[LClion4life]

Wilt was the only player to average 50 points and 25 rebounds in a season. Wilt averaged 18.5 rebounds per game in his worst season. Shaq averaged 13.9 rpg in his best season.

Shaq's number of All-Star appearances during his career is a reflection of the number of years he played. It took Shaq 19 years to accumulate career stats that still do not compare to the one's that Wilt put up in 14 years. Wilt retired while he was still in great physical condition.

Wilt led the NBA in minutes played per game 8 times. In Wilt's 14th and last season, he played 43 minutes per game. Shaq only managed to average 40 minutes per game (40.0 to be exact) once in his entire career. He could have hung around the league for many more years as his skills declined like Shaq did, but instead he retired after a great season.

You guys who think that Shaq, who was overweight and under-conditioned for most of his career, would have dominated a well conditioned, skilled, 7-1, 275 lb. center like Wilt Chamberlain are just kidding yourself. Wilt would have scored at will against Shaq, just as he against the centers who tried to guard him in his day. Wilt would have been too quick for Shaq and he would have consistently beaten Shaq up and down the floor.

As I said, I really like Shaq, but it is a shame that he never played up to his full potential. Wilt did play up to his potential and he was the most dominant center in the history of the game by a wide margin. Instead of sticking around for a paycheck as his skills declined, Wilt retired with many good seasons ahead of him following a very productive season.

Comparing numbers is just about useless. And while I agree that Wilt would score at will on Shaq, it's also pretty self-evident that Shaq would do the same to Wilt. He did average 50 and 25 but what would he have done in the day and age of Shaq in his prime? I can assure you his numbers wouldn't be anywhere close to the same. Now it isn't even about which was more dominant, it's about you using inflated numbers to support your case in an era that a 7' player was nearly unheard of.

[Bob Seger]

Let me rephrase.
None of these guys could guard Shaq.
Shaq got a few blocks in his day but most of the time he was lucky to be at half-court by the time the ball was coming back the other way.
Shaq's size in strength simply isn't something those guys ever had to play against.

Before Wilt played in the NBA, he played for the Harlem Globetrotters. One of stunts they did was for Wilt to pick Meadowlark Lemon up and toss him in the air several feet and then continue on with whatever play it is they had. Meadowlark stated that he weighed 210 pounds at the time and is on record as saying that "Chamberlain may be the strongest man to ever play the game". It would take a pretty strong man to throw someone the size of Lemon several feet up in the air. I have no doubt he could more than easily hold is own. When Wilt played for the Lakers he was right at 300 pounds as well. The difference between the two is he was a chisled (in shape) 300 pounds. Heck, it may be that Shaq is the one that wouldn't have been able to handle Wilt.

Did you ever see Wilt play zaga fan?

[Hoot Gibson]

Comparing numbers is just about useless. And while I agree that Wilt would score at will on Shaq, it's also pretty self-evident that Shaq would do the same to Wilt. He did average 50 and 25 but what would he have done in the day and age of Shaq in his prime? I can assure you his numbers wouldn't be anywhere close to the same. Now it isn't even about which was more dominant, it's about you using inflated numbers to support your case in an era that a 7' player was nearly unheard of.

How can somebody who averaged far more points, far more rebounds, and more assists not have been a more dominant player in his time? I can assure you that Shaq, in the bloated state in which he spent most of his career would have been gasping for air trying to keep up with Wilt and he would have been much too tired to have scored on him at will. Shaq's teammates would have resorted to fouling Chamberlain because Shaq would not have been close enough to him much of the time.

If the quality of big centers is so much better today than in Wilt's time, then how do you explain an out of shape Shaq being so dominant? Left to defend each other one-on-one in a full court game, Wilt vs. Shaq would have been a total mismatch. Had Shaq worked to stay in top condition, he would have been much more dominant than he was. Shaq stopped himself from rating a higher spot on the list of all time great centers. Wilt sits alone at the top of that list.

If Shaq had faced a center as good as Wilt during his career, it might have motivated him to work much harder in the off season. In his prime, Shaq faced no centers who could really challenge him in the paint. Wilt had Bill Russell and then later Abdul-Jabbar challenging his position as the league's top center. Maybe it was that competition that motivated Chamberlain to stay so fit.

[Bob Seger]

How can somebody who averaged far more points, far more rebounds, and more assists not have been a more dominant player in his time? I can assure you that Shaq, in the bloated state in which he spent most of his career would have been gasping for air trying to keep up with Wilt and he would have been much too tired to have scored on him at will. Shaq's teammates would have resorted to fouling Chamberlain because Shaq would not have been close enough to him much of the time.

If the quality of big centers is so much better today than in Wilt's time, then how do you explain an out of shape Shaq being so dominant? Left to defend each other one-on-one in a full court game, Wilt vs. Shaq would have been a total mismatch. Had Shaq worked to stay in top condition, he would have been much more dominant than he was. Shaq stopped himself from rating a higher spot on the list of all time great centers. Wilt sits alone at the top of that list.

If Shaq had faced a center as good as Wilt during his career, it might have motivated him to work much harder in the off season. In his prime, Shaq faced no centers who could really challenge him in the paint. Wilt had Bill Russell and then later Abdul-Jabbar challenging his position as the league's top center. Maybe it was that competition that motivated Chamberlain to stay so fit.

Going out on a limb here, but I would say that he felt that the ladies liked him like that. A man would have to be in tip top shape to do what he claimed he did.:biggrin:

[Hoot Gibson]

Going out on a limb here, but I would say that he felt that the ladies liked him like that. A man would have to be in tip top shape to do what he claimed he did.:biggrin:

:Thumbs: Yeah, that probably was a motivator too. Maybe my memory is failing me, but at the time I don't remember him making headlines with his love life. The first I remember hearing about his nightlife was after he retired and wrote a book.

Wilt's night time conquests make the fact that he averaged over 43 minutes a game in his final season even more amazing. The man had energy to burn.

[Bob Seger]

:Thumbs: Yeah, that probably was a motivator too. Maybe my memory is failing me, but at the time I don't remember him making headlines with his love life. The first I remember hearing about his nightlife was after he retired and wrote a book.

Wilt's night time conquests make the fact that he averaged over 43 minutes a game in his final season even more amazing. The man had energy to burn.

And all before they invented Red Bull too.


Lets see here, we take 20,000 and divide that by .........shew, it's just too mind boggling to try to figure out what the nightly average would be.:biggrin:

[Panther Thunder]

And all before they invented Red Bull too.


Lets see here, we take 20,000 and divide that by .........shew, it's just too mind boggling to try to figure out what the nightly average would be.:biggrin:

I looked it up once. 1.8 per day.

[LClion4life]

Shaq was in pretty good shape in his prime. It wasn't until the end of his Laker era that he started to get out of shape.

[zaga_fan]

Wilt was the only player to average 50 points and 25 rebounds in a season. Wilt averaged 18.5 rebounds per game in his worst season. Shaq averaged 13.9 rpg in his best season.

Shaq's number of All-Star appearances during his career is a reflection of the number of years he played. It took Shaq 19 years to accumulate career stats that still do not compare to the one's that Wilt put up in 14 years. Wilt retired while he was still in great physical condition.

Wilt led the NBA in minutes played per game 8 times. In Wilt's 14th and last season, he played 43 minutes per game. Shaq only managed to average 40 minutes per game (40.0 to be exact) once in his entire career. He could have hung around the league for many more years as his skills declined like Shaq did, but instead he retired after a great season.

You guys who think that Shaq, who was overweight and under-conditioned for most of his career, would have dominated a well conditioned, skilled, 7-1, 275 lb. center like Wilt Chamberlain are just kidding yourself. Wilt would have scored at will against Shaq, just as he against the centers who tried to guard him in his day. Wilt would have been too quick for Shaq and he would have consistently beaten Shaq up and down the floor.

As I said, I really like Shaq, but it is a shame that he never played up to his full potential. Wilt did play up to his potential and he was the most dominant center in the history of the game by a wide margin. Instead of sticking around for a paycheck as his skills declined, Wilt retired with many good seasons ahead of him following a very productive season.

The game is different now.
Wilt's numbers are bloated.
Put Wilt in his prime in today's game and he will get his points and boards, but he would be lucky to go 50 and 25 a couple of times, let alone average that over the course of a season.
You can't camp in the paint anymore and if you even touch someone as the balls coming off the glass you get a loose-ball foul.
I don't care how many good seasons he had left in him or how impressive his numbers were.
I understand your 80 years old and you want to get on here and hate on players like Jason Kidd and Shaq, reminiscing about the good ole' days and how much better those players were, but it is an argument that neither of us will win.
If you think I'm just going to give up and tell you you're right, I'm not.
I don't tap, bro

[zaga_fan]

Before Wilt played in the NBA, he played for the Harlem Globetrotters. One of stunts they did was for Wilt to pick Meadowlark Lemon up and toss him in the air several feet and then continue on with whatever play it is they had. Meadowlark stated that he weighed 210 pounds at the time and is on record as saying that "Chamberlain may be the strongest man to ever play the game". It would take a pretty strong man to throw someone the size of Lemon several feet up in the air. I have no doubt he could more than easily hold is own. When Wilt played for the Lakers he was right at 300 pounds as well. The difference between the two is he was a chisled (in shape) 300 pounds. Heck, it may be that Shaq is the one that wouldn't have been able to handle Wilt.

Did you ever see Wilt play zaga fan?

Never saw the man play live.
He was retired before I was born.
I'm an old school guy and have collected countless old basketball games and highlights and have a lot of Wilt actually, even some of his pre-globetrotter stuff.
He is without a doubt one of the best, maybe the best, but I can't say because that's up to opinion.
Watching him move up and down the court and blow past smaller players like he was a guard is amazing to say the least.
My argument is simply that you can't compare the men accurately since they played in separate generations.
Shaq was 1 when Wilt retired.
It's like Michael Jordan and Lebron to the 3rd degree.
I can't stand Lebron on any plain of existence
But I'm not so sure that if him and Jordan went one-on-one when Jordan was at the top of his game that Lebron wouldn't be able to handle him on offense and defense.
However.....
I will never know.

[Hoot Gibson]

Shaq was in pretty good shape in his prime. It wasn't until the end of his Laker era that he started to get out of shape.

His stats say otherwise. Shaq played in 81 games in each of his first two seasons in the league. Over the next 17 seasons, he never again played a season without missing at least one game. In his last season with Orlando, Shaq missed 28 games. During his first three seasons with the Lakers, he missed 86 games.

In comparison, Wilt led the NBA in minutes played in 8 of his 14 seasons. He played 82 games in each of his final three seasons in the league.

Hauling around upwards of 320 pounds took its toll on Shaq's career.

For those who think that Shaq was roughed up more than Chamberlain, the stats there also tell a different story. In 14 seasons and 1,045 games, Wilt shot 610 more free throws than Shaq did in 19 seasons and 1,207 games. Shaq was not the first poor free throw shooting center to get hacked every game because opposing teams could not stop him.

[Hoot Gibson]

The game is different now.
Wilt's numbers are bloated.
Put Wilt in his prime in today's game and he will get his points and boards, but he would be lucky to go 50 and 25 a couple of times, let alone average that over the course of a season.
You can't camp in the paint anymore and if you even touch someone as the balls coming off the glass you get a loose-ball foul.
I don't care how many good seasons he had left in him or how impressive his numbers were.
I understand your 80 years old and you want to get on here and hate on players like Jason Kidd and Shaq, reminiscing about the good ole' days and how much better those players were, but it is an argument that neither of us will win.
If you think I'm just going to give up and tell you you're right, I'm not.
I don't tap, bro

Yeah, I get it. Some people just will not admit when they are whipped. :biggrin:

It's amazing to see so many youngsters convinced that a 7'1" center who was in great condition throughout his career and holds nearly every NBA scoring record there is would not have outplayed an injury-plaqued, slow afoot, overweight 7'1" center had he played in the same era.

Shaq has been the best center of his generation but he forfeited any chance that he might have had of being the greatest center to ever play by not staying in shape.

[LClion4life]

In his prime he would have threw Wilt around like nothing.

[Hoot Gibson]

In his prime he would have threw Wilt around like nothing.

:lmao: I am not sure that Shaq ever reached his prime. I never realized how much time Shaq spent on the disabled list until you guys started tooting your horn about how he was the most dominant center of all time. To be dominant, you have to actually be on the floor. Injuries and poor conditioning go hand-in-hand.

The way Shaq and his fans always whined about the "Hack-a-Shaq" defense, I assumed that he made more trips to the foul line than any player in history. I was shocked to discover that Wilt was hacked much more often in a far shorter career. I just never realized it because Wilt never made it a big issue.

[LClion4life]

http://darryl616.blogspot.com/2011/06/sh...-with.html
He doesn't look too out of shape here. You make it out to be like he was 340 pounds his entire career.

[Hoot Gibson]

http://darryl616.blogspot.com/2011/06/sh...-with.html
He doesn't look too out of shape here. You make it out to be like he was 340 pounds his entire career.

Look at his stats. He peaked in his second season and had trouble playing a full season for most of the rest of his career. Shaq entered the draft at 294 pounds, with a world of potential. He was not the most dominant college center to ever play even when he was in great shape, although that was more his coach, Dale Brown's fault, than his own. (Both Wilt and Abdul-Jabbar forced the NCAA to change the rules of the game to level the playing field.)

What nobody has explained yet is how a 6'7" Dennis Rodman was able to post much better rebounding numbers than Shaq, if Shaq was the most dominant center ever to play the game. Shaq never once led the NBA in rebounding for a season. Do you seriously believe that Wilt Chamberlain, a very athletic 7-1, 275 pound center, would not have led the league in rebounding over Rodman in his prime?

Wilt led the NBA in rebounding in 11 of his 14 seasons and he missed all but 12 games in one of the seasons that he failed to win the rebounding title. In fact, he led the league in rebounding in each of his final three seasons in the NBA - and those were seasons during which Kareem was in his prime.

[LClion4life]

Actually, Shaq's best season was 99-00 with LAL. And both would consistently score on each other, if you say otherwise, wow.

[Hoot Gibson]

Actually, Shaq's best season was 99-00 with LAL. And both would consistently score on each other, if you say otherwise, wow.

Shaq's stats in 99-00 were almost identical to those of his second season in the league but I agree that they were slightly better. After the 99-00, Shaq's career was all downhill, although he had three more very good seasons.

Dominance involves more than scoring. Shaq was not a dominant rebounder, as I have pointed out. Wilt was the greatest rebounder in the history of the game. Even if Shaq were Wilt's equal as a scorer, which the stats show was not true, there is no way anybody can argue that Shaq was Wilt's equal as a rebounder when Shaq could not even manage to lead the NBA in rebounding for a single season. Nor can you argue that Shaq was a more rugged player, considering Wilt led the league in minutes played 8 times, while Shaq never came close to leading the league even once.

Finally, what do you consider "dominant" to mean anyway? The stats show that Wilt was the most dominant player of his time - at least as a rebounder and a scorer (Russell was the best defender). Shaq, on the other hand, was neither the most dominant scorer (Jordan was), the most dominant rebounder (Rodman was), nor the most dominant defensive player (many were better) of his time - and he missed far more games because of injuries than Wilt did. Yet you claim that Shaq was the most dominant player of all time? I do not follow that logic at all.

[Wildcatk23]

Shaq's stats in 99-00 were almost identical to those of his second season in the league but I agree that they were slightly better. After the 99-00, Shaq's career was all downhill, although he had three more very good seasons.

Dominance involves more than scoring. Shaq was not a dominant rebounder, as I have pointed out. Wilt was the greatest rebounder in the history of the game. Even if Shaq were Wilt's equal as a scorer, which the stats show was not true, there is no way anybody can argue that Shaq was Wilt's equal as a rebounder when Shaq could not even manage to lead the NBA in rebounding for a single season. Nor can you argue that Shaq was a more rugged player, considering Wilt led the league in minutes played 8 times, while Shaq never came close to leading the league even once.

Finally, what do you consider "dominant" to mean anyway? The stats show that Wilt was the most dominant player of his time - at least as a rebounder and a scorer (Russell was the best defender). Shaq, on the other hand, was neither the most dominant scorer (Jordan was), the most dominant rebounder (Rodman was), nor the most dominant defensive player (many were better) of his time - and he missed far more games because of injuries than Wilt did. Yet you claim that Shaq was the most dominant player of all time? I do not follow that logic at all.

Wilt was the most dominant rebounder of his time due to the fact that there was only a few people that was even that tall in the league. Let alone his size. Russeil was 6"9 and did work on Wilt. Complete work on him. There was what a total of 8 teams? and like 70 games? Compared to 120 now? 50 Extra games a season for shaq. Against Far better big man.

[Aslan]

In a purely half court game, I agree that Shaq was a terror offensively - but so was Chamberlain and Wilt could also run the floor with any big man who has played the game. Those who say that Shaq was the most dominant big man ever to play sound silly.

Milwaukee finished dead last in its division the year before the Bucks drafted Kareem and won the NBA title. That is dominance. Kareem is the NBA's all time leading scorer and he says that Wilt was the greatest scorer that he has ever seen play.

That should end all discussion of whether Shaq was the most dominant big man of all time - but kids will be kids and nobody wants to believe that somebody from their grandfather's generation could have possibly been better than any of their contemporaries.

Shaq is the most dominant player to play during most of BGR's members lifetimes. Most of us haven't seen Kareem or Wilt play so we really can't compare them to Shaq, other than their stats.

[Hoot Gibson]

Wilt was the most dominant rebounder of his time due to the fact that there was only a few people that was even that tall in the league. Let alone his size. Russeil was 6"9 and did work on Wilt. Complete work on him. There was what a total of 8 teams? and like 70 games? Compared to 120 now? 50 Extra games a season for shaq. Against Far better big man.

Wilt played 72 games his rookie season. After that, he played 79, 80, 80, 80, 73, 79, 81, 82, 81, 12, 82, 82, and 82 games.

Including playoff games, Wilt played an average of 86 game per season. Shaq averaged playing only 75 games per season. So this is yet another argument on Shaq's behalf that just does not hold water.

Wilt's career averages against Russell were 28.7 points and 28.7 rebounds. I am not sure where you got the idea that Russell did "complete work on him." Russell averaged 14.5 points and 23.7 rebounds against Wilt. Wilt scored 50 or more points against Russell 7 times during his career. Yet, Russell played the most effective defense against Wilt of any opposing center and Boston won most of the games in which Chamberlain and Russell played.

League expansion dilutes the talent in professional sports leagues. While I agree that today's players are generally bigger, faster, and stronger than past generations, they are also prone to be less fundamentally sound. That is why relatively non-athletic guys like Steve Nash can still excel in the NBA. Wilt's numbers were somewhat inflated because he was so far ahead of his time athletically but the competition that he faced was nowhere near as weak as what today's younger generation wants to believe.

[Wildcatk23]

Wilt played 72 games his rookie season. After that, he played 79, 80, 80, 80, 73, 79, 81, 82, 81, 12, 82, 82, and 82 games.

Including playoff games, Wilt played an average of 86 game per season. Shaq averaged playing only 75 games per season. So this is yet another argument on Shaq's behalf that just does not hold water.

Wilt's career averages against Russell were 28.7 points and 28.7 rebounds. I am not sure where you got the idea that Russell did "complete work on him." Russell averaged 14.5 points and 23.7 rebounds against Wilt. Wilt scored 50 or more points against Russell 7 times during his career. Yet, Russell played the most effective defense against Wilt of any opposing center and Boston won most of the games in which Chamberlain and Russell played.

League expansion dilutes the talent in professional sports leagues. While I agree that today's players are generally bigger, faster, and stronger than past generations, they are also prone to be less fundamentally sound. That is why relatively non-athletic guys like Steve Nash can still excel in the NBA. Wilt's numbers were somewhat inflated because he was so far ahead of his time athletically but the competition that he faced was nowhere near as weak as what today's younger generation wants to believe.

14 seasons compared to Shaqs 19. Of Course his last few years will kill his numbers.

Who did wilt really play against that could have given him any disturbance? Shaq played against far better competition. 3 people fouling him. HAck a shack. Shaq would have bodied Wilt around. Made him look small.

[Hoot Gibson]

14 seasons compared to Shaqs 19. Of Course his last few years will kill his numbers.

Who did wilt really play against that could have given him any disturbance? Shaq played against far better competition. 3 people fouling him. HAck a shack. Shaq would have bodied Wilt around. Made him look small.

Wilt was fouled far more than Shaq was. Look it up. You can compare any period of Wilt's career to any period of Shaq's career and you cannot make the argument that Shaq was a more rugged player than Wilt. Shaq has been injury prone throughout his career. Wilt missed most of one season due to injury, worked hard on rehab, and then closed out his career by playing in 246 consecutive games for the Lakers.

Do some research. You have already claimed that Bill Russell owned Wilt defensively but you were obviously misinformed. At the peak of his career, holding Wilt to under a 25-25 game was a good defensive effort. Apparently, you are also unimpressed that Wilt out rebounded Kareem every year that both were in the league - and BTW, Kareem was also a better rebounder and scorer than Shaq.

At 7-1, 275, nobody would make Wilt look small. Basketball is a full court game and Shaq could not run the floor with Wilt, and that would result in many mismatches as Shaq tried to catch his breath at the other end of the court.

[Aslan]

Hoot, simple question: Do you think Wilt would've averaged 50 & 20 in his prime in this era of basketball?

[LClion4life]

Shaq could have ran with Wilt before his first major injury.

[Wildcatk23]

Wilt was fouled far more than Shaq was. Look it up. You can compare any period of Wilt's career to any period of Shaq's career and you cannot make the argument that Shaq was a more rugged player than Wilt. Shaq has been injury prone throughout his career. Wilt missed most of one season due to injury, worked hard on rehab, and then closed out his career by playing in 246 consecutive games for the Lakers.

Do some research. You have already claimed that Bill Russell owned Wilt defensively but you were obviously misinformed. At the peak of his career, holding Wilt to under a 25-25 game was a good defensive effort. Apparently, you are also unimpressed that Wilt out rebounded Kareem every year that both were in the league - and BTW, Kareem was also a better rebounder and scorer than Shaq.

At 7-1, 275, nobody would make Wilt look small. Basketball is a full court game and Shaq could not run the floor with Wilt, and that would result in many mismatches as Shaq tried to catch his breath at the other end of the court.

I never claimed Wilt Owned him DEfensively. I claimed Russel Did work on him. Offensively. And 2 inches smaller.

Point is, Wilt wouldnt average 25,15 in this era. Dwight Howard or Shaq in 99 would show wilt a completely new Style of basketball.

[zaga_fan]

Hoot, simple question: Do you think Wilt would've averaged 50 & 20 in his prime in this era of basketball?

I'd be surprised if he would answer that one....
He has dodged getting close to that topic all week.

[LClion4life]

I'd be surprised if he would answer that one....
He has dodged getting close to that topic all week.

:Thumbs:

[Hoot Gibson]

Hoot, simple question: Do you think Wilt would've averaged 50 & 20 in his prime in this era of basketball?

I believe that he would have easily averaged 20 rebounds/game for his career. I think his career scoring average would have been somewhere in the 25 to 30 ppg range, depending on how good his supporting cast was. Shaq had the physique to put up those kind of numbers when he entered the NBA but he lacked the desire and work ethic that Wilt had. Who knows, in today's NBA environment, maybe Wilt would have launched a second and third career as a rap singer and movie star too.

We will never know how the two would have performed against one another but I find it amusing that most of the current generation seems to believe that it is impossible that a 7-1, 275 lb. former college track star could have been as good as a slow (but quick), overweight center of roughly the same height from their own generation.

The most amazing stat to me is that Wilt led the league in minutes played 8 times in his career. That kind of durability and stamina is unheard of for centers playing today. Dwight Howard, who promotes himself as "Superman" led NBA center this season by playing an average of 37.6 minutes/game.

During his career, Wilt played in 1045 regular season games in which he played 47,859 minutes - an average of 45.8 minutes/game. Shaq averaged only 34.7 minutes per game over his career.

In the season in which Wilt averaged 50 ppg, he averaged playing 48.5 minutes per game because of overtime games. He rested only 8 minutes the entire season. Wilt ranks #4 all time in minutes played, despite playing only 14 seasons.

If you think about it, a lot of Wilt's eye-popping stats are the result of his ability to avoid injuries, foul trouble, and having the stamina that allowed him to remain on the court so much for his entire career. Had he played 10 minutes a game less, as Shaq did, his stats would be much less impressive.

[zaga_fan]

I believe that he would have easily averaged 20 rebounds/game for his career. I think his career scoring average would have been somewhere in the 25 to 30 ppg range, depending on how good his supporting cast was. Shaq had the physique to put up those kind of numbers when he entered the NBA but he lacked the desire and work ethic that Wilt had. Who knows, in today's NBA environment, maybe Wilt would have launched a second and third career as a rap singer and movie star too.

We will never know how the two would have performed against one another but I find it amusing that most of the current generation seems to believe that it is impossible that a 7-1, 275 lb. former college track star could have been as good as a slow (but quick), overweight center of roughly the same height from their own generation.

The most amazing stat to me is that Wilt led the league in minutes played 8 times in his career. That kind of durability and stamina is unheard of for centers playing today. Dwight Howard, who promotes himself as "Superman" led NBA center this season by playing an average of 37.6 minutes/game.

During his career, Wilt played in 1045 regular season games in which he played 47,859 minutes - an average of 45.8 minutes/game. Shaq averaged only 34.7 minutes per game over his career.

In the season in which Wilt averaged 50 ppg, he averaged playing 48.5 minutes per game because of overtime games. He rested only 8 minutes the entire season. Wilt ranks #4 all time in minutes played, despite playing only 14 seasons.

If you think about it, a lot of Wilt's eye-popping stats are the result of his ability to avoid injuries, foul trouble, and having the stamina that allowed him to remain on the court so much for his entire career. Had he played 10 minutes a game less, as Shaq did, his stats would be much less impressive.

So in his era he averaged 30/23 for his career.
But in this era you say he would do 30/20.
The disparity amazes me...