If Wilt Chamberlain were born 30 years later......?

Question

and he actually had some stiff competition at center, would he be the icon 30 years from now as he is today? Personally, I believe he was a freak for his time and nobody could stop him because of that. Put him against Yao, Shaq(in his prime) and he sure wouldnt get 100 points in a game. His best year,instead of averaging 50pts and 25 rebounds...it would be cut to around 30/16
He was born at the right time for him but I'll always feel he was grossly overrated. Ohhhh look at me I can dunk! (like anyone could stop him...big deal). His true talent , or lack thereof , showed at the free throw line where he tossed many a brick. Raise the basket to 15 feet in ANY era and we'll see where the true talent lies (not in centers..that's for sure)

I'm adding an interesting comment I found on a different website. Although I didn't care for his language, I did agree with many points he made. :
THE TRUTH ABOUT WILT CHAMBERLAIN (AND IT AIN'T GOOD)
Dec 09, 2006 | 12:13PM | report this As one of the few bloggers to have actually seen Wilt Chamberlain play during his prime years when he set all the records I am here to tell you I am sick to death of stat hounds and moronic idiots who see highlight film games and worship at the Altar of The Wilt Chamberlain big lie.

WILT CHAMBERLAIN WAS THE DIRTIEST PLAYER IN THE HISTORY OF THE NBA.

1.) He was allowed to block shots by hitting people not just on the head but damn near just ball up his fist and cold BLEEP people. I would assume that not only Shaq but almost every good center in between could block shots like Wilt if they were allowed to do this. How many times do we hear "the block was clean but he got him with the hip/body below the shoulder. BullBLEEP. Wilt got people with his shoulder, his body, his arms, his legs and seldom called for fouls. Wilts idea of defense was "I'm bigger than you, nastier than you and I'm gonna mug your *** and nobody is gonna say BLEEP about it". And he was right.

2.) Wilt rebounded by simply going up, and again, no "over the top" in those days. He was simply taller than anyone else and once he got his hands on the ball he started swinging razor sharp elbows. Deke Mutumbo has been called hundreds of times for his elbows and he does nothing compared to what Wilt did. And Chamberlain didn't just clear out. He put people on the floor. People bleeding. Again he intentionally tried to hurt people. That was his personality. Anyone big man today allowed to do what he did could average 20 rebounds a game.

3.) He used his elbows on offense as well. Imagine I were 5-7 inches taller than you and 50-100 lbs heavier than you and back in on you on the post and suddenly and intentionally ripped my arm around and drove my elbow into your face. You'd go down and if you didn't you'd backpedal out of bounds and be temporaily blinded. Then he'd just dunk or if he was being double teamed he'd simply then back into the other defender and hand the ball off to a teammate strolling unguarded into the lane. This is why he got double digit assists in his glory years. Never has anyone ever gotten credit for so many cheap assists.

4.) As for his scoring what a joke. He took balls off the rim, he intercepted fellow players shots, all for dunks. For you stat hounds compare this one.

Chamberlain 48 minutes 36 of 63 field goals, 28 of 32 free throws.(that season Chamberlain was allowed to leap from the free throw line and dunk free throws.The rule ws changed the following season and he quickly became one of the worst free throwers in history)

Kobe Bryant 42 minutes 28 of 46 field goals, 18 of 20 free throws.

In 6 minutes less bryant took 17 shots less and 12 free throws less than Chamberlain and finished 19 points less. Based on %'s had Bryant shot as much and had as many FT's as Wilt, Bryant would have scored about 115 pts. And Wilt was never double teamed without the ball, played with a foot narrower lane and all the aforementioned other advantages.

The facts are that Wilt Chamberlain won one championship during his prime years with all the possible advantages that he could have. He was selfish far beyond any other player in NBA history, he was Arrogant beyond any other player in NBA history and if he played to day with the same rules that everyone has to play with today he'd be nothing more than a larger version of Danny Fortsen with the same ejections and fouls.

Answer 1

you make some good points. I'm not sure I agree with all of them, but I would say the pacing of the game has changed dramatically since back in the day, even though the position of, say, a guard, has changed more than center has. He would certainly not be as highly regarded, in comparison with some from the modern era.

Answer 2

This question is so ridiculous, it really doesn't even deserve an answer.

Bill Russell, Jerry Lucas, Walt Bellamy, Nate Thurmand, Willis Reed, Dave Cowens and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are not "stiff competition"? They're are all in the hall of fame!!

Plus, Wilt played at a time when there were much fewer teams, so he had to play these guys SEVERAL TIMES A YEAR!.

How many times a year does Shaq have to play Yao? Twice?

Wilt was probably the most dominant player in history. Shooting free throws was the only thing he wasn't good at. Think about how many points he would have scored had he shot better from the stripe.

The league today is so watered-down, and there really aren't many "true centers" playing today. Wilt would have his way with anybody. Would he score 100? Probably not, but he would get lots of points, rebounds, and blocks. You can bet on that!


EDIT.... Wilt was constantly harassed, grabbed, held, whatever it took for the "shorter players" to try and stop him, so what do you expect him to do? Yes, basketball IS a contact sport. Just like they do with Shaq. Make him shoot free throws instead of dunk.

Regarding his winning championships, he always ran into the great Bill Russell led Celtic teams, and one player will NEVER beat a great team. Just ask Michael Jordan.

Wilt did win 2 championships. First with the 67 Philly 76ers and also with the 71 Lakers, two of the greatest teams in history. He sacrificed his personal glory on both of those teams in order to win a championship. No team in the last 15 years would be able to come close to beating either of these teams.

And as far as Kobe's 80 pt game: BIG DEAL! Larry Bird could have scored 80 points if he wanted. All he had to do was keep shooting. So could many other players (Jordan, Gervin, Maravich). On any given night, several players could score as many points as they want. It all comes down to doing what it takes to win.

BTW, I was never a huge Wilt fan

Answer 3

i hate to disagree with you but he is one of the best basketball players in history!!! He would dominate nowadays basketball considering that he played in an era where the Hack-a-shaq was created. Do some research you will realize that Wilt went through a time of being hated by most, during some of our countries most cruel times against blacks. Basketball was a truly physical sport, fouls did not occur as much and you were allowed to throw elbows and punch people in the ribs. He was unstoppable which forced the league to let the players abuse him. Yao gets rejected by a lil 5'9 nate robinson dont even put him and wilt in the same sentence, Shaq isnt everything people think he is or was. Wilt got 25 rebs becus he blocked out, thats rare in nowadays NBA. Wilt scored 50 points in the no 3point era, because he put himself in a position where the defender couldnt stop him. If he was born 30 years later he would have been even better.

Answer 4

Wilt and Russell faced each other 142 times during the 10 seasons in which they competed head-to-head. That's 14x per season. Then there was Nate Thurmond. Then Willis Reed. Then Walt Bellamy. Then Wes Unseld. Then Elvin Hayes. Then Jerry Lucas. Heck, Wilt and Kareem faced each other 27x in only 3 full seasons of playing against each other (their careers overlapped by 4 seasons, but Wilt did not play against Kareem in 1970, when Wilt missed most of the season after tearing up his knee). Shaq doesn't play 27 games against a HOF center over any 5 year period.

Answer 5

Does Wilt average 50 points per game now? No way. There weren't many agile 7-footers back then, as compared to now, and Wilt certainly could control a game much easier then.

That said, the man had breathtaking athletic ability. He got up and down the floor quite nicely in his younger days, and was probably the strongest player in the league. That's quite a combination. He'd be too quick for Shaq, too strong for Yao, too big for Duncan. He'd be a handful in any era.

Free-throw shooting is hardly a true test of ability. You or I can make a bunch of them, but no one is putting us in the NBA. We all know how Shaq struggles at the line. Karl Malone had problems there too.

I don't know if Wilt was the most awesome force ever to play basketball (as opposed to best all-around player, which Mr. Jordan probably wins), but he's certainly in the argument.

Answer 6

30/16.
above poster stated that Wilts numbers would be cut to that if he played today.

Name one center who does that.
Not Shack, not Yao, not Kareem, not even Hakeem Olajuwon.
So if Wilt was putting up those numbers today, he would still be the greatest.
Shaq is worse at the free throw lane.
Wilt once led the league in assists.
what other center has done that.
The rules were changed because of Wilt, and he still dominated.
Wilt has the only double-triple-double in NBA history.
thats 20 plus points, 20 plus rebounds, and 20 plus assists.
Not a simple triple double, but a double-triple double.
A simple triple double would be something like 10 plus points, 10 plus rebounds, and 10 plus assists.
Nash may get 20 points, and 20 assists, but doubtful he will get more than 12 rebounds.
Kobe may get 40 points, 20 rebounds, but then only 2 assists.
Lebron may get a double triple double someday.
anyway, not saying Wilt would be the best today year in year out.
He could easily be David Robinson, who was named to the top 50 of all time NBA players.

Answer 7

He was great for his era cause they didn't have huge athletes like we do today. He was a great player who came around at the right time, plus he hooked up with tonssssssss of women.

Answer 8

HOOP FAN WAS CORRECT AND I WILL ADD MORE.

YOU KNOW WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU YOUNG PEOPLE IS THAT YOU NOTHING ABOUT THE NBA OR ITS HISTORY. NOTHING YOU SAY MAKES SENSE. HERE IS LIST OF GREAT PLAYERS THAT WILT PLAYED AGAINST:
RUSSELL
KAREEM
BELLAMY
COWENS
REED
LANIER
THURMOND
GILMORE
UNSELD
LUCAS
HAYES
PETIT

DO YOU HOW MANY OF THESE PLAYERS ARE IN THE HOF?

PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND LEARN THE GAME BECAUSE YOUR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ARE LAME.

Answer 9

Yeah!

Answer 10

extremely overated. i dont think he would match up with any of the african americans in this era