List of players over 7 foot, 230 pounds in Wilt's time

[Deuce Bigalow]

I thought it was common knowledge players were measured flat footed and their rookie weights are listed in the record books. Its like listing Kobe 6'5 1/2'' and 190 pounds or Dwight 6'9'' 240 which is his predraft workout size. Guysl ike Wayne Embry are listed literally 60 pounds short of reality in their primes. Nate Thurmond was listed as being 2 inches taller but 10 pounds lighter than Kevin Durant.









Anyone else find that unlikely?

Thurmond is listed at 225, Durant 215
Durant is under 200 in real life

[bwink23]

Thurmond is listed at 225, Durant 215
Durant is under 200 in real life

And you would know that, HOW???

KIDS.

[Deuce Bigalow]

And you would know that, HOW???

KIDS.

the kid is a long toothpick Bryan

[Lebron23]

Thurmond is listed at 225, Durant 215
Durant is under 200 in real life

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/kevin-durant-390/

[Deuce Bigalow]

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/kevin-durant-390/

lets be honest though, does he look anywhere near 215?

[Kblaze8855]

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/kevin_durant/

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/3202/kevin-durant

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4244


235 on all 3.

And I assure you...in 30 years....people will assume it was what the NBA listed. Which is exactly why topics like this exist. Those weights are just not reality.

[Lebron23]

lets be honest though, does he look anywhere near 215?

He probably gained some weight. Durant was only an 18 yrs.old kid back in 2007.



2007 Kevin Durant

6'9" 215 lbs



2012 Kevin Durant

6"10-6'10.5" 230-235 lbs

[ralph_i_el]

The funny part is how some posters will defend these scrub 50s players like they were some type of Gods. Prime Bill Russell in todays league is playing for the D-league

The guy could jump out of the gym are you kidding me?

[DKLaker]

Very bad example dude. Shaq played in the greatest center era in NBA history.... the 90's and even early 00's. Hakeem, Robinson, Mutumbo, Smits, Daughtery, Wallace, Sabonis, Ewing, Zo etc were all in their prime... list goes on. The average center of the 90's would be a starting center today most likely.

Even if Wilt was only two or three inches taller than these players on average.. him outweighing them by 70+ pounds on average is a HUGE advantage.

Plus those guys were weak and not talented....except Bellamy and Russell.

Damn I am feeling old.....I watched those guys play

[Deuce Bigalow]

Plus those guys were weak and not talented....except Bellamy and Russell.

Damn I am feeling old.....I watched those guys play

So was that era weaker?

[WillC]

I think it's quite clear from this thread that the people who try to dismiss Wilt's talent are just a bunch of kids who know nothing about basketball and probably think that Jeremy Lin is better than Michael Jordan.

Meanwhile, those of us who can actually string a sentence together without swearing and those of us who understand the game of basketball just happen to be the ones who rate Wilt highly.

Coincidence? I think not.

Conclusion: Kids have no idea what they are talking about.

[bwink23]

I think it's quite clear from this thread that the people who try to dismiss Wilt's talent are just a bunch of kids who know nothing about basketball and probably think that Jeremy Lin is better than Michael Jordan.

Meanwhile, those of us who can actually string a sentence together without swearing and and those of us who understand the game of basketball just happen to be the ones who rate Wilt highly.

Coincidence? I think not.

Conclusion: Kids have no idea what they are talking about.

You nailed it....any kid who thinks Andrew Bynum is on the level of Chamberlain just cuz he's big, needs to get his head examined....Bynum's been through l,000 injuries and surgeries in his short career...he wouldn't have survived 2 years in the run and gun style of the 60's.

[dreja]

Conclusion: Kids have no idea what they are talking about.

Amen.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYEbga0XueA



This thread is like saying that Tom Cruise is a better actor, than Kirk Douglas or Lawrence Olivier.

[jlauber]

Here is a list of the players who played in Wilt's NBA who were 6-11 or taller...

Ray Felix 6-11 65
Chuck Share 6-11
Walter Dukes 7-0
Swede Halbrook 7-3
Walt Bellamy 6-11
Nate Thurmond 6-11
Reggie Harding 7-0
Mel Counts 7-0
Walt Wesley 6-11
Hank Finkel 7-0
Craig Spitzer 7-0
Craig Raymond 6-11
Otto Moore 6-11
Rich Niemann 7-0
Tom Boerwinkle 7-0 265
Dave Newmark 7-0
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 7-2
Greg Fillmore 7-1 240
George Johnson 6-11 245
Bob Lanier 6-11 250
Elmore Smith 7-0 250
Tom Payne 7-2 240
Vic Bartolome 7-0 230
Jim McDaniels 6-11
William Smith 7-0
George Johnson 6-11 (yes another G. Johnson)
LaRue Martin 6-11

Artis Gilmore 7-2 240 (yes, Wilt faced Gilmore in the 71-72 ABA-NBA All Star game, and more than held his own against him.)

I listed the 6-11+ players because, as was already mentioned previously, players were generally measured in bare-feet in the 60's and 70's. So, the reality was, most all of the above would be listed at 7-0+ feet today. Granted, some of the above were scrubs, and some only played briefly. BTW, there a TON of players who were 6-10, as well.

Having said that, however, I could list the 7-0+ clods who had played in the NBA in the last 30 years. Players like 7-5 Chuck Neavitt, or 7-2 Randy Breuer. Even the 7-7 Manute Bol was basically worthless. He could block some shots, and he could occasionally heave a miraculous 3 pt shot, but other than that, he was a joke. I still remember 6-9 Orlando Woolridge just shoving him out of the lane and easily dunking on several possessions in one game.

Furthermore, there were players in the 60's and 70's who were taller than their listed height. Bill Russell was listed at 6-10 in college, and only 6-9 in the pros. However, even he admitted he was 6-10. That, along with his 7-4 wingspan, and world-class leaping ability gave him the ability to reach heights that few ever have.

John Block is listed at 6-9 at basketball reference.com, but many publications listed him at 6-10 at the time. Same with 6-10 LeRoy Ellis, who was commonly listed at 6-11, and Connie Dierking, who was actually listed at 6-10 throughout his career. Even 6-9 Bob McAdoo was often listed at 6-10. Bill Walton was known to have been over 7-0, but was listed at 6-11. Those that played with Kareem and Wilt would tell you that they were taller than 7-2 and 7-1 respectively. And Nate Thurmond, who was 6-11, had a longer wingspan than Chamberlain, who had a legitimate 7-8 spread.

And, the opposite has been true in the last 30 years. There was no way Hakeem was even close to 7-0. 6-10 was probably being generous. Ben Wallace himself would tell you he was 6-7, and not his listed 6-9. Dwight Howard and Kevin Love are NOT 6-11, and are probably actually closer to 6-9. Ralph Sampson was never 7-4, and in fact, Mark Eaton, who was a legitimate 7-4 claimed that Sampson was no more than 7-2 (and Sampson had very short arms BTW.) And I have seen a photograph with Shaq, Wilt, and Ewing, and there was no way Ewing was 7-0. Duncan is no taller than 6-11.

Kblaze already covered the listed weights. Most of them are laughable. Thurmond was easily 235, and probably heavier. Wayne Embry was listed at 240, but many publications had him at between 250-260. Tom Boerwinkle was 265 in his rookie season, and was around 280 for much of his career. Dennis Awtry was 6-10 235. Same with Sam Lacey. Wes Unseld, while only 6-7, was easily 245. Artis Gilmore's listed weight of 240 is a complete joke. He was nearly 300 lbs later in his career. Bob Lanier is listed at 250, but was playing at around 265. PHILA posted an article in which the 6-9 Luke Jackson came to camp at 272 lbs. In fact, you could probably easily add 20+ lbs to nearly every player who has ever played in the NBA.

And that list of players came in leagues that ranged from eight to 17 teams throughout Chamberlain's career, instead of the 23-30 teams that the NBA had in the last 30 years.

And, Chamberlain just CRUSHED his peers. I looked up a few games in which 7-0 Walter Dukes and Wilt battled, of their many, and in two in a row, Wilt had games of 56 and 58. I did a quick lookup of a couple of games between 7-0 Reggie Harding and Chamberlain, and in one Wilt pounded him by a 52-2 margin. It's hard to say how much the 7-3 Swede Halbrook played against Wilt, because he was usually backing up 6-9 Red Kerr, but in one game, Wilt had a 56 point game. Chamberlain also had 60 and 70+ games against 6-11 Ray Felix.

Of course, Wilt also SHELLED HOFer Willis Reed. In one season alone, covering nine games, Wilt averaged 40.1 ppg against him, including games of 52 and 58. And how about 6-11 HOFer Walt Bellamy? In one ten game season, Chamberlain averaged 43.7 ppg against him, and in another 10 game season, he averaged an eye-popping 52.7 ppg against him.

A PRIME "scoring" Wilt only faced the 6-11 Thurmond in about a dozen games. However, in a span of 11 games from the last game of the 64-65 season, their nine H2H games in the 65-66 season, and in the first game of the 66-67 season he averaged 30 ppg against Nate, with games of 30 (24 in the 2nd half when his coach asked him to take to Thurmond), 33, 34, 34, 38, and 45 points (outscoring him 45-13.) Kareem faced Thurmond in some 50 H2H games, and he seldom scored 30 against him, and his high was only 34.

Chamberlain also averaged 29 ppg against the 6-11 HOFer Bob Lanier in their five H2H games of the 71-72 season, including one game of 31 points and 32 rebounds. This from a Wilt who was 35 and seldom even shot the ball.

And most posters just look at the players who played in the NBA in the ealy 60's when they try to rip Wilt's numbers. He was scoring 33.5 ppg on .540 shooting (along with 24.6 rpg and 5.2 apg) in the mid-60's. He had a season of 24.1 ppg on .683 in the 66-67 season. He had FOUR games of 52, 53, 53, and 68 points in his 67-68 season. When SI ran an article in the 68-69 season, that Wilt could no longer score, he went on a 17 game rampage of 31.1 ppg including a 35 point game against Russell, a 31 point game against Reed, and games of 60 and 66 against Dierking and Fox. Incidently, Kareem came into the league in the very next season, 69-70, and faced those two, as well as Bellamy, Thurmond, and Reed, and never came close to the domination that Wilt had.

And speaking of that 69-70 season...in Wilt's first nine games he was leading the league at 32.2 ppg. His coach had asked him to focus on the offensive end, and he just tore thru the league. He had games of 33, 35, 37 (against 7-0 Boerwinkle), 38 (against reigning MVP Wes Unseld), 42 (against 6-9 star Bob Rule), and 43 points. He even pounded Kareem with a 25-25 game on 9-14 shooting. However, he shredded his knee in thatr ninth game, and was never quite the same again. Even on one leg, he still averaged 23.2 ppg, 24.1 rpg, and shot .625 in the seven game series in the '70 Finals.

The fact was, Chamberlain played against the likes of Lovellette, Embry, Reed, Bellamy, Unseld, Cowens, McAdoo, Hayes, Lanier, Thurmond, Russell, and Kareem...ALL in the HOF. And he was still leading the league in rebounding and setting FG% records against them in his LAST season. Hell, in his LAST post-season, against the likes of 7-0 Tom Boerwinkle, 6-11 HOFer Nate Thurmond, and 6-9 HOFer Willis Reed, Chamberlain averaged 22.5 rpg in those 17 games...which was the last time anyone averaged more than 17.3 rpg in a post-season!

Once again, the OP makes a fool of himself.

[Psileas]

I think it's quite clear from this thread that the people who try to dismiss Wilt's talent are just a bunch of kids who know nothing about basketball and probably think that Jeremy Lin is better than Michael Jordan.

Meanwhile, those of us who can actually string a sentence together without swearing and those of us who understand the game of basketball just happen to be the ones who rate Wilt highly.

Coincidence? I think not.

Conclusion: Kids have no idea what they are talking about.

Lots of humans are simply mediocre to bad at estimating sizes and values they don't see every day. The human brain is just not wired to perceive such things with accuracy. I've met people who think that Mt Everest is 8,848 km's high. People who think Pluto is as far away as stars. People who have seen 7-footers and called them 8-footers. People who think humans co-existed with dinosaurs some thousands of years ago (newsflash: The Flintstones did not exist). And yes, people who perceive Wilt's talent as Bynum's talent, because the black and white color of many of his films and the reduced athletic capabilities of some of his opponents are too much for them to handle. So, they see Wilt taking fade-away shots while raising way above the basket at the same time and still think that modern centers would swat such shots away, although most of the times all these centers are not even able to block penetrating guards that shoot just next to their noses (and this has been the case for the last 50 years or so, so don't take this as a slight against this era's centers). Similarly, they see someone like Nate Thurmond or Willis Reed being listed at like 220-225 lbs and think this was his real weight, although it's painfully obvious they were bulker/heavier than that. I'm only talking about non-pure haters here.
Of course, the OP is a troll and a hater (and this thread is a troll thread), but overall I have no reason to believe his reasoning goes beyond this level.