Correct me if I'm wrong but Greatest non-guard passers:

[CavaliersFTW]

Wilt Chamberlain had the highest statistical peak of all non-guard passers when his role was a facilitator did he not? When asked to be the facilitator of his team on the 76ers he averaged:

1967 reg season:
*7.8 assists per game
*3rd in league assists per game
*3rd in total assists

1967 playoffs:
*9.0 assists per game
*2nd in assists per game
*1st in total assists

1968 reg season:
*8.6 assists per game
*2nd in league assists per game
*1st in total assists

1968 playoffs:
6.5 assists per game
*4th in assists per game
*3rd in total assists

Lebron's best assist per game season is tied with Wilt's best (8.6) but his 2nd best assist per game season is only 7.3 apg (last season) which is less than Wilt's 7.8. Lebron has never been higher than 5th in total assists for a season or 6th in assists per game. In the playoffs Lebron has never exceeded 8 assists per game, to Wilt's 9.

Assists in Wilt's era also were not given after a teammate dribbled unlike today where they count assists 'on the drive' so this generally negates any pace differences as evidenced that assist numbers today more or less appear to remain congruent with assist numbers back then. Wilt's peak when his role was that of a passer, netted him superior numbers to Lebron.

So anyone analysing film and data should be able to conclude this:

Best passing non-guard of all time visual eye-test:
Larry Bird

Best passing non-guard of all time numerical peak:
Wilt Chamberlain

Best passing non-guard of all time numerical longevity (when all is said and done based on his current pace):
Lebron James

Sound about right?

[Bibby4Three]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6xa_Pldz8c


Vlade tho.....

[TheReal Kendall]

Didn't ESPN say Lebron was the Greatest non-guard passer?


I don't think they would say that if it wasn't true

[9erempiree]

Era-Specific because when you are the tallest quarterback in history and looking over that small offensive line....you better believe it's easier for him to scan for open teammates.

[ZMonkey11]

I would tend to agree with you off of numbers. But there has been recordings saying that Wilt would not pass the ball to a teammate unless he

a) was a good shooter
b) would shoot the ball when passed to

Otherwise, you probably weren't going to get the ball because he wanted the assist stat.

But given, he did see the whole court because he was so tall and seemed to have a good IQ. So I'm not saying he was bad. Just that his assist stats were over inflated due to his temperament towards wanting stats.

[9erempiree]

Add Sabonis for bigs that can pass.

[Rose'sACL]

in all your posts you never consider that bird and wilt played in league which was way faster than the league lebron plays in.
stop ignoring the stats you don't like. tonymontana does that and i hate it. You are doing the same.

[CavaliersFTW]

Didn't ESPN say Lebron was the Greatest non-guard passer?


I don't think they would say that if it wasn't true

ESPN is a source for sports hype and gossip, not sports history or facts.

[TheReal Kendall]

I would tend to agree with you off of numbers. But there has been recordings saying that Wilt would not pass the ball to a teammate unless he

a) was a good shooter
b) would shoot the ball when passed to

Otherwise, you probably weren't going to get the ball because he wanted the assist stat.

But given, he did see the whole court because he was so tall and seemed to have a good IQ. So I'm not saying he was bad. Just that his assist stats were over inflated due to his temperament towards wanting stats.

What other reason is there to pass the ball?

If you on the court you wouldn't pass to the guy that can't hit the side of the barn.

Make the pass to the guy that will put the ball in the basketball.

[CavaliersFTW]

I would tend to agree with you off of numbers. But there has been recordings saying that Wilt would not pass the ball to a teammate unless he

a) was a good shooter
b) would shoot the ball when passed to

Otherwise, you probably weren't going to get the ball because he wanted the assist stat.

But given, he did see the whole court because he was so tall and seemed to have a good IQ. So I'm not saying he was bad. Just that his assist stats were over inflated due to his temperament towards wanting stats.

Yes, Wilt did that in 1968 season - not 67 though. It isn't unreasonable to conclude that Lebron is conscious of this too though, just like he and Wade have openly admitted to padding their fg% he's probably also conscious of this when generating assists. Padding stats is something a lot of players at the top do who are looking for an extra challenge or form of motivation during the regular season.

[Legends66NBA7]

ESPN is a source for sports hype and gossip, not sports history or facts.

Actually, they do have sports history and facts (infact, a lot of documentaries), but they need people to market agenda over that, so they only use selective criteria and programming.

[Rose'sACL]

What other reason is there to pass the ball?

If you on the court you wouldn't pass to the guy that can't hit the side of the barn.

Make the pass to the guy that will put the ball in the basketball.

you really have shit basketball knowledge or a really low IQ. if spurs played like this, they wouldn't have made finals this year.

[CavaliersFTW]

in all your posts you never consider that bird and wilt played in league which was way faster than the league lebron plays in.
stop ignoring the stats you don't like. tonymontana does that and i hate it. You are doing the same.

You must have glossed over the part where I did in fact acknowledge it actually... then I proceeded to explain why that is irrelevant to the assist numbers.

[Rose'sACL]

You must have glossed over the part where I did in fact acknowledge it actually... then I proceeded to explain why that is irrelevant to the assist numbers.

but it is not irrelevant and anyone with a brain who has watched NBA for longer than a few years will tell you the same.

[9erempiree]

The ball would run through the centers a majority of the time because they are tall and close to the basket. I am not surprised he got those assists. I'm not impressed to be honest.

It wasn't till the mid 70's and beyond that we started to see a PG play more of a distribution role.

At one time, the PG position was useless, they brought up the ball and immediately feed the center and that's when the team initiates it's offense.