“Stop With the Blasphemy”: NBA Legend Shuts Down Outrageous Wilt Chamberlain & Nikola Jokic Take

From big centers pioneering teams towards a ring to the modern-day NBA formations where guards, wings and overall roster depth are equally important to win a chip, the league has surely come a long way. But that didn’t mean Hall of Fame NBA coach George Karl and former NBA star Eddie A. Johnson couldn’t get into a debate around it.

“The two best centers in NBA history, Wilt Chamberlain and Nikola Jokic, will likely only have a combined three championships when Jokic is done. So much for the vital role of the Big!” Karl’s X post read on October 28, 2026.

However, Johnson had to disagree, retorting boldly, “George, you heard of Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Bill Russell, Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O'Neal? Stop with the Blasphemy.”

And there we have it. A classic tale of arguing a debate that isn’t even the same.

Chamberlain, who holds the NBA's all-time single-game scoring record by dropping 100 points for the Philadelphia 76ers in the March 2, 1962, game against the New York Knicks, won two championships across his 14-season career (With the Sixers in 1967 and the Los Angeles Lakers in 1972). Meanwhile, Jokic, with three regular-season MVPs, 8 NBA All-Star selections and 8 All-NBA Team selections, has won just one ring with the Denver Nuggets in 2023.

So, if Karl is arguing that centers with great individual talent don’t necessarily win you a ring, he isn’t completely off the mark.

However, this argument does fall short when players like Kareem Abdul Jabbar (6 titles, one with the Milwaukee Bucks and five with the Los Angeles Lakers), Bill Russell (all 11 titles with the Boston Celtics), Hakeem Olajuwon (2 consecutive titles with the Houston Rockets), and Shaquille O'Neal (3 consecutive titles with Lakers, 1 with the Miami Heat) walk in.

But here’s the catch: in the ever-revolving league, both Karl and Johnson are talking about players who played in different eras, playstyles and environments. Chamberlain dropped 100 when players had a sluggish, slower pace, teams were fewer in number. Most importantly, when offense took a bigger spotlight than defense.

Comparatively, the later guys played in a fast-paced, more complex, all-around environment under stricter officiating, where different positions and playstyles impacted the games more than individual stats. Moreover, Karl’s argument again collapses in Jokic’s case, as he has yet to wrap up his career and can very well win a championship if things go well for the Nuggets.

So, even if Johnson’s outrage is justified to some degree, the debate itself wasn’t about the same thing to begin with.

But as they say, pitting greats against greats is what keeps the sport going, and undoubtedly would’ve been interesting to see how this would go had all these players taken the hardwood in the same era.