Why Wilt Chamberlain would dominate in today's game ! Bruce Blitz

"There is a common belief that Wilt was so good because he played in an era where there was no competition or size to compete with Wilt. I am going to show that Wilt would dominate in today’s game.

There is an idea out there that the reason Wilt scored so many points and grabbed so many boards is that there was no size to compete with Wilt. This theory is false. The average height that Wilt played against was about 6-10, only 3 inches shorter then he was. There were a large amount of players that were able to go up against Wilt in terms of size. There was Bill Russell (6-9 215 lbs), Zelmo Beaty (6-9 225 lbs), Nate Thurmond (6-11 225 lbs), Walt Bellamy (6-11 225 lbs), Bob Lanier (6-11 250 lbs), and Willis Reed (6-9 235 lbs). These are all hall of famers (with exception of Zelmo Beaty) and players that Wilt had to go up against when he played. As you can see most of these players had the size to go up against Wilt. Wilt was just good enough to be able to dominate most of these guys.

Wilt was a great athlete. He was ahead of his time in athletics. Wilt was a track star, he played shot put, and could bench press 500 lbs. Wilt was a freak athlete. He was able to do this without all of the advances that there is today. For instance, these days most centers are wearing pads to protect themselves from the physical nature of being a big man. Wilt did not have this advantage. When Wilt played, the game was a lot more physical then it is today. The referees let a lot of fouls go that today would be considered a hard or even a flagrant foul. Wilt was able to still dominate every night even with these disadvantages.

The question is if you take Wilt and put him in today’s game, will he dominate. The average height of today’s players is 6-10 (sound familiar). The centers, these days, are not physically as strong as it used to be. Most centers, now, are more perimeter players, so they would not be able to handle Wilt on the inside. The game is no longer as physical as it used to be, so Wilt could dominate the game even more. The only player, in the game today, that has the physical ability to guard Wilt is Dwight Howard and even he would have a lot of trouble. No one in the NBA today has the ability to consistently guard Wilt. The closest resemblance to Wilt would be Shaquille O’Neal except Wilt is stronger, faster, and more versatile. If you think about how much Shaq dominated the game in his era, imagine Wilt except a lot better.

Many people try to undermine the accomplishments of Wilt by saying that he played in a weak era. However, if you look at the facts, you will see that his era was not weak, Wilt was just that good. He deserved every accomplishment he achieved. Wilt Chamberlain was one of the greatest players ever no matter what era he played in."

Also contributed by Artur Radetskiy


I want some more input on this from jlauber, Psileas, PHILA, ThaRegul8r, etc..

Most centers now are perimeter players?

[QUOTE=Kblaze8855]Most centers now are perimeter players?[/QUOTE]

Don't know what he meant, really.

I think he means they play more away from the paint, but I can't fathom how they all play like Dirk.

[QUOTE=AlphaWolf24][IMG]http://images4.fanpop.com/image/user_images/2963000/AlphaWolf-2963314_1611_930.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE]

:roll:

JK

Wow load of crap. Sure they may have had a few 6'11 bigs... but were they 300 pounds? Did they have his insane wingspan? NO. He DID dominate purely because of his superior size and athleticism. Why do I say that? Because I watch his footage and I don't see a guy that's as skilled as everyone else at his position.

I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with OPs conclusion, but everything else he typed is junk.

People keep arguing this. It's obvious that Wilt would dominate in today's game. The NBA is in a low when it comes to centers. We have a lot of big and athletic guys, but their not very good basketball players. Wilt was big, strong, super athletic, and very skilled. He didn't just dunk balls. Very versatile. Maybe it just looked easy to him when you watch him play, he was not an angry guy. Actually too nice some people say when it comes to his play on the court. The NBA was always competitive.Wilt past his prime would still dominate today's NBA.

You really cant say its just size and athletic ability considering what he did vs guys like Nate, Bellamy, and later Kareem. Kareem was 7'3'', strong, and mobile and Wilt was fine vs him desite being past his prime.

He didnt really look much bigger than some of these guys:

[IMG]http://sharing.wpri.com/sharewwlp//photo/2010/08/08/WALT_BELLAMY_20100808172138_640_480.JPG[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/8918/70449886.jpg[/IMG]


He did fine vs everyone he played.

[QUOTE=Kblaze8855]You really cant say its just size and athletic ability considering what he did vs guys like Nate, Bellamy, and later Kareem. Kareem was 7'3'', strong, and mobile and Wilt was fine vs him desite being past his prime.

He didnt really look much bigger than some of these guys:

[IMG]http://sharing.wpri.com/sharewwlp//photo/2010/08/08/WALT_BELLAMY_20100808172138_640_480.JPG[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/8918/70449886.jpg[/IMG]


He did fine vs everyone he played.[/QUOTE]

Great pics Blaze. I'm not trying to imply not a single player was as big as him... but more that in general NOBODY had his combination of athleticism, size, strength and wingspan. Only one who was close was Russell and obviously they had epic battles. Kareem too but he came into the league when those 2 giants were older and on the way out. I think Kareem was a rookie when Wilt was 33 if I recall correctly.

It's no different than the way Lebron or Shaq dominated over the last decade plus. Nobody else had their combination of strength, size and athleticism to stop them. Doesn't mean Wilt was bad... just means that nowadays with players more advanced training, bulkier basketball frames and larger scale athleticism... he's less likely to dominate AS MUCH as he did.

Maybe he would be equal to a prime Shaq and put up 29, 14 and 4 or w/e. He sure as hell isn't putting up 30+, 25+, 5+, 5+ again in this era though I'll say that much.

I did the following post at the end of either the '09 or '10 season (I can't remember.) on another forum about this very issue. I don't feel like updating the specifics, but the point should be clear.


In 1972-73 Wilt was 36 about to turn 37. No matter who you are, at age 36 you are very much beyond your prime. That season the NBA had [B]at least 9 Hall of Fame big men[/B] that played center at some point in their career. Besides Wilt, 4 other were at least 6

[QUOTE=jlip]This year, D. Howard played less than 10 games against potential Hall of Fame big men

Total crap if anyone thinks that he wouldn't be the best in today's game. He is stronger than any NBA player in the NBA right now, and is more athletic. He'd have at least 25-13-6 (and those are low estimates...). He play in an INFINITELY better era than today.

[QUOTE=Clippersfan86]Great pics Blaze. I'm not trying to imply not a single player was as big as him... but more that in general NOBODY had his combination of athleticism, size, strength and wingspan. Only one who was close was Russell and obviously they had epic battles. Kareem too but he came into the league when those 2 giants were older and on the way out. I think Kareem was a rookie when Wilt was 33 if I recall correctly.

It's no different than the way Lebron or Shaq dominated over the last decade plus. Nobody else had their combination of strength, size and athleticism to stop them. Doesn't mean Wilt was bad... just means that nowadays with players more advanced training, bulkier basketball frames and larger scale athleticism... he's less likely to dominate AS MUCH as he did.

Maybe he would be equal to a prime Shaq and put up 29, 14 and 4 or w/e. He sure as hell isn't putting up 30+, 25+, 5+, 5+ again in this era though I'll say that much.[/QUOTE]

Not 25 boards, but 30-15-5-5 isn't that far off. Look at what Howard is doing! Wilt would crush this era, Howard wouldn't be the second best center in the 60s.

[QUOTE=Clippersfan86]Wow load of crap. Sure they may have had a few 6'11 bigs... but were they 300 pounds? Did they have his insane wingspan? NO. He DID dominate purely because of his superior size and athleticism. Why do I say that? Because I watch his footage and I don't see a guy that's as skilled as everyone else at his position.[/QUOTE]

If the NBA was scoring 120 points a game in this era, and shooting 40-45%, you mean he WOULDN'T average 50-25-10-10? People don't realize he much stronger he is than today's players. Russell was a better athlete than Wilt, but not as strong, but Wilt was still a crushing regular season player. Russell could jump higher than ANY NBA player in history, as Wilt is stronger than any NBA player in history. He would dominate any era.

:oldlol: at people saying "there'd be no centers to guard him". You don't think the vastly superior defensive schemes and help defense would cause a bigger problem?

I made this post comparing footage from a '67 game with Wilt and how he was defended.

[URL="http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=209939"]http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=209939[/URL]

Even if he would be the strongest player in the league(maybe he would, maybe he wouldn't), he wasn't backing guys down and overpowering them. Look at how he's able to dribble the ball for 3-4 seconds with no help, and not even going to a power move vs Russell who he had a good 3-4 inches and 50+ pounds on. Wilt really doesn't seem like he was a power player.

And honestly, if you even had to double him in today's game, it looks like it'd lead to a lot of turnovers considering he looks awkward with his back to the basket due to his ball handling and footwork. He also seemed to bring the ball down quite a bit which people criticize Howard for(and rightfully so). Good help defenders and hard double teams look like they could really bother him, if teams found it necessary to double him.

So I certainly don't see him dominating with his scoring, and to be honest, when Wilt scored more, it didn't seem to be the way that his teams were the most effective.

He could definitely have an elite impact as a shot blocker, post defender(later version at least when he committed to that end more) and he was a very good passer.

He seemed fast and athletic for a big man in the open court and I could see him running the floor, getting some dunks and put backs, but I haven't seen anything to suggest he'd be the most athletic player in the league.

And then there would be the questionable mentality(which people always bring up for Lebron)