Thirty years after he averaged 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds for Philadelphia and 18 years after his retirement, Wilt Chamberlain says he could still play in the NBA.
"Yeah, it's not a hard thing to fathom," the 55-year-old Chamberlain said. "I know what I'm capable of doing."It wouldn't be what I did in the `60s, but I could go out and get 10, 11 rebounds today. Those are league-leading numbers."
Chamberlain, who made $450,000 in his final season with the Los Angeles Lakers, said he isn't bitter about missing out on the big money earned by today's players. He added: "I'd love to be playing today to get some of that money. They couldn't afford me today. I helped to make the league what it is, I brought in a lot of fans."
Chamberlain retired in 1973 as a four-time NBA MVP with league records of 31,419 points and 23,924 rebounds in 14 seasons. He has since been surpassed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA's all-time leading scorer.
In his recently-published book, "A View From Above," the 7-foot-1 Chamberlain said in the past 15 years, at least a half-dozen teams tried to convince him to end his retirement and play, most recently the Lakers in 1989.
Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss confirmed he offered Chamberlain a lucrative contract to come out of retirement but recalled it as being "seven, eight or nine years ago in Phoenix."
Chamberlain said he remembered that meeting but added, "He talked to me a number of times since then, we've crossed paths socially. It might have been 1988 at the latest."
Looking back on his career, Chamberlain said there were several occasions he had trouble finding a place to eat because he was black.
"It's so different now," he said. "I have seen the change. Society has come a long way, but I want to see it come longer.
"Apartheid is probably the thing that affects me the most in the world today. I can remember being confronted by groups who wanted me to help them annihilate apartheid. I can honestly say I believe so strongly against it, I gave it some thought, as unhealthy as it might have been.
"I've given it some strong, strong thought. What do you do when you have money, somebody comes to you asking for $100,000 for weapons? It's not easy. If I lived in South Africa, I'm sure there would be no question what I'd be doing."
Excluding himself, Chamberlain believes Bill Russell was the best NBA center, followed by Bill Walton, Abdul-Jabbar, George Mikan and Robert Parish.
Chamberlain and Abdul-Jabbar have not been on good terms for many years.
"I feel sorry for Kareem," Chamberlain said. "One thing for sure - he was blessed with a magnificent body and magnificent talent. Not to say he loafed, but he never pushed himself to the limit.
"I'm not here to chastise Kareem. He was the greatest offensive force I ever faced on a basketball court - by far. The only time I ever saw him really push himself was against me."
Chamberlain said the two major changes in pro sports of his day and today are money and drugs.
"Drugs is a problem," he said. "I don't say it was not there at all when I was playing, but beer and cigarettes were the big misdemeanors."
Chamberlain said another difference - the number of teams - made for some great rivalries.
"There were fewer then, which made for a fantastic cache of players," Chamberlain said. "I faced Bill Russell 13 times a year."
Chamberlain said some of today's athletes have no sense of history - realizing what the "ground-breakers had to do for them to get where they are."
He also said he was shocked at the taunting that goes on today.
"I believe one of the terrible traits of today's athlete is their lack of respect for their fellow athletes," he said.
Chamberlain said he's a much different person now than he was at the time of his retirement.
Chamberlain is a life-long bachelor.