantown, figured that they could be beat Overbrook if all five defenders collapsed on Chamberlain and let the rest of his teammates go. Mosenson said that he did the right thing,
… yes, Germantown High really did try putting all five guys on Wilt. Mosenson responded with logic, sending Wilt to the corner, letting his other players have fun.
Mike Jensen, “Wilt's high school coach still going strong,
”Philadelphia Inquirer, April 14, 2017
Mosenson once threw Wilt off the team
The young coach also said that Wilt had a tendency to be “moody,” something that was part of his character. When he became a problem, Mosenson threw him off the team — seriously,
Mosenson once expelled Wilt Chamberlain from the Overbrook basketball team because he felt the future legend wasn’t taking practice seriously enough. This was after Chamberlain had just scored 75 points in a victory against crosstown rival Roxborough.
Rather than stew about being removed from the team, Chamberlain just showed up at the team’s next practice, two days later. And his response spoke to his commitment to self-improvement.
“Practice started, and I see he shows up, has a ball in his hand,” Mosenson told the Daily News. “He’s coming over to me. I figure he’s going to throw the ball at me.
“He says, ‘Coach, will you teach me how to shoot a hook?’ I knew then we were OK. (The next game, again against Roxborough) he had 90 points. And I took him out the last three minutes.”
Cam Smith, “Wilt Chamberlain's high school coach is still alive and
has incredible stories,” USA Today, April 17, 2017
On to Kansas
Chamberlain did not want to stay in the East for his college basketball career, and he did not consider the South because of its segregation. He turned down UCLA and set his sights on the University of Kansas.
For the Jayhawks, Chamberlain was a consensus All-American in his junior and senior seasons, and was named the MVP in the NCAA Tournament in 1957, his junior season.
After graduation, he played for the Harlem Globtrotters and then played in the NBA for 14 years, winning two NBA titles. He won four league MVP titles and was a league all-star 13 times. As a dominant center, he won the scoring title seven times.
He played for the Warriors, first in Philadelphia and then in San Francisco, from 1959-65, and then he returned to Philly to play for the 76ers from 1965-68. He finished his professional career with the LA Lakers for five years, retiring in 1973.
Accomplishments
Wilt scored 31,419 points in his career, which is seventh on the all-time list. Kobe is now fourth in scoring with 33,643 after being passed by LeBron last week.
However, Chamberlain is also the leading rebounder in NBA History, which strengthens the argument that he is the best overall player to come out of Pa.
Chamberlain did the impossible on March 2, 1962, when the Warriors faced the Knicks in Hershey, Pa., scoring 100 points.
Who was the closest to ever come to that record? Kobe Bryant with 81.
Kobe the Laker
While many saw great success for Bryant right out of high school, he was not a high pick in the NBA draft since he was just 18-years-old and described himself as “scrawny” at the time,
Bryant was the all-time leading scorer in the history of south-eastern Pennsylvania basketball and entered the NBA straight out of high school. He was selected by the Charlotte Hornets as the 13th pick in the first round of the NBA draft in June 1996 and was traded to the Lakers within a fortnight.
“High-school star to NBA great and Oscar winner – the amazing life of Kobe Bryant,” Irving Times, Jan. 26, 2020
It was a great break for Kobe, and a horrible decision by the Hornets.
The trade has to rank as one of the worst ever
Many trades ranked as terrible, but I always look at the one in which the Minnesota Vikings gave away everything to obtain Hershel Walker from the Dallas Cowboys. The result was the Dallas won a couple of Super Bowls, and Hershel — well, he was essentially a dud.
The Hornets essentially giving away Kobe has to rank in that category, as USA Today noted,
Kobe Bryant was a Los Angeles Lakers icon for a generation, but things could have gone very differently on his draft day in 1996.
The Charlotte Hornets selected Bryant with the 13th overall pick but immediately traded him to the Lakers in exchange for center Vlade Divac.
Bryant, who died in a helicopter accident Sunday, would go on to spend his entire 20-year career with the Lakers, winning five NBA championships.
It was a monumental summer in basketball history, as the Lakers would sign free agent Shaquille O'Neal just a few weeks later.
Jesse Yomtov, “Hornets trading Kobe Bryant to Lakers changed
the course of NBA history,” USA Today, Jan. 26, 2020
In fact, the Lakers’ future star was hurt emotionally because it looked as if the teams were writing him off without giving him a chance,
"Charlotte never wanted me," Bryant said in 2015. "[Hornets coach Dave] Cowens told me he didn't want me. It wasn't a question of me even playing [in Charlotte]. It wasn't a question of me even playing [in Charlotte]. They had a couple of guards already, a couple small forwards already. So it wasn't like I would be off the bench much."
Just 17 years old coming out of Lower Merion High School, Bryant used the trade as fuel for the rest of his career.
"I knew who Dave Cowens was and [was] pretty excited [to play for him]. Then I was like, 'Oh, all right.' I quickly transitioned from smiley kid to killer instinct."
Jesse Yomtov, USA Today, Jan. 26, 2020
Kobe made Cowens regret his snubbing the young teenager
I addition to being one of top scorers of all time, third when he retired in 2016, in his 20 years with the Lakers he made the all-NBA teams 15 times, was an all-star 15 times, won the NBA MVP in 2008, and made the all-defensive team 12 times.
The Lakers won five NBA titles in those 20 years, including three straight from 2000 until 2002. He was the MVP in the finals twice, in 2009 and 2010.
In addition to his 33,643 points (25 ppl), he also had 7,047 rebounds (5.2/game) and 6,306 assists (4.7/game).
Take that, Dave Cowens, who ended up with a very unsuccessful coaching career in the league.
Conclusion
The death of Kobe at such a young age, with a child less than a year old and two others with a young wife, is heartbreaking for that family.
Which athlete was the best to ever come out of Pa.? I do not know, just that these two are the top of my list. Both were great players, and I cannot think of anyone in their class.
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