So why exactly does Wilt rank so high on the all time list?

[Stringer Bell]

He most certainly has a case:

And how about his 37 "must-win" or "series clinching" games?

[kshutts1]

What I've learned most from the ISH HOF discussion we're having is that Mikan 100% deserves to be in my first tier (I do a tiered system), along with Wilt and Oscar (both of whom I already had there). I anticipate Baylor and Pettit being in the first or second tier, as well.

Edit to clarify.
Mikan - I knew a lot about him, but what I didn't know was that he won the title EVERY YEAR HE WAS HEALTHY. Pretty sure GOAT or WillC mentioned that in a post in the HOF voting.

Pettit/Baylor - I know they belong in the discussion for top 10 players of all time, much less top 20, but I don't know enough about them, individually, to rank them above those players with whom I'm more familiar. So I always rank them "as low as possible" with a notation explaining that I"m just too lazy to do research to place them properly.

[ImKobe]

Kobe > Wilt

[kshutts1]

Lazerus, I appreciate everything you do, and know, but dude.... I may have to block you just because of how you present your points. And I'm one of the guys that would defend Wilt at almost any cost.

Just... calm down a bit. Wow.

[LAZERUSS]

What I've learned most from the ISH HOF discussion we're having is that Mikan 100% deserves to be in my first tier (I do a tiered system), along with Wilt and Oscar (both of whom I already had there). I anticipate Baylor and Pettit being in the first or second tier, as well.

Edit to clarify.
Mikan - I knew a lot about him, but what I didn't know was that he won the title EVERY YEAR HE WAS HEALTHY. Pretty sure GOAT or WillC mentioned that in a post in the HOF voting.

Pettit/Baylor - I know they belong in the discussion for top 10 players of all time, much less top 20, but I don't know enough about them, individually, to rank them above those players with whom I'm more familiar. So I always rank them "as low as possible" with a notation explaining that I"m just too lazy to do research to place them properly.

George Mikan likely was not even the best big man of his era.

http://digital.library.okstate.edu/e...s/K/KU003.html

After winning the NCAA title in 1945, Oklahoma A&M played NIT champion DePaul in a Red Cross benefit game. Kurland outplayed six-foot-nine George Mikan in a 52-44 victory that meant an undisputed national championship. Kurland was named All-American three years in a row and won the 1946 Helms Foundation award as the nation's outstanding player. After graduating, Kurland went on to further basketball heights with the Phillips Petroleum Company 66ers and with gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic teams in 1948 and 1952.

Kurland never played professional basketball, but he most certainly would have been one of the best players at the time.

Regarding Mikan's "domination"...

He shot .379 in the entire 51-52 playoffs, in a post-season NBA that shot .393, and his team, with his totals shot .403.

In his 52-53 playoffs Mikan shot .366, in a post-season NBA that shot .366. His team, including himself, collectively shot .377.

In his 51-52 Finals series, he led his team in scoring at 21.7 ppg, but, get this...he shot .353 from the floor. His entire team shot .410. Subtract his FG% from their totals, and they would have shot .430.

In the 52-53 Finals, Mikan again led his team in scoring, at 20.8 ppg....but how about his FG% in that series? Yes...it was ... .309. His team, including his totals, collectively shot .381 in that series.


The reality was, Mikan dominated in the pre-shot clock era, and his career was a relatively short one. And aside from a college Kurland, he never faced a truly great center, either.

[LAZERUSS]

Chamberlain played in six series clinching games in the his Finals career (and five of them occurred after his scoring prime), and here were his, and his opposing starting centers cumulative averages in those six games (BTW, all six of them were HOFers)...

Opps: 11.3 ppg, 15.5 rpg, 5.0 apg, .409 FG%
Wilt: 23.5 ppg, 25.2 rpg, 3.3 apg, .589 FG%

[YouGotServed]

Chamberlain played in six series clinching games in the his Finals career (and five of them occurred after his scoring prime), and here were his, and his opposing starting centers cumulative averages in those six games (BTW, all six of them were HOFers)...

Opps: 11.3 ppg, 15.5 rpg, 5.0 apg, .409 FG%
Wilt: 23.5 ppg, 25.2 rpg, 3.3 apg, .589 FG%

STFU and write me another essay, old man.