When it comes to players putting up video game numbers, no two players could ever match the ridiculous stat lines of two Los Angeles Lakers legends: Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor.
The two were teammates with the Lakers, but that was during the latter years of their respective careers. Back in the early 1960s they were both in their prime, and on Dec. 8, 1961, it may have been their greatest showdown in NBA history, at least stat-wise.
Baylor led the Lakers into Philadelphia to face Chamberlain and the then-Warriors and what transpired was nothing short of phenomenal. Baylor finished with 63 points, 31 rebounds, and seven assists in leading the Lakers to a 151-147 triple-overtime victory.
Making this more ridiculous for Baylor is that, despite only being in his fourth season, it was just his third-highest scoring game. He dropped 71 points in 1960, and 64 points in 1959.
And with all that, Baylor only had the second-best stat line of the night.
The legendary Chamberlain set the nets on fire, finishing with a then-NBA record 78 points to go along with 43 rebounds in a losing effort. This performance came less than four months before he would have his famous 100-point game.
This was truly a sign of the state of the NBA as Baylor and Chamberlain were simply ahead of their time. Neither could be stopped and it’s a shame one of them had to lose.
Oh, and by the way, Jerry West went along for the ride too, with a ho-hum triple-double of 32 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
When a player drops a 30-point triple-double and is barely a footnote in the game it tells you everything you need to know. But that can happen when Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain meet in their primes and proceed to re-write the record books.
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