Bron is assigned to guard Wilt for an entire game - what would result be?

[Marchesk]

Both in their peak seasons. Would ESPN still talk about being able to guard 1 thru 5?

[Psileas]

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V7j9NzTCYU0/Vh3X5jdUIrI/AAAAAAAAHLs/c8sAxgOz4qw/s0-Ic42/Wilt%252520vs%252520Bellamy%25252029%252520point%2 52520games.jpg

[HylianNightmare]

LeBron would lock him down

[Marchesk]

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V7j9NzTCYU0/Vh3X5jdUIrI/AAAAAAAAHLs/c8sAxgOz4qw/s0-Ic42/Wilt%252520vs%252520Bellamy%25252029%252520point%2 52520games.jpg

Over or under 73?

[Marchesk]

LeBron would lock him down

Wilt would have abused Dennis Rodman, and he was a far superior post defender.

[ralph_i_el]

Wilt quits basketball.

[ArbitraryWater]

Bron would probably be one of those 2 keeping him under 30 with his length, thickness, and girth.. stopping Wilt from any penetration, pounding the hole, etc.

[Psileas]

Over or under 73?

Probably under. He'd have colluded with Wilt by halftime.

[GIF REACTION]

Lebron has multiple center lockdown confirmations

2013 January 14th vs Utah Jazz
-Lebron holds 290 6-11 Big Al Jefferson scoreless in the 4th quarter

2012 Olympics vs Spain
-Lebron guarded Pau Gasol and kept him scoreless when he was on him

2012-2013-2014 vs Indiana
-Played on David West and held him to below average numbers

[Marchesk]

Lebron has multiple center lockdown confirmations

2013 January 14th vs Utah Jazz
-Lebron holds 290 6-11 Big Al Jefferson scoreless in the 4th quarter

2012 Olympics vs Spain
-Lebron guarded Pau Gasol and kept him scoreless when he was on him

2012-2013-2014 vs Indiana
-Played on David West and held him to below average numbers

What about your boy Cousins?

[GIF REACTION]

What about your boy Cousins?
Believe it or not I think he'd do a good job. A 270 pound peak Lebron would only be off 10-20 pounds at the most, while being much quicker, faster. He would do very well denying and fronting the post

[Marchesk]

Bron would probably be one of those 2 keeping him under 30 with his length, thickness, and girth.. stopping Wilt from any penetration, pounding the hole, etc.

Final score would be: 20,001

[Marchesk]

Believe it or not I think he'd do a good job. A 270 pound peak Lebron would only be off 10-20 pounds at the most, while being much quicker, faster. He would do very well denying and fronting the post

For what, half a quarter? Cousins would wear Lebron down over a game. Lebron doesn't spend time inside banging.

[GIF REACTION]

Yeah for a quarter

Not smart but he can do it

[inclinerator]

50 ppg in the regular season 15 ppg in the playoffs

[ArbitraryWater]

50 ppg in the regular season 15 ppg in the playoffs

:roll: :roll:

[ShaqTwizzle]

In the regular-season Wilt scores 50 on him.
In the Finals Wilt scores 11pts and accidentally scores a few hoops on his own basket.

[Marchesk]

50 ppg in the regular season 15 ppg in the playoffs

TBH, Lebron is a better playoff performer than that.

[Lebron23]

Lebron shut him down in the playoffs.

[DavisIsMyUniBro]

this is a hate post

I have peak lebron above peak wilt,
but wilt is 7ft 2 with a 7ft 8 ish wingspan, with a little bit less power than shaq in the post because of body type.

this isnt a contest. wilt destroys him.

[Marchesk]

this is a hate post

Hatred towards ESPN hype. Lebron can guard 1-5, but that's with some big qualifications.


I have peak lebron above peak wilt,

I'm not sure anyone is above peak Wilt, but to each his own rankings.


but wilt is 7ft 2 with a 7ft 8 ish wingspan, with a little bit less power than shaq in the post because of body type.

this isnt a contest. wilt destroys him.

And Shaq would do the same to Jordan or Pippen over an entire game. No perimiter player in the history of the game could contain an all-time great big for long.

[!@#$%Vectors!@#]

50 ppg in the regular season 15 ppg in the playoffs


Pretty much. WIlt is afterall the grandfather of all chokers. He spread the genes!

[aj1987]

If it's the PO's, LeBron won't even have to defend him. Wilt will choke by default.

[DavisIsMyUniBro]

Hatred towards ESPN hype. Lebron can guard 1-5, but that's with some big qualifications.



I'm not sure anyone is above peak Wilt, but to each his own rankings.



And Shaq would do the same to Jordan or Pippen over an entire game. No perimiter player in the history of the game could contain an all-time great big for long.


yeah, its debatable. I have wilt at 4 in terms of peak, but its because I have a hatred for raw stats (which is why I believe that kobe in 06 wasnt even his 3rd best season).


the thing is, Lebron can guard the 1-5, to an extent.

Lebron would get destroyed by the wilts and shaqs of basketball. the problem is how the game is different now.

the post up was never an effecient play. wilt was great at it, as was hakeem and shaq, but all in all, it didnt yield more points per play for hakeem, shaq, wilt (compared to today) then a regular play did.

thats the reason that the post game is dead is because of analytics.

now, the thing about lebron is that at his peak, he was strong enough to guard a mediocre 5, or a 5 that didnt have a good b ackt ot he basket game (davis last year).

however, he would get destroyed by hakeem, shaq, wilt, etc.

[Megabox!]

If it's the PO's, LeBron won't even have to defend him. Wilt will choke by default.
:lol they don't call him The Big Dipper for nothing

[Elosha]

Why is this even a topic? It's clear Lebron can guard some type of centers for a limited time period. Does he do it routinely? No. Is he somewhat successful? Sometimes, which is a credit to his "versatility" but in reality, a minuscule part of his overall defensive contribution. Lebron's versatility gets somewhat overblown, in reality he's spending 85-90% of his time just defending small forwards or power forwards his own size. His versatility to guard centers can be useful in a pinch and can sometimes be important for stretches, but it's really not something his coaches resort to often.

Of course, the reverse scenario applies. Lebron could never regularly guard the biggest/best centers in NBA history such as Wilt, Shaq, KAJ, Hakeem, etc. etc. But not a ONE of them could routinely guard him either. I don't care how athletic/good shot blockers they are, no elite center in history could keep up with Lebron in the half court and he's athletic to finish over/around any of them or to step back into a jumper before they usually contest. His footwork/first step isn't truly elite like Jordan or even Kobe, but Lebron's still far quicker than any 7 foot center. Lebron's not a truly elite one on one player, but it would be silly to think he could not exploit the quickness mismatch between him and a center.

Each type of player (perimeter v. center) has their own defensive and offensive advantages and disadvantages, which is why such cross comparisons are of limited value.

[Psileas]

:lol they don't call him The Big Dipper for nothing


(similar bullshit by others I have on ignore)

Too bad when Lazeruss posts Wilt's great performances in do-or-die playoff games (not even playoff games in general), his list covers like 10 times more space than all your puny 1-liners combined.

Wilt would absolutely toy with LeBron, especially under rules that favor physical offense as much as physical defense. LeBron has no physical weapon to stop Wilt from getting the ball however close to the basket he wants, not height, not weight, not strength, not enough stamina to play in the post defensively and out of the post offensively at the same time and not enough will, either (else, we should be seeing him guarding centers a lot more often).