namepeace said:

Right. I'm not saying he's the best ever, or had the best season of anyone ever. I'm just saying that I've watched a ton of basketball, and I never saw anyone play better for an entire season than Olajuwon did.

Just my experience. Not in all history, just in my experience. Thanks.

RodeoSchro said:

And Wilt utterly abused Bill whenever they played, averaging 29pts/29rebs against him. Again, no way in HELL would Wilt be able to do that in THIS era.

RodeoSchro said:

If you don't think that Kobe's one of the GOATs, then you don't truly watch hoops and/or respect the game of hoops.

MuthaFunka said:

Oh, by "GOAT" you mean Greatest Of All Time.

I thought by "GOAT" you meant "goat", which is why I framed my response as a question. Yes, Kobe is one of the greatest of all time. Thanks for respecting my opinion. I really appreciate your mature response.

RodeoSchro said:

You mean, you REALLY didn't know what the term "GOAT" meant? Wow. I guess I was right earlier then in my assessment of your hoop knowledge.

uPtoWnNY said:

Excuse me while I take a LAUGHTER break.....

MuthaFunka said:

How does not knowing whether or not you meant to capitalize "GOAT" reflects any way on what I do or don't know about basketball?

Again, I really appreciate your respect, maturity and thoughtfulness. I'm sure everyone else here does, too.

RodeoSchro said:

Anyone that knows sports KNOWS what the term "GOAT" means. It's a well known and highly used acronym. Oh well. Case closed.

MuthaFunka said:

Anyone that posts on the internet knows that people sometimes capitalize words for emphasis. Ask Graycap about that. Oh well, thanks again for your maturity. Your adult way of responding to posts is very refreshing!

RodeoSchro said:

The moment 'GOAT' is read during a discussion on sports, a true sports aficianado KNOWS what that means, so the chance of confusing it would never happen to them. Oh well.

MuthaFunka said:

I can't tell you how much your respect for my posts/sportsknowledge/life impresses me. The adult way in which you approach other posters is truly noteworthy. Thank you for your maturity!

Graycap23 said:

Laugh all you want, but it's the truth.

That's not the truth though. The level of comp was much weaker as a collective than it is in this era. Simply because the NBA has gotten better as far as athletes, technology, and coaching - but mainly athletically.
[Edited 4/8/08 9:27am]

uPtoWnNY said:

I find the respect, maturity and class certain posters exhibit to be quite refreshing. Don't you?

MuthaFunka said:

Sorry, I don't believe that at all. I think the style of play was much better in the 60s/70s/80s. They may be better athletes today, but they don't know the GAME like the old skoolers did. Just my .02.

uPtoWnNY said:

When I worked for Fox Sports, we used to have these debates all the time with the older cats and we'd have access to the 60s games and we'd laugh at how they would dribble with one hand while looking down at the ball - That shot would NEVER fly in THIS era . The older cats relented and agreed.

The 80s was where it started to change with the emergence of Maj, Doc, and Legend. The game became more uptempo and more stylized and compartmentalized so to speak.

MuthaFunka said:

Nuff Said.

MuthaFunka said:

Exactly. Kobe got some years to go before he can even touch that title period.

I will say one thing. This year is the best the NBA has been since the height of the Jordan era(mostly because of the insane battle out west). I can actually watch an NBA game and not fall asleep. The WC playoffs are going to be sick, but I think Detroit or Boston would have an excellent chance against the Spurs in the Finals.

uPtoWnNY said:

This years playoffs will TOP last year. That is saying quite a bit.

Graycap23 said:

The Spurs are the team to beat until proven otherwise. For playoffs purposes, it's them and everyone else.

Detroit has most of the same personnel they had when they took San An to 7 in 2005. Boston will have homecourt, and was a WC killer in the regular season. Just as it was last year, LeBron is the wildcard, because he's proven he can singlehandedly challenge an elite EC team.

The Hornets, I think, will find this a much different type of game in the playoffs, but they have Byron Scott, who's won titles and coached in Finals.

The Lakers? Well, on paper, they're unbeatable. But chemistry and health are their big issues.

Depending on which Suns team shows up, PHX could be dangerous.

MuthaFunka said:

Fair enough; Wilt would be a freak of nature, even now, though the level of athleticism among big men is far ahead of where it was. He'd still likely be an All-Star. But he did play against cats like Bill Russell and Willis Reed.

namepeace said:

If Wilt had been born in 1970 and grown up with the advances in athletic development that didn't exist back in his day, IMHO he'd still have been just as great.

RodeoSchro said:

It's NOT about Wilt, it's about his competition.

Graycap23 said:

Yeah, and if Wilt had been born so that he competed against today's big men, he also would have had the advantage of personal trainers, great nutrition and all the other advances that weren't around when he was playing.

I don't think you can say the Wilt of 1974 couldn't hang with the Hakeem of 1993 or the Shaq of 2000. That's probably true but not a fair comparison to make.

RodeoSchro said:

Wilt was great then and would have been great 2day, but his sats would pale in comparison 2 what they were in the 1960's. That's a FACT.

Graycap23 said:

Define "pale". Do you think he would have been an MVP-caliber player? An All-star? A Hall of Famer?

Or a Sam Bowie?

RodeoSchro said:

Still one of the 50 greatest.....just NOT 50 points a game, leading the league in assist, hitting 100 points, hitting those silly finger rolls from 15 feet. Today's players would eat that shot up.

One of the greatest




































at putting a ball in a hole...wow...amazing