Do you guys seriously think Russell, Wilt and Oscar wouldnt have worse stats today?

[MavsSuperFan]

Obviously its not their fault they played in the 60s.

But Russell had a career average of 24.6 rebounds per game.
Also winning 11 championships
Wilt had seasons where he averaged 50.4. 44.8, 37.6, 38.4, 36.9, etc PPG.
He also averaged 22.9 Rebounds per game.
Oscar had 181 triple doubles, and averaged over 30 PPG for 6 of his first 7 seasons.

People who advocate for these guys as the best players that ever played in the NBA, often cite their amazing statistics. Is it really fair to people that played in later eras to compare their stats directly with these guys that got to play in a league where this could happen?



I would guess that 50% of the league back then wouldnt come close to making the NBA today.

[TheMarkMadsen]

Wilt would be averaging like 34/14-18 a game in his prime

but not 50/30

[MavsSuperFan]

Wilt would be averaging like 34/14-18 a game in his prime

but not 50/30

Ok fine, but the 50/30 was a result of his era.

[Psileas]

Do you guys seriously think Russell, Wilt and Oscar wouldnt have worse stats today?

Who is the question targeted to? Who claimed Oscar would avg 30/10/10, Wilt 50/25 and so on?
A better question is: Do you guys seriously think that 50% of that league would not be close to even making the NBA today, especially given the crappy quality of bigs?

[ABfor3]

Who is the question targeted to? Who claimed Oscar would avg 30/10/10, Wilt 50/25 and so on?
A better question is: Do you guys seriously think that 50% of that league would not be close to even making the NBA today, especially given the crappy quality of bigs?

This. Anybody who's seen footage of the league back then knows therewas barely any big men who could dribble the ball .. Guards has the handles of today's power forwards..the league is much more talented than it was before. No way in hell those guys average what they did back then

[MavsSuperFan]

This. Anybody who's seen footage of the league back then knows therewas barely any big men who could dribble the ball .. Guards has the handles of today's power forwards..the league is much more talented than it was before. No way in hell those guys average what they did back then

I agree with you, but I think you missed his point

[MavsSuperFan]

Who is the question targeted to? Who claimed Oscar would avg 30/10/10, Wilt 50/25 and so on?
A better question is: Do you guys seriously think that 50% of that league would not be close to even making the NBA today, especially given the crappy quality of bigs?

So many of the 60s stans. Its the whole basis of the argument why russell or wilt is the best ever.

Also saying russell couldnt win 11 championships in the era of free agency.

[EllEffEll]

I think the most of the greats would have been great regardless of the era they played in. It's no more fair to expect that they would be exactly who they were then if they had grown up now, just as it's ludicrous to expect that today's stars would have been so much better then if they had grown up back then.

I do however believe that there may have been some exceptions to that generality.

Today's players generally have more flair to their game, but many lack the fundamentals and to some extent the BB-IQ that I feel was more prevalent in earlier eras. The fact that they turn pro earlier in their careers makes that even more of an issue.

Guys like Russell, Chamberlain, and Robertson are some of the players I believe would absolutely be greats today just as they were then as they were all outstanding athletically to say the least. JMHO.

[TheMarkMadsen]

I think the true greats from any era (50's, 60's, 70's, and on) would be star players in this area

Big O, Wilt, Russell, all these guys would still have a major impact and would be able to the leader of potential championship teams


the numbers might dip, but the impact wouldn't.

[moe94]

This. Anybody who's seen footage of the league back then knows therewas barely any big men who could dribble the ball .. Guards has the handles of today's power forwards..the league is much more talented than it was before. No way in hell those guys average what they did back then

You agreed to the exact opposite of what he was saying.

[steve]

Why do you care?

[moe94]

Why do you care?

Why is he discussing basketball on a basketball message board? How dare he.

[steve]

Why is he discussing basketball on a basketball message board? How dare he.

My point is, why is he trying to discredit a previous era? It's easy to say that a former player couldn't perform in a modern era but at the same time they don't have the benefit of knowing what a current player knows about the game and the automatic assumption is that player from the '50s or '60s will just be transported knowing what they know now into the modern era when thinking that is the absolute height or ignorance. If a player today's era played in the '60s, he would never be able to dribble the ball up the court without being called for a carry, the game has changed drastically. Which leads me to my original question, if someone enjoys basketball and has an understanding of the game and its history, why do they care how greats from other eras fit into this current iteration of the game?

[fpliii]

EDIT: Redacted, not worth my time.

[moe94]

My point is, why is he trying to discredit a previous era? ?

He's trolling era stans.