If you'd take Wilt directly from the 60's and put him in a NBA game today?

[IGOTGAME]

He couldn't shoot FT's.

I meant to say dwight howard there...phone did autocorrect

[ShaqAttack3234]

Please explain these things right can do that wilt can't.

Let's also remember wilt becomes the best athlete in the league from day one.

Dwight's footwork looked considerably better and in all of that footage of Wilt, it doesn't seem that he had a jump hook which is the best shot for a big man to have down, imo, Dwight has become very good with jump hooks with either hand, I haven't seen Wilt show he has a left hand equal to Dwight's either and I haven't seen him show the athleticism that Dwight has in any of those clips.

[Fatal9]

I see no reason to assume he wouldnt be great. Bigmen have not changed skillset wise in 50 years. He was past his prime outplaying guys who proved themselves vs modern players. Kareem played people who retired in like 2007..and spent years abusing modern centers wh played well into the 90s. Post injury older bigger wilt could handle him in his prime. What are the guys now gonna do that Kareem couldnt?

Some player's offensive skills translate better era-to-era than others. Kareem had maybe the best touch of any center within 10 feet of the basket, had the most unstoppable shot in history that will go in no matter who the competition, his skills are timeless, that's part of the reason he is so great. Same thing with Parish, he had that turnaround that was going to be as money as it was in the 70s as it was in the 90s. Some players can refine their skills, some can't. You can't use the most talented or skilled players who had tremendous longevity to chain everything together and say everyone from that era would manage to do well. I can use that logic to say Mikan would dominate today. Mikan retired a season before Russell entered the league who faced Wilt who faced Kareem who faced Hakeem who would be the best C in the league today. Some players would be more hurt than the other, and Wilt IMO is one of them specifically when it comes to scoring (though rebounding/defense he'd be dominant).

Nothing in any of the footage I've seen from Wilt suggests he'd be a 25+ ppg scorer (ESPECIALLY in a setting where he wouldn't be allowed to play 46-48 mpg). I know the footage isn't that much, just 4-5 games (well "halfs") I think from the 60s, but you show me random 4-5 games of KAJ or MJ or Magic, you can get an understanding of their skill-sets, their moves, their ability to post up etc etc. Wilt in the post just looks...awkward...the way he dribbles, it's for far too long to succeed against today's team defenses. I kind of wish they kept track of turnovers because I'm betting he averaged some outrageous number. His footwork is raw. His FT shooting makes me question his shooting ability and touch around the basket. His efficiency in his era wasn't even that great, especially in the playoffs and compared to guys like Oscar/West (51 TS% volume shooting center? That's terrible). I just don't respect him as a scorer. I find it suspicious that he is literally the only "great" scorer who was asked to become like 4th or 5th scoring option on his team for them to succeed, and when he did, his team's offense became much much better. If a guy is THAT great at scoring, you don't ask him to do that.

In his volume scoring years, his teams offensively weren't even doing that well. Maybe a bit of Adrian Dantley syndrome going on (without the efficiency). If he played the normal 38-40 mpg in most of those years, his scoring averages in most of those years (with wider lane) would peak out at 31-32 ppg. And that's with the outrageous pace he played at, which normally I don't think affects centers but Wilt seemed to get a lot of his offense from offensive rebounding (and 60s were prime time to do this with a) lot of missed shots due to poor shooting and b) the super high pace). He might actually be a better team player nowadays because no team would make him a volume shooter (not efficient enough), and would be basically playing the rebounding/shotblocker/finisher role.

[kaiiu]

Ryan hollins. Tyson Chandler if he improves his work ethic

[IGOTGAME]

Dwight's footwork looked considerably better and in all of that footage of Wilt, it doesn't seem that he had a jump hook which is the best shot for a big man to have down, imo, Dwight has become very good with jump hooks with either hand, I haven't seen Wilt show he has a left hand equal to Dwight's either and I haven't seen him show the athleticism that Dwight has in any of those clips.

Wilt has shown considerable woodwork. He has shown a doorstep, face up jumper, and the finger roll over each shoulder. At that time there was no need for him use the jumphook because the fingeroll was there. This the same move sabonis would use on shaq, drob etc. And have a lot of success. Unlike dwight, wilt understood his moves and why they worked instead of just arbitrarily picking a move like dwight often does.

[imdaman99]

it depends, how many chicks is he banging every night? he could bang 5-10 a night back then and get away with it because he was a physical specimen. in the 90s, since MJ shut down everyone even centers, he could have averaged 18 and 10 in that era.

[millwad]

Some player's offensive skills translate better era-to-era than others. Kareem had maybe the best touch of any center within 10 feet of the basket, had the most unstoppable shot in history that will go in no matter who the competition, his skills are timeless, that's part of the reason he is so great. Same thing with Parish, he had that turnaround that was going to be as money as it was in the 70s as it was in the 90s. Some players can refine their skills, some can't. You can't use the most talented or skilled players who had tremendous longevity to chain everything together and say everyone from that era would manage to do well. I can use that logic to say Mikan would dominate today. Mikan retired a season before Russell entered the league who faced Wilt who faced Kareem who faced Hakeem who would be the best C in the league today. Some players would be more hurt than the other, and Wilt IMO is one of them specifically when it comes to scoring (though rebounding/defense he'd be dominant).

Nothing in any of the footage I've seen from Wilt suggests he'd be a 25+ ppg scorer (ESPECIALLY in a setting where he wouldn't be allowed to play 46-48 mpg). I know the footage isn't that much, just 4-5 games (well "halfs") I think from the 60s, but you show me random 4-5 games of KAJ or MJ or Magic, you can get an understanding of their skill-sets, their moves, their ability to post up etc etc. Wilt in the post just looks...awkward...the way he dribbles, it's for far too long to succeed against today's team defenses. I kind of wish they kept track of turnovers because I'm betting he averaged some outrageous number. His footwork is raw. His FT shooting makes me question his shooting ability and touch around the basket. His efficiency in his era wasn't even that great, especially in the playoffs and compared to guys like Oscar/West (51 TS% volume shooting center? That's terrible). I just don't respect him as a scorer.

In his volume scoring years, his teams offensively weren't even doing that well. Maybe a bit of Adrian Dantley syndrome going on (without the efficiency). If he played the normal 38-40 mpg in most of those years, his scoring averages in most of those years (with wider lane) would peak out at 31-32 ppg. And that's with the outrageous pace he played at, which normally I don't think affects centers but Wilt seemed to get a lot of his offense from offensive rebounding (and 60s were prime time to do this with a) lot of missed shots due to poor shooting and b) the super high pace). He might actually be a better player nowadays because no team would make him a volume shooter (not efficient enough), and would be basically playing the rebounding/shotblocker/finisher role.

Great post!
First of all, I couldn't agree more about Kareem's offensive game, his skills are really timeless and he would be just as effective now as or even more compared to the 90's, he was that skilled as a center. In my eyes he's easily the best center ever.

And yes, I agree completely about that you just can't assume that just because someone from one era, lets say Kareem, did great during a long timespan, that everyone else from the era before that faced him during the beginning of his career would be just as good or effective just because Kareem was.

[ShaqAttack3234]

Wilt has shown considerable woodwork. He has shown a doorstep, face up jumper, and the finger roll over each shoulder. At that time there was no need for him use the jumphook because the fingeroll was there. This the same move sabonis would use on shaq, drob etc. And have a lot of success. Unlike dwight, wilt understood his moves and why they worked instead of just arbitrarily picking a move like dwight often does.

Show me examples of Wilt's footwork, it's really unimpressive and I've watched all of the footage that's out there. A jump hook is a much better shot to have than a finger roll, it's much harder to block. Haven't seen that face up jumper, I've seen the turnaround bank shot, though I'm not sure what kind of percentage he shot it at. And he really didn't seem to be able to get into his move quickly or have real counters.

[28renyoy]

Did Jlauber really just say that Wilt's bankshot was as good as Dunca's? wow

[Fatal9]

Did Jlauber really just say that Wilt's bankshot was as good as Dunca's? wow

He was making 15 foot turnaround shots efficiently and had "KG range" but at the same time happened to be one of the worst FT shooters in history. Wilt is just a unique case I guess

[Psileas]

Wilt has shown considerable woodwork. He has shown a doorstep, face up jumper, and the finger roll over each shoulder. At that time there was no need for him use the jumphook because the fingeroll was there. This the same move sabonis would use on shaq, drob etc. And have a lot of success. Unlike dwight, wilt understood his moves and why they worked instead of just arbitrarily picking a move like dwight often does.

True. Honestly, the only reason I find most people diss Wilt's scoring ability is because they watch his 70's Laker self, after his major injury, who was definitely not even close to being as fast and agile as his young self. Among younger Wilt's games, watch the '62 ASG or the '64 half against the Celtics (yeah, as if more even exist...). He hits fade-aways, bank shots, hell, just his offensive rebounding and his ability to get the ball close and finish should be enough to qualify him as a scoring threat. He could very well be an alternative Shaq version, with less bulk, more vertical game, without having to pattern any move to dominate.

His dribbling looks a bit awkward, but again not that much when you watch his younger self play. Again, people are too much in a hurry to judge him based on his '70 (post-injury) or '72 or '73 games. That version is by far at its offensive worst, and it's evident even by the standards of his own era: He would have games when he'd take only like 7-8 shots vs the same guys he had no problem taking 20 or even 30 shots against some years earlier. In 1962, he was averaging 55 ppg against Bellamy. One decade later, about 1/4 of it. Yes, defenses did become better, but not THAT much better. Definitely NOT Bellamy himself.

I can use that logic to say Mikan would dominate today. Mikan retired a season before Russell entered the league who faced Wilt who faced Kareem who faced Hakeem who would be the best C in the league today. Some players would be more hurt than the other, and Wilt IMO is one of them specifically when it comes to scoring (though rebounding/defense he'd be dominant).

Only, Mikan in 1956, with black men still a scarcity, but with the shot clock introduced, was limited to 10 ppg. It's not as if he was that old, either, although he definitely was out of his physical prime. Mikan scared practically nobody in 1956, unlike up to 2 years before. I have a much harder time picturing Mikan dominating today than Wilt.

[Fatal9]

Only, Mikan in 1956, with black men still a scarcity, but with the shot clock introduced, was limited to 10 ppg. It's not as if he was that old, either, although he definitely was out of his physical prime. Mikan scared practically nobody in 1956, unlike up to 2 years before. I have a much harder time picturing Mikan dominating today than Wilt.

In 1962, out of all the players in the league who played 10+ mpg (90 players total), only 31 were black (that includes mixed players like Wilkens). So 66% of the league was white and that percentage is probably closer to or higher than 70% if you factor in the bench scrubs of each team. The white-black card can be played for the 60s too, especially the early part. So many of the 50s players were playing in the 60s, some succeeded, some didn't, why? Because like I said, some players adjust better and possess the necessary skills while others don't. Can't use a couple of players who had great longevity/timeless skills to act like nothing would change across eras.

[Scholar]

I'd imagine Wilt could be one of the better players in the league today, but this is another "what if" question, so . I can't really say I know what would happen. Maybe Wilt would be dropping 25 and 12.

[Jasper]

Picture a totem post in the center of the lane controling traffic , the basket , the defense , and well the offense thru him.

I saw him play , I'd say he would dial down his offense to :

30 ppg 20 boards (10+ dimes) 7+ blocks.

And if he ever took instructions from me - he would shoot 70% from the line

[Psileas]

In 1962, out of all the players in the league who played 10+ mpg (90 players total), only 31 were black (that includes mixed players like Wilkens). So 66% of the league was white and that percentage is probably closer to or higher than 70% if you factor in the bench scrubs of each team. The white-black card can be played for the 60s too, especially the early part. So many of the 50s players were playing in the 60s, some succeeded, some didn't, why? Because like I said, some players adjust better and possess the necessary skills while others don't. Can't use a couple of players who had great longevity/timeless skills to act like nothing would change across eras.

Wilt produced pretty well against black men, as well. Bellamy was the guy against whom Wilt was the most productive in '62 (and maybe other seasons), and was far from white. You can't play the "white" card on all the white players, either. A guy like Lovellette or, to a lesser extent, Red Kerr, wasn't "white". He was simply good enough to qualify, anyway. He played "blacker" than a lot of blacks. As a fan of the 80's Celtics yourself, you must know very well how this "white" rule doesn't apply nearly as much as some think.
You did well to mention the scrubs. Most of them whites. Not an easy era for scrubs, though. Pretty many guys with huge minutes + smaller rosters. That's why, when it comes to mentioning color, I'd rather see the distribution of minutes played per color, instead of the number of players per color. Here's a clue: In 1962, 40% of the top-20 in mpg were blacks. In 1966 (Wilt's last scoring title), it was 65%. But, I bet you, he still did pretty well against blacks, as well, or against all-stars, whatever you want to choose.