Could Wilt Dominate Today's NBA?
Comparing Wilt Chamberlain to Modern Basketball Stars
It's the age-old debate whether or not stars of the yesteryears, like Wilt Chamberlain, would fare in today's NBA game. Some argue, for example, that Wilt Chamberlain was before his time, and that his freakish athleticism could be seen in his great high jumping ability as a Track athlete. Others contend that basketball has reached a new echelon of athletic superiority, where everyone's big and fast.
Throughout his career, Wilt "the Stilt" Chamberlain averaged 30.1 points per game (ppg) and an amazing 22.9 rebounds per game (rbpg). In 1961-62, he did something that nobody may ever be able to do again, averaging 50.4 ppg in 80 games. In the same season, Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single game.
In addition, Wilt won the scoring title in each of his first seven seasons and led the league in rebounding 11 times. He is the only center to lead the league in assists, and never fouled out in his career.
Perhaps the most unusual statistic of all, Chamberlain actually averaged more than 48 minutes per game in a season. In 1961-62, his Philadelphia Warriors played in ten overtime quarters, and he played in all but eight of a possible 3,980 minutes that season.
Yet, the question still remains whether Wilt could have dominated in today's NBA game.
Consider that by the end of his career, Chamberlain was listed as about 7-1 275lbs, which is considerably large by even today's standards.
Now consider that the bulk of his competition at the center position was significantly smaller than he was. There's a lot of hoopla surrounding the Wilt Chamberlain versus Bill Russell matchup. Yet, Russell was only listed as 6-9 to 6-10 220lbs. Another Hall of Famer, Dave Cowens, was listed as 6-8 230lbs. Wes Unseld was only listed at about 6-6 to 6-7, and Willis Reed was only 6-9 240lbs. Of course, one could say that Shaquille O'Neal is much larger than most of his opponents, but the fact was, Chamberlain dwarfed everybody, where O'Neal is at least used to frequently facing other seven footers.
With modern advances in weight lifting programs and physical fitness, it's silly to think that a player in the 1960s could compare to a player in 2007, where the size of a lot of perimeter players and even shooting guards is larger than the typical center of that era. Moreover, players were not paid a fraction as much back then as they are now, making the incentive to get in the best shape possible not as high.
Watching game tapes of Chamberlain make it apparent that his slow speed and lack of a left hand wouldn't get him very far in today's game. This is not to say that he couldn't have been a great player had he developed in this era, with the advantages of modern nutrition, weight programs, etc... It only means that taking players out of their era and comparing them to players of a different era is pointless and unfair.
Wilt Chamberlain was one of the most dominant players to play in one period, but if taken out of that era and placed into today's NBA game, Wilt's skill would have been lacking and he would not have been able to rely so much on his size.
Join the discussion on Wilt Chamberlain. Could he dominate today's game?
