A Philly turn on Steph Curry passing Wilt Chamberlain as the Warriors’ all-time scorer
Plus the answers to the ultimate trivia question: each franchise's all-time leading scorer.
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It’s generally a laudable accomplishment whenever a player surpasses one of Wilt Chamberlain’s records, though two segments of the population usually react with a sneer. Those over 50, and those who grew up in the Philadelphia region, regard it as a high insult to compare anyone with Wilt.
But in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, Golden State superstar Steph Curry dropped 53 on the Denver Nuggets and moved past Chamberlain for most points in Warriors franchise history.
That franchise began in 1946 in Philadelphia as one of the original teams in the Basketball Association of America, a forerunner to the NBA three years later. Chamberlain, who grew up on the 400 block of North Salford Street in West Philly, arrived in the NBA in 1959-60. He moved to California with the club when they became the San Francisco Warriors in 1962-63.
So here’s a little comparison of Curry and Wilt. For those who see this exercise as an insult to Chamberlain, well, like many of the NBA’s overmatched post players in the 1960s, they’ll just have to deal with it.
*Arizin missed two seasons (1952-54) due to military service.
»YouTube: A video appreciation of Wilt Chamberlain
A comparison
Chamberlain averaged nearly twice as many points in his Warriors career as Curry.
Curry shot better on two-point field goal attempts than Chamberlain.
Chamberlain averaged more rebounds than Curry did points.
Curry averaged twice as many assists.
Chamberlain played 316 fewer games.
Curry’s 53-point game on Monday was the ninth of his career. Chamberlain had 105 such games, including 45 in 1961-62 when he averaged 50.4 points.
Chamberlain scored 100 in a game, an NBA record. The closest anyone’s ever gotten was 81 by Kobe Bryant in 2006. Curry’s career high is 62, which Chamberlain equaled or surpassed 19 times as a Warrior and 23 times overall.
» READ MORE: Steph Curry brings back the jump shot | From the archives
Chamberlain did not win an NBA title with the Warriors, losing three times in the Eastern Conference Finals to Bill Russell and the Celtics dynasty. (Chamberlain’s titles were with the 1966-67 Sixers and the 1971-72 Lakers.)
Curry won three NBA titles, which required winning four series (as opposed to three in the early 1960s).
Chamberlain is the most dominant player. Curry is arguably the greatest shooter.
» READ MORE: Remembering Wilt's 100-point game 50 years later
The ultimate trivia question
Can you name each current franchise’s all-time leader in points? Listed by 2019-20 division, we can. Though we never would have gotten Brook Lopez.
Atlantic — Sixers, Hal Greer; Celtics, John Havlicek; Knicks, Patrick Ewing, Nets, Brook Lopez; Raptors, DeMar DeRozan.
Central — Bucks, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; Bulls, Michael Jordan; Cavaliers, LeBron James; Pacers, Reggie Miller; Pistons, Isiah Thomas.
Southeast — Hawks, Dominique Wilkins; Heat, Dwyane Wade; Hornets, Kemba Walker; Magic, Dwight Howard; Wizards, Elvin Hayes.
Southwest — Grizzlies, Mike Conley; Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki; Pelicans, Anthony Davis; Rockets, Hakeem Olajuwon; Spurs, Tim Duncan.
Northwest — Jazz, Karl Malone; Nuggets, Alex English; Thunder, Russell Westbrook; Timberwolves, Kevin Garnett; Trail Blazers, Clyde Drexler.
Pacific — Clippers, Randy Smith; Kings, Oscar Robertson; Lakers, Kobe Bryant; Suns, Walter Davis; Warriors, Stephen Curry.
Source: Inquirer research, basketball-reference.com.