[Spartan4Life]

Wilt may be one of the best pure athletes to ever play in the NBA, and has been referred to as probably the strongest player to ever play in the NBA too.

I don't see how people say LBJ is better than people like Hakeem, Kareem, Karl Malone, Parish, McHale, Bird, Moses, Isiah, Rodman, MJ, Pippen, Dr. J, the Ice man, Bill Russell, James Worthy, I honestly don't think he is even better than D wade.

[Ballers]

I don't think Wilt woulda had a chance. Basketball has came a long way since even back in the 90s. The way players move, shoot, etc with the ball. Lebron can handle the ball, shoot it, defend, he's just the most complete player of our age. How many times was MJ wrapped up just driving down the lane? I'm sure you can youtube it and watch Lebron hugged up at least 50 times and finished the play.

[Hoot Gibson]

I don't think many young people have a clue about how good Wilt Chamberlain was. I remember the rumors years after he retired that play-off bound teams were trying to sign Wilt. Wilt was a 7 ft. 1 inch mountain of muscle who could run and jump with anybody. Anybody who thinks that he could not defend modern players just does not know what they are talking about.

I recall the basic rules of basketball being changed because of two players (there were others, but George Mikan was before my time). The first one was Chamberlain and the second one was Kareem. Before the changes, Kansas's in bounds play on the baseline was to lob the ball over the backboard to Wilt for a dunk. When he was in high school, Wilt would stand behind the free throw line, lob the ball toward the basket, grab it from the air and dunk it.

Some of you youngsters may be familiar with Larry Brown, who has played against and coached some pretty good players. Here is his testimony:

From Wikiquotes:

Of all his memories of Wilt Chamberlain, the one that stood out for Larry Brown happened long after Chamberlain's professional career had ended. On a summer day in the early 1980s, when Brown was coaching at UCLA, Chamberlain showed up at Pauley Pavilion to take part in one of the high-octane pickup games that the arena constantly attracted. "Magic Johnson used to run the games," Brown recalled Tuesday after hearing that Chamberlain, his friend, had died at 63, "and he called a couple of chintzy fouls and a goaltending on Wilt. "So Wilt said: 'There will be no more layups in this gym,' and he blocked every shot after that. That's the truth, I saw it. He didn't let one [of Johnson's] shots get to the rim." Chamberlain would have been in his mid-40s at the time...

[Bob Seger]

I don't think Wilt woulda had a chance. Basketball has came a long way since even back in the 90s. The way players move, shoot, etc with the ball. Lebron can handle the ball, shoot it, defend, he's just the most complete player of our age. How many times was MJ wrapped up just driving down the lane? I'm sure you can youtube it and watch Lebron hugged up at least 50 times and finished the play.

My question is, are you old enough to even remember watching basketball in the 90's? I seriously doubt it, and have suspicions that you are of the street ball era.

If you think Wilt wouldn't have a chance, all I can say is that you are very young.

He very well may have been the best ATHLETE to ever play the game...PERIOD

[Bob Seger]

I don't think many young people have a clue about how good Wilt Chamberlain was. I remember the rumors years after he retired that play-off bound teams were trying to sign Wilt. Wilt was a 7 ft. 1 inch mountain of muscle who could run and jump with anybody. Anybody who thinks that he could not defend modern players just does not know what they are talking about.

I recall the basic rules of basketball being changed because of two players (there were others, but George Mikan was before my time). The first one was Chamberlain and the second one was Kareem. Before the changes, Kansas's in bounds play on the baseline was to lob the ball over the backboard to Wilt for a dunk. When he was in high school, Wilt would stand behind the free throw line, lob the ball toward the basket, grab it from the air and dunk it.

Some of you youngsters may be familiar with Larry Brown, who has played against and coached some pretty good players. Here is his testimony:

From Wikiquotes:

Chamberlain was also a world class track and field star, and as I said called the strongest player to ever play in the NBA by those who are familiar with players from Chamberlain's era up to the current era....I have no doubt that Shaq would have been made to look like a timid little puppy going up against Wilt.

There is no doubt that Jabbar would still be able to dominate the current NBA if he were playing in his prime. I saw Chamberlain dominate and make a mockery of Jabbar while he was in his prime and while Chamberlain was playing in his final years....So there is no question that Chamberlain would still dominate in this era.

[Hoot Gibson]

The NBA record for rebounds in a game is 55. Wilt set the record against Bill Russell and the Celtics. Nobody has ever dominated the NBA the way that Chamberlain did.

[Stardust]

LBJ is the fastest big man to EVER play the game! He is fast enough to keep any man smaller from getting to the basket, thus a small man must beat him with the outside shot and NEVER miss, because he will NOT rebound against James. The arguments of Jordan beating him are negated when the fact that James has guarded and shut down Kobe, the image of Jordan can't beat him to the basket! This means that Bird nor Magic could get to he basket consistently enough to score! For guy's Bigger than James, like Kareem, Wilt, Shaq - How in the hell are they going to dribble from the top of the key all the way to the basket and outsize him? They don't get the ball at the damn Post, so they sure as hell won't get down low! On offense, James has proven that the greatest athletes that the world of basketball has ever seen cannot stop him one on one. Not a single one. So, put MJ (which was proven by Kobe) on James and he will back him all the way to the basket and kill them. No little man alive could possibly stop him when all he has to do is turn his back to them and then just start backing up! As for bigger men, the greatest to ever play, Wilt and Russell, two of the greatest athletes of all time, they do not have the speed to stop him when starting at the top of the key. Let's be real, no one in today's game, who are far superior athletes just because of training and genetics can stop him, there sure as hell no one from yesteryear that can! This is a ridiculous argument for the LBJ haters. He is the greatest force in basketball today. He is unstoppable today! So how could athletes of any other era, stop him?

As for "if the old athletes of yesteryear had the same training, diet, etc..." well, they didn't so we DON't KNOW! But we can look at what the most gifted athletes to ever be put on a basketball court can do now, and they can't stop him, then it is not possible to even consider that those with the training they had at their time, could possibly compare if they were suddenly dropped into our time!

What could Wilt, Oscar, Russell, George Mikan, Dolph Schayes, Kareem, even MJ do with today's opportunities???? We will never know! So you can only argue what they did during their time!

In 20 years, there will be a new guy that LBJ would have had NO CHANCE of beating! In 50 years, there will be a new guy! In 100 years......

[Stardust]

The NBA record for rebounds in a game is 55. Wilt set the record against Bill Russell and the Celtics. Nobody has ever dominated the NBA the way that Chamberlain did.

I know, I know! I'm not starting back that debatenicker: But, we know that era was an era of Centers 4 inches shorter and mostly White! Wilt was way before his time! Could Wilt do those things today? It's not possible. Not when the Average height of the wingman is the height of the Center in Wilt's day! Too much size today would eliminate Wilt from dominating the paint with the kind of numbers he had then! And yes, I do think Wilt would be the best Center in the league today! Plus, with the way they game is played today, Wilt would never get the same opportunities. They don't play half court "set" offenses anymoe for the very fact that defenses are too big and long! But, if in a half court offense, he would be surrounded by two guys as tall as him. The dipsy do, would be eliminated, he would not get that shot off! He would be forced to shoot a mid range jumper like Centers of today do. Based on what we knew of Wilt, he was a decent mid-range shooter, but not comparable to today's big men. Could he have gotten better - well, we can't use that argument because we can't assume when making direct comparisons!

[Bob Seger]

Kids!!!:eyeroll:








:biggrin:

[Hoot Gibson]

Kids!!!:eyeroll:








:biggrin:

Bob, these younger fellows greatly overestimate the skill sets of "modern" players, as well as their athleticism and importance of "length" (which was known as height in the olden days).

They forget that Charles Barkley, who entered the league in the same draft class as Michael Jordan, and who is widely acknowledged as one of the top power forwards of all time was, in fact, only 6'4" tall. They forget that Barkley managed to pull down 20+ rebounds in at least one playoff game when injuries literally prevented him from leaving the ground. If Barkley had the same stats and had played in the 60s, the same folks who disparage Wilt's stats would be arguing that Barkley would be too small to play forward in today's NBA.

Another thing that they constantly overlook is the fact that "length" inflation in the NBA is very common. Hakeem Olajawon, who although listed as a 7-footer throughout his career, was the same size as Bill Russell at 6'10." They forget the impact that a perennially out of shape, overweight Shaq had on the "modern" game against plethora of double and triple teams by players as tall as himself.

In Wilt's prime, one out of every seven games that he played was against Hall of Famer, an the best defensive center in the history of the game, Bill Russell. Those who quickly dismiss Wilt's stats because of the dearth of quality big men in the league, should recall all those great centers that played with Jordan on the Bull's championship teams. Guys like Will Perdue, Bill Cartwright, and Luc Longley. Do they really think that double teaming Chamberlain in his prime with such mediocre big men would have hindered his production?

People who are of the mind that today's players are just vastly superior in every way to those who played in the 60s and 70s overlook how few quality big men there are in the league today. Chamberlain was blocking shots on Kareem near the end of his career and still leading the league in rebounding.

Chamberlain once averaged 48.5 minutes per game for an entire season. At age 36, in his final season as a Laker, he played 43.2 minutes a game. Currently, Chicago's Jimmy Butler leads the league in playing time at 39.3 minutes/game. Shaq played an average of 34.7 minutes during his career, compared to Wilt's average of 45.8 minutes. Wilt's stamina and durability accounts for a big part of his Paul Bunyan-sized stats.

Teams were seriously trying to convince Wilt to come out of retirement just to play in the playoffs until he was 50 years old. He was not just ahead of his time, he was ahead of the current time. No center in the history of the game had the stamina that Chamberlain had, and no center currently playing the game even comes close.

We both know that Wilt would dominate today's NBA, Bob, and it is a shame that so many younger people have such an inflated opinion of today's NBA. Today's players are pampered like the players of Wilt's era never could have imagined. If Wilt had spent as much time on the bench as today's most durable centers do, the owners would have probably docked his pay. Today's generation just does not appreciate a great work ethic the way that those of us who grew up in the 60s and 70s do.

[Bob Seger]

Bob, these younger fellows greatly overestimate the skill sets of "modern" players, as well as their athleticism and importance of "length" (which was known as height in the olden days).

They forget that Charles Barkley, who entered the league in the same draft class as Michael Jordan, and who is widely acknowledged as one of the top power forwards of all time was, in fact, only 6'4" tall. They forget that Barkley managed to pull down 20+ rebounds in at least one playoff game when injuries literally prevented him from leaving the ground. If Barkley had the same stats and had played in the 60s, the same folks who disparage Wilt's stats would be arguing that Barkley would be too small to play forward in today's NBA.

Another thing that they constantly overlook is the fact that "length" inflation in the NBA is very common. Hakeem Olajawon, who although listed as a 7-footer throughout his career, was the same size as Bill Russell at 6'10." They forget the impact that a perennially out of shape, overweight Shaq had on the "modern" game against plethora of double and triple teams by players as tall as himself.

In Wilt's prime, one out of every seven games that he played was against Hall of Famer, an the best defensive center in the history of the game, Bill Russell. Those who quickly dismiss Wilt's stats because of the dearth of quality big men in the league, should recall all those great centers that played with Jordan on the Bull's championship teams. Guys like Will Perdue, Bill Cartwright, and Luc Longley. Do they really think that double teaming Chamberlain in his prime with such mediocre big men would have hindered his production?

People who are of the mind that today's players are just vastly superior in every way to those who played in the 60s and 70s overlook how few quality big men there are in the league today. Chamberlain was blocking shots on Kareem near the end of his career and still leading the league in rebounding.

Chamberlain once averaged 48.5 minutes per game for an entire season. At age 36, in his final season as a Laker, he played 43.2 minutes a game. Currently, Chicago's Jimmy Butler leads the league in playing time at 39.3 minutes/game. Shaq played an average of 34.7 minutes during his career, compared to Wilt's average of 45.8 minutes. Wilt's stamina and durability accounts for a big part of his Paul Bunyan-sized stats.

Teams were seriously trying to convince Wilt to come out of retirement just to play in the playoffs until he was 50 years old. He was not just ahead of his time, he was ahead of the current time. No center in the history of the game had the stamina that Chamberlain had, and no center currently playing the game even comes close.

We both know that Wilt would dominate today's NBA, Bob, and it is a shame that so many younger people have such an inflated opinion of today's NBA. Today's players are pampered like the players of Wilt's era never could have imagined. If Wilt had spent as much time on the bench as today's most durable centers do, the owners would have probably docked his pay. Today's generation just does not appreciate a great work ethic the way that those of us who grew up in the 60s and 70s do.

Good point about Barkley....You can use a 6'7" Wes Unseld at the center position for a same argument, going up against the leagues 7 foot centers....Rebounding is all about positioning and blocking out to begin with.....AND DESIRE!!

[Ballers]

Didnt Kyrie call out Kobe in a 1v1 and he dodged it?

[andy griffith]

Larry Bird would tear him up.

I never liked Jordan, id take Lebron over Jordan.

I agree Jordan was the biggest ballhog ever. Everyone thinks he is the best cause he shot it like crazy, but he didn't make teammates better like LeBron. Lebron is better on defense, passes the ball which Jordan never figured out how to do, and rebounds better than Jordan. Lebron is better in almost every stat besides scoring, and he aint to shabby there.

[bac2369]

In no particular order.

Michael Jordan
Larry Bird
Dominque Wilkins
Bill Russell
Wilt Chamberlin
Kobe Bryant

[Stardust]

Bob, these younger fellows greatly overestimate the skill sets of "modern" players, as well as their athleticism and importance of "length" (which was known as height in the olden days).

They forget that Charles Barkley, who entered the league in the same draft class as Michael Jordan, and who is widely acknowledged as one of the top power forwards of all time was, in fact, only 6'4" tall. They forget that Barkley managed to pull down 20+ rebounds in at least one playoff game when injuries literally prevented him from leaving the ground. If Barkley had the same stats and had played in the 60s, the same folks who disparage Wilt's stats would be arguing that Barkley would be too small to play forward in today's NBA.

Another thing that they constantly overlook is the fact that "length" inflation in the NBA is very common. Hakeem Olajawon, who although listed as a 7-footer throughout his career, was the same size as Bill Russell at 6'10." They forget the impact that a perennially out of shape, overweight Shaq had on the "modern" game against plethora of double and triple teams by players as tall as himself.

In Wilt's prime, one out of every seven games that he played was against Hall of Famer, an the best defensive center in the history of the game, Bill Russell. Those who quickly dismiss Wilt's stats because of the dearth of quality big men in the league, should recall all those great centers that played with Jordan on the Bull's championship teams. Guys like Will Perdue, Bill Cartwright, and Luc Longley. Do they really think that double teaming Chamberlain in his prime with such mediocre big men would have hindered his production?

People who are of the mind that today's players are just vastly superior in every way to those who played in the 60s and 70s overlook how few quality big men there are in the league today. Chamberlain was blocking shots on Kareem near the end of his career and still leading the league in rebounding.

Chamberlain once averaged 48.5 minutes per game for an entire season. At age 36, in his final season as a Laker, he played 43.2 minutes a game. Currently, Chicago's Jimmy Butler leads the league in playing time at 39.3 minutes/game. Shaq played an average of 34.7 minutes during his career, compared to Wilt's average of 45.8 minutes. Wilt's stamina and durability accounts for a big part of his Paul Bunyan-sized stats.

Teams were seriously trying to convince Wilt to come out of retirement just to play in the playoffs until he was 50 years old. He was not just ahead of his time, he was ahead of the current time. No center in the history of the game had the stamina that Chamberlain had, and no center currently playing the game even comes close.

We both know that Wilt would dominate today's NBA, Bob, and it is a shame that so many younger people have such an inflated opinion of today's NBA. Today's players are pampered like the players of Wilt's era never could have imagined. If Wilt had spent as much time on the bench as today's most durable centers do, the owners would have probably docked his pay. Today's generation just does not appreciate a great work ethic the way that those of us who grew up in the 60s and 70s do.

The "Younger" term does not work with me gentlemen :biggrin: I am YOUR age, by I on the other-hand am a realist and a progressive. Era's were era's, players dominated the competition that they had at that time. But even Ray Charles can tell you that if you plopped today's athletes into yesterday, the skill sets are dramatically different. The real debate comes from "what it", meaning if todays athletes did not have the same training, diet and strength that yesterdays athlete did, and on the flipside, give the same training of today to the old athletes. But when you take the players for what you know, not what you don't know, today's athletes are FAR superior.

As for the work ethic, I suggest that is NOT accurate! read about the off-seasons of every player from the 60's through the 70's. Money was good enough to not have to work a second job like the era's that preceded them, however, their off-season was an OFF period for them. Today's athletes are are 12 month per year athletes. There is no such thing as downtime for today's athletes, which causes far more injuries and fatigue, the kind of fatigue that comes from never letting the body rest - which equates to a far better work ethic of yesteryear!

It's progress gentlemen. The easiest way to equate the progress of today's sports are those sports that have comparisons that are equal over time! The 100 yard dash and the mile will always be eclipsed because the athletes are getting better.

[Cjones34]

Ad could

[Ballers]

If anyone watched the ATL series, no one has a chance against Lebron at this point. Not even ole Wilt.