The NBA’s playoff blocks record has added confusion because of Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell

The NBA’s playoff blocks record has added confusion because of Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Victor Wembanyama set the official single-game NBA playoffs blocks record on Monday night for the San Antonio Spurs.

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But if you look in certain sources, you’ll see that two guys actually rival Wemby in this regard: Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.

Check out this table:

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So what gives?

Blocks weren’t official until the 1973-74 season.

Before then, scorekeepers were apparently too busy to count anything but points, rebounds and assists.

That means that all those totals on the chart, like Wilt once blocking 16 shots in a playoff game, are unofficial, counted after the fact, not during the game.

So how do you handle a record?

Well, it technically belongs to Wemby after Monday night. That’s just how it works.

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But it also makes you wish you could go back in time and confirm just how good of shot blockers Chamberlain and Russell were.

They deserves spots on a list if they truly did all of that. There’s just not a ton of footage to make this an easier task.

Give Wembanyama all his flowers, for sure. Besides, he may someday block 17 shots in a playoff game. If anyone was ever going to break this Wilt mark, it’d be him.

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