https://www.yahoo.com/sports/video/wilt-chamberlain-fare-today-nba-140000517.html
IMO he would be DOMINANT. To me personally? Talk about Magic, Kareem, Michael, Kobe all you want. Wilt Chamberlain was the greatest basketball player ever. Check the record books if you'd like..............
I guess it depends on what you weight - personal success or winning. Wilt changed the game, was a scoring machine, but regularly got outplayed by Russell.
Jordan did both - dominated as an individual and then with his team in a much more competitive era. Jordan is the greatest, hands down. He had the will to win.
No doubt Wilt would be dominant in today's NBA, but he'd have a lot more mobile big men to contend with.
He would for sure get a "Wilt model" Chuck Taylor....
I am a big Laker fan, as I idolized Jerry West when I was young, but I am not sure Wilt would be as dominant as he was back in the 60's, but I think he would be an Allstar. He was a man amoung boys back in the day for the most part and he would not have that advantage in todays game.
Wilt was not a great shooter and did most of his scoring in the paint which would be harder today now that zone defenses are legal.
The game has changed considerably since the 1960's with more athletic and larger players now.
That is like asking if Babe Ruth would be as dominant in today's MLB. Hard to predict but pitchers today are bigger and stronger with many more throwing 95+ today. The shift and analytics identify batters weaknesses so he most likely would not hit as he did back in the day.
Chamberlain is the only player in NBA history to average at least 30 points and 20 rebounds per game in a season, which he accomplished seven times. He is also the only player to average at least 30 points and 20 rebounds per game over the entire course of his NBA career.
Enough said.
@robslob Wilt was great, he dominated very early on and they changed rules because of him, but those are just stats.
He only got 2 rings. Bill Russell outplayed Wilt when they went head-to-head. I'll take winning over stats.
There's a great book about the first few decades of the NBA called The Rivalry - highly recommend.
Chamberlain is the only player in NBA history to average at least 30 points and 20 rebounds per game in a season, which he accomplished seven times. He is also the only player to average at least 30 points and 20 rebounds per game over the entire course of his NBA career.
Enough said.
I am not discounting what he accomplished back in the day but those were different times. I doubt he would have those stats in today's NBA. It is different game now.
Babe Ruth hit more homeruns than whole teams back in the day. In today's game he might just be another HR hitting DH on many teams. And I say this as a diehard Yankee fan.
JMO but you can't compare stats of players from 50+ years ago to judge how they might play today. The games have just changed too much so it is not apples to apples.
I tend to agree with PCBob in that I that I think Russell's game would better translate in today's game than Wilt's. And as a Laker fan I hate the Celtics.
@bill_graham so you're a Packers-Lakers-Yankees fan - picking the top dogs, eh? 😉
LOL, yeah I could see why you would think that but I have been a fan of those teams since I was a kid in the 1960's so I have lived through the good and the bad years with each of them. So I am not a band wagon, fair weather fan by any means.
I did pick the Packers in the mid1960's as a preteen because they were a top team but I stuck with them after the Lombardi era and they stunk until the Farve era so I suffered a long drought.
As for the Lakers I became a fan when I read a book about Jerry West, who I idolized as a kid, so it was more related to him as opposed to them being a top team back then as, living and hour from NYC and two from Boston, I could easily have become a Knicks or Celtics fan. I suffered through the lean years with them after West and Wilt left as well before the Magic Johnson era.
For the Yankees I grew up an hour from NYC in upstate NY and became a fan because of my father and his brothers were big Yankee fans. My father always had their games on the radio, we watched the games on TV together on the local NY TV station, and he would take me to a game once a year usually on bat day. Like most fans in the 1960's I was a big Mantle fan and have lived through the ups and downs since the Steinbrenner's bought the team.
No worries PC as it was actually a valid question as all three teams have been winners lately. Yeah it looks like an interesting show based on the trailers I have seen on HBO.
The Laker organization has been a bit dysfunctional since Jerry Buss passed away and now Lebron is making noise about bailing out. Could be some lean years coming once he is gone.
bizarre what they did to Jerry West. This year might be a lean year for them.
Yeah I don't see them going anywhere this year but as long as Lebron and Davis are on the team they have a shot depending on the role players they bring in to support them. Westbrook has been a bust so far IMHO.
They have Lebron for a few more years and Davis for 5yrs
They are an old team and traded away most of there draft choices for the next 6-8 years so if they suck they have no way to bring in young talent and have to rely on FA signings. Could be some lean years coming sooner than later.
I respect your opinions, PorkChop and Mr. Graham.
However you haven't swayed me: Sometimes the best basketball player in the world doesn't win the Championship.
Hey, it's just my opinion. But in this case individual stats DO matter. Because in this case they are so astonomical they cannot be ignored.
Did you know that there were times in the 60's that Chamberlain was regularly getting QUADRUPLE doubles? But none of it is recognized because blocked shots did not become an official statistic until very late in his career.
And he DID win it all twice, once each with two different teams. But both were historic. Chamberlain's 76ers in the 60's ended the Celtics run of 8 consecutirve titles. The other one was with the Lakers who in '72 took out a Knicks team which included Willis Reed, Walt Frazier and Earl "The Pearl" Monroe. The Lakers won 33 consecutive games that year led by Chamberlain, Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, Happy Hairston and Jim McMillan. FINALLY Wilt had a supporting cast that was up to the opposition. West of course is a Hall of Famer.
I'll stick with Wilt. To each their own.
Never expected to change your mind rob but just offering a counterpoint. As I said Wilt was a man amongst boys just as Babe Ruth was for baseball in his day and both are legends and rightfully so.
I take nothing away from the man's talent or accomplishments but rather just don't think he has the same stats in today's NBA just as Ruth would not in today's Baseball but YMMV,
@robslob Not trying to sway you, an argument could be made for Jordan, Kareem, Wilt, or maybe even Lebron. To me, Jordan had it all, another gear that went beyond stats.
Wilt was a titan, top 3 greatest of all time. He was one of the most incredible all-around athletes of the 20th century, but his piers could still outplay him. It's not likely any player will ever come close to Wilt's rebound record. But it was a different game - the top 5 all-time rebounders all began their careers in the 1970s or earlier - Wilt, Russ, Kareem, Hayes, M Malone. The next guy on the list is Duncan and he couldn't crack the top 5 after playing for 20 years. Different rules in the paint, longer shots bouncing bouncing into the hands of more physical guards.
The '67 76ers was historic, one of the greatest teams in NBA history with Greer, Walker, and Cunningham. He finally bounced the C's from the playoffs and beat his old team in the finals.
Without Wilt, the Lakers went to the finals in 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968. They were always a great team with West and Baylor.
With Wilt, the Lakers won with a dominant team in 1972, but also lost the Finals in 1969, 1970, 1973. Also, the ABA popped up in 1967 and attracted Rick Barry, Connie Hawkins, Spencer Haywood, Dr J, Artis Gilmore - this was a time when the NBA was stretched thin more than ever.
He was 7-1, strong as a bull, could run like a gazelle - it was no fluke, imo Wilt would've been dominant in any era - we saw that when late in his career he schooled, at times, a young Kareem in those Lakers-Bucks games -
yeah March 2 1962, some 4G looking on in Hershey PA, no video known to exist of the greatest game of them all - just that postgame photo of The Big Dipper w/the 100 - it's awesome
No questoin about his ability Stephen but the game has changed and there are now plenty of athletic big men who run like gazelle's in the NBA now.
You have 6'9'' point guards now which back in Wilt's day would have been playing center as players Wilt's size were not as common.
I don't think anyone questions he would be an Allstar even in today's NBA but IMHO at least he would not be the man among boys like he was back on the 1960's. The game has changed considerably from the 1960's, is much faster, zone defenses are legal now and the center position is no longer the focus of the team like it was back then.
we saw that when late in his career he schooled, at times, a young Kareem in those Lakers-Bucks games -
Wilt gets the edge over Kareem individually, but if you look at the stats of the Bucks-Lakers games over Wilt's two final and Kareem's first two seasons, it's pretty even. Unfair comparison, Wilt at the end and Kareem still young. Kareem always said he had to play harder against Wilt than anyone.
https://stathead.com/basketball/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&player_id1=chambwi01&player_id2=abdulka01
What's unfair about it? Their careers overlapped, they faced off several times - those Lakers-Bucks games w/Jerry West, Oscar Robertson et al were epic - Wilt outplayed Kareem sometimes, vice versa other times - would've been the same w/say, Robert Parish, Shaq, Tim Duncan, Artis Gilmore, David Robinson etc....those guys I bet woulda said the same thing Kareem did about Wilt
was replying to topic, & still say Wilt would've been as dominant in today's game as in his era
@bill_graham just teasing. I imagine you are excited for this show
So I caught the second half of the first episode and enjoyed it. Need to go back and watch the first half hour.
They seem to have exaggerated peoples personalities but I guess they have to do that to make it interesting. Jack Kent Cook really came off a a racist ahole, Jerry Buss was portrayed a jovial personality who wanted to make everybody happy. Jerry West came off as unhappy as he felt his authority was being undermined.
Interesting that Jerry West wanted to draft Sidney Moncrief instead of Magic Johnson in the NBA draft and they portrayed him as very upset when he was overruled.
Also was interesting how they portrayed Magic as having confidence issue and thinking about going back to college for another year.
Looking forward to see how the rest of the series develops
