Graycap23 said:

...and today's players wouldn't drive down the lane in Wilt's day without paying for it.

uPtoWnNY said:

.....flagrant fouls.....No-no.

namepeace said:

Well, no, Wilt was a freak of nature THEN but now there are agile/athletic 7-footers. Wilt had no physical equal back then until Kareem showed up and he handled Wilt because there was another freak of nature for Wilt to battle. Bill Russell was great at C in his era, but in this era, he'd be Dennis Rodman - which is STILL hella good, just not with the dominance he had in the 60s.

RodeoSchro said:

So you're basically making the ridiculous claim that Wilt would have been able to average 50pts for an entire season had he played in the 90s? - Hell no. Not even close.

Graycap23 said:

Exactly.

MuthaFunka said:

Thank U.....

MuthaFunka said:

No one's saying that, but Wilt would be a top five center.

uPtoWnNY said:

Yes, he would, and I never disputed that. I'm disputed his inflated stats vs lesser competition in his era. He wouldn't come close to 50pts a game for a myriad of reasons, mainly because the comp level now is a lot greater than what he faced in his era. had Wilt played in the 80s/90s, he would have a career average of something like 27pts/14rbs/3blks.

MuthaFunka said:

Once again, I'm impressed by the respectful tone of your reply. You set an example of maturity that is indeed impressive!

Who knows exactly what a 2008 version of Wilt would do? Can't say exactly, but I feel a 2008 Wilt would be a GOAT.

MuthaFunka said:

No one's saying Wilt would average 50 a game against today's competition. But you need to do 18-20 and 10 to be in All-Star territory as a 4 or a 5. I think Wilt could do that today. Would he be as explosive as a Stoudemire? Could he handle Shaq in the pivot? Could he defend or match Duncan in the low post? What about KG? Bosh? Dwight Howard? I'd give him the benefit of the doubt and say he could handle his own with these guys. Bill Russell would be a top-tier 4 as well. But Wilt wouldn't go for 50 and Russell wouldn't win 9 rings.

You're not wrong about making the argument relative to different eras, but the skills and gifts of a Wilt Chamberlain or Bill Russell would translate well to any era.


[Edited 4/8/08 14:29pm]

RodeoSchro said:

[Dude, seriously - get some thicker skin. You're making way too much issue of how you want to be coddled in a conversation with other grown ass men. Let it rest and move on.]

And glad you're finally hip to the phrase GOAT. Kudos to you.

uPtoWnNY said:

Top 5? No doubt he would have been but his com was WACK back then. Hell every team in the laegue has 2 or 3 seven foot players these days. I mean let be serious.....u have guys in the hall of fame like Tommy Hinrick...or what ever his name is. That guy would not even get off the bench in today's game.
[Edited 4/8/08 14:33pm]

namepeace said:

Yeah, Wilt could easily do 20/10/2 - I said he'd do about 27/14/3, which would make him an all star. Again, my only dispute was his inflated stats of the 60s and how he couldn't come anywhere near that in this era.

Graycap23 said:

And Cousy wouldn't even make the D-League.

MuthaFunka said:

No one this side of Michael Jordan could match Wilt's scoring stats from that era.

Like Big O and Jerry West, his stats would be factored down if you're matching them up against talent from the last 3 decades, but they'd probably still be All-Star caliber players.

I mean, what do you think MJ could have done in that era? He was averaging 30+ a night against top-flight competition in the 80's and 90's. I'd even throw Kobe out there in that class too.

MuthaFunka said:

They were great players for their era. And they did find a way to beat some loaded Lakers teams (West/Baylor/Wilt et al.). Thanks in large part to Bill. I think of them as being Spurs-like for their day.

PS -- I read an article one time where Tommy Heinsohn claimed his Celtics could run with Magic's Lakers. I'm still on the floor laughing behind that.

namepeace said:

If Shaq played in Wilt's era, he would have put up similiar numbers. There hasn't been a player of Shaq's size, quicks, and strength ever. Not even Wilt was as "large" as Shaq.

MJ and Kobe would've had a harder time than Shaq, but they could have done about 40 a night for a season.

namepeace said:

Tommy Heinsohn is easily THEE biggest Celtic homer of all time.

MuthaFunka said:

Boy, I loved listening to him eat it when the Lakers finally got the Celts in '85 and '87. He was the most biased color guy I've ever seen. But Dick Stockton could call one heckuva NBA contest.

namepeace said:

OMG! YES! He was! It was sickening! I thought it was just a few of us that saw that about him.

Kobe is NOT one of the greatest of all time, in my opinion. His selfish ass can score all of those points, but look at what it does to his team. That 53-point game recently was a HOME LOSS to the MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (the worst road team up to that point). He'll never win another championship until he realizes that he doesn't pea eau d'cologne and consistently involves his teammates.

Moonbeam said:

Well, I was so mad at Kobe Bryant that I couldn't bring myself to watch Laker games for years. I blamed him for breaking up the team. And he reinforced that perception with a lot of his selfishness and antics over the last few years. I was through with him over the summer after that Bynum-Buss tirade and the "trade me" drama.

But then when I heard Shaq take up for him, my stance softened.

Then when each of his teammates proved that they were better than the year before, something changed. Then the Lakers FO woke from their slumber and made great moves for Ariza and Gasol.

He responded in kind. He's having his finest season as a Laker this year. And the Memphis games are much fewer in number this year (remember, he was without Gasol and Bynum that game).

I think he's turning a corner.

namepeace said:

I'm not convinced. We'll see how the playoffs shape up.

MuthaFunka said:

Exactly. For anyone to even attempt to compare Shaq and Wilt is assinine. This is do to the level of their ability and finese in the game.

MuthaFunka said:

Exactly. For anyone to even attempt to compare Shaq and Wilt is assinine. This is do to the level of their ability and finese in the game.

MuthaFunka said:

Exactly. For anyone to even attempt to compare Shaq and Wilt is assinine. This is do to the level of their ability and finese in the game.

Moonbeam said:

Kobe's ONLY concern is being ranked ahead of Mj.

Graycap23 said:

And he'll never be ranked higher than MJ except in the department of "who's the bigger asshole?"

Moonbeam said:

I know that and U know that.....I don't think Kobe's EGO knows that.

Graycap23 said:

In order to be ranked ahead of MJ, he has to play nice.