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Forums - Sports Discussion - What would Wilt Chamberlain be in Today's NBA?

Strengths

+He's over 7 feet tall with great athleticism and strength. In today's game where there is an obvious lack of quality 7 footers.
+In his prime, he had all the post moves to be efficient in the league: fadeaway jumper, finger roll, drop step, etc.
+He's the only center to ever lead the league in assists, meaning that he's one of the best passing big men of all time.
+He's has never fouled out of a game, despite his physical gifts. This means that he was more of a finesse guy and he plays good defense without fouling.
+Before, there was no such thing as illegal defense so teams would load up 3 guys on him even before he could touch the ball.

Weaknesses

-In today's game, defenses are much more complex and guys are physically stronger and more imposing.
-There are a lot more guys who are the same size as him, unlike the old days.
-Athletic guards and forwards dominate this game now and the speed of the game would probably limit his effectiveness.
-Stretch 5s and 4s would force him to step out of his comfort zone (to the three point line), limiting his rebounding and defensive potential.

If you put those together, I believe Wilt would be someone like Dwight Howard now but with more assists. He'd probably average about 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists.

He used to score 50 and rebound 25 back then, but that's because there was nobody around that could compete with his size. He can still score since the rules of today favor the offense and he has the size and the shots to create for himself. However, the complexity of defenses have limited the scoring potential of behind the basket big men, and the size and athleticism of forwards and guards running to double team would make him more of a passer, which he was at the end of his career, as the trend started to change to what it is today.



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No way he would average 8 assists per game in today's nba, but I think his impact would be much bigger than dwight's. He probably would look like an slimmer, more agile version of Shaq but with less raw strength. He easily would be the #1 C in the league with averages of around 30/12/3/3 (pts, reb, assists, blks)



carlos710 - Capitán Primero: Nintendo Defense Force

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He would be decent, but nowhere near as dominant as he was in his day. Back then he was the only guy even close to being that big and athletic. Now you can't even get drafted as a center or power forward unless you're close to that big, and just as athletic, if not more so.



While i don't think he would be able to do all those records, he would still be much better than Dwight imo.



he'd still be a sex machine.



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carlos710 said:
No way he would average 8 assists per game in today's nba, but I think his impact would be much bigger than dwight's. He probably would look like an slimmer, more agile version of Shaq but with less raw strength. He easily would be the #1 C in the league with averages of around 30/12/3/3 (pts, reb, assists, blks)


There's no such thing as a center averaging 30 points in this league anymore.

Also, he used to average 8 assists towards the end of his career, playing through double and triple teams and that was the reason he finally won a championship.



bugrimmar said:
carlos710 said:
No way he would average 8 assists per game in today's nba, but I think his impact would be much bigger than dwight's. He probably would look like an slimmer, more agile version of Shaq but with less raw strength. He easily would be the #1 C in the league with averages of around 30/12/3/3 (pts, reb, assists, blks)


There's no such thing as a center averaging 30 points in this league anymore.

Also, he used to average 8 assists towards the end of his career, playing through double and triple teams and that was the reason he finally won a championship.

I don't know.  I think a healthy, peak shaq who actually tried would be able to do it.

 

As for wilt in todays game I think you've missed a few considerations

 

1) The NBA lower FG% in the 50's and 60's... meaning far more scores came off of offensive boards. 

Which is why Wilt's points and boards were so inflated in the early years.

2)  He was sort of... mentally weak.  He didn't seem to have the guts to pull it out even with stacked teams unless favor came his way.

He never fouled out of a game... but from what i've read, that's because once he was in foul trouble he sort of just stopped defending.

He was aloof and weird with the media... of the 1960's.  How the hell would he cope today with the current sports Media... let alone TMZ

 

If Wilt Chamberlain played today... i feel like the 24/7 always on always talking superstar  era would destroy him mentally.

 

 

If we're setting that aside though and just talking pure play?   I think he'd be very close to in shape trying shaq. 

 

A little less points wise because he wasn't as powerful, but more assists due to his agility...

 

and the same worries at the end of the game because he can't shoot freethrows either.

 

Instead of "Hack a Shaq" Maybe we'd get "Whack a Wilt"



Kasz216 said:
bugrimmar said:
carlos710 said:
No way he would average 8 assists per game in today's nba, but I think his impact would be much bigger than dwight's. He probably would look like an slimmer, more agile version of Shaq but with less raw strength. He easily would be the #1 C in the league with averages of around 30/12/3/3 (pts, reb, assists, blks)


There's no such thing as a center averaging 30 points in this league anymore.

Also, he used to average 8 assists towards the end of his career, playing through double and triple teams and that was the reason he finally won a championship.

I don't know.  I think a healthy, peak shaq who actually tried would be able to do it.

 

As for wilt in todays game I think you've missed a few considerations

 

1) The NBA lower FG% in the 50's and 60's... meaning far more scores came off of offensive boards. 

Which is why Wilt's points and boards were so inflated in the early years.

2)  He was sort of... mentally weak.  He didn't seem to have the guts to pull it out even with stacked teams unless favor came his way.

He never fouled out of a game... but from what i've read, that's because once he was in foul trouble he sort of just stopped defending.

He was aloof and weird with the media... of the 1960's.  How the hell would he cope today with the current sports Media... let alone TMZ

 

If Wilt Chamberlain played today... i feel like the 24/7 always on always talking superstar  era would destroy him mentally.

 

 

If we're setting that aside though and just talking pure play?   I think he'd be very close to in shape trying shaq. 

 

A little less points wise because he wasn't as powerful, but more assists due to his agility...

 

and the same worries at the end of the game because he can't shoot freethrows either.

 

Instead of "Hack a Shaq" Maybe we'd get "Whack a Wilt"

1. Actually, Wilt had a 72% FG in '72 while still rebounding in the 20s.

2. I disagree. In fact, Wilt was a social standout, similar to Charles Barkley. He was always in talk shows and loved the Hollywood crowd. He even claimed to have had sex with like 20,000 women.. the media would love him lol.

And I think he couldn't win championships cause he was greedy. When he started leading the league in assists and lowered his scoring output, that's when he finally won. That's why I think he wouldn't come close to 30 points per game.



bugrimmar said:
Kasz216 said:
bugrimmar said:
carlos710 said:
No way he would average 8 assists per game in today's nba, but I think his impact would be much bigger than dwight's. He probably would look like an slimmer, more agile version of Shaq but with less raw strength. He easily would be the #1 C in the league with averages of around 30/12/3/3 (pts, reb, assists, blks)


There's no such thing as a center averaging 30 points in this league anymore.

Also, he used to average 8 assists towards the end of his career, playing through double and triple teams and that was the reason he finally won a championship.

I don't know.  I think a healthy, peak shaq who actually tried would be able to do it.

 

As for wilt in todays game I think you've missed a few considerations

 

1) The NBA lower FG% in the 50's and 60's... meaning far more scores came off of offensive boards. 

Which is why Wilt's points and boards were so inflated in the early years.

2)  He was sort of... mentally weak.  He didn't seem to have the guts to pull it out even with stacked teams unless favor came his way.

He never fouled out of a game... but from what i've read, that's because once he was in foul trouble he sort of just stopped defending.

He was aloof and weird with the media... of the 1960's.  How the hell would he cope today with the current sports Media... let alone TMZ

 

If Wilt Chamberlain played today... i feel like the 24/7 always on always talking superstar  era would destroy him mentally.

 

 

If we're setting that aside though and just talking pure play?   I think he'd be very close to in shape trying shaq. 

 

A little less points wise because he wasn't as powerful, but more assists due to his agility...

 

and the same worries at the end of the game because he can't shoot freethrows either.

 

Instead of "Hack a Shaq" Maybe we'd get "Whack a Wilt"

1. Actually, Wilt had a 72% FG in '72 while still rebounding in the 20s.

2. I disagree. In fact, Wilt was a social standout, similar to Charles Barkley. He was always in talk shows and loved the Hollywood crowd. He even claimed to have had sex with like 20,000 women.. the media would love him lol.

And I think he couldn't win championships cause he was greedy. When he started leading the league in assists and lowered his scoring output, that's when he finally won. That's why I think he wouldn't come close to 30 points per game.


1.  Average Field Goal Percentage in 1972 was  .455%.

Which seems similar to today's FG% until you consider the fact that there weren't any 3 pointers in 1972. 

(3 pointers are much harder to rebound for under the basket players.)


It wasn't until the late 70's that FG% imrpoved a whole lot.

 

2. And that's why Bill Russel was legendary at trash talking him exactly how he wanted wilt to play.  Wilt was a "I'm going to win my way" type player.

The reason he went to assists seemed more to simply prove that he could win that way.

In the modern NBA, the analysts and players would constantly get him playing in ways his staff wouldn't want.  He'd be like Dwight Howard with the personality of Allen Iverson. 



Kasz216 said:

1.  Average Field Goal Percentage in 1972 was  .455%.

Which seems similar to today's FG% until you consider the fact that there weren't any 3 pointers in 1972. 

(3 pointers are much harder to rebound for under the basket players.)


It wasn't until the late 70's that FG% imrpoved a whole lot.

 

2. And that's why Bill Russel was legendary at trash talking him exactly how he wanted wilt to play.  Wilt was a "I'm going to win my way" type player.

The reason he went to assists seemed more to simply prove that he could win that way.

In the modern NBA, the analysts and players would constantly get him playing in ways his staff wouldn't want.  He'd be like Dwight Howard with the personality of Allen Iverson. 

well... it worked, didn't it?

I guess you're right though. he might even quit the game earlier due to all the criticism. after all, he left the league even though he had a lot more left in the tank.