GOAT Discussion

[Toots_mcgee]

I keep reading online and seeing on studio shows, basketball people in their 30s and 40s who list their “5 greatest players” or top 10 all time, who do not have Wilt Chamberlain in their top 3.

I am not talking down to anyone because I understand if the only video you have seen of Wilt is from his later years in the league you may not know just how incredible he was as an athlete and basketball player.

He was 7’1 and could run and jump out of the gym. He was a great shooter. The greatest rebounder. And blocked more shots than anyone. But they didn’t track blocked shots when he was in his prime.

The only 7 footer I ever saw who could run like him was Hakeem. But he couldn’t jump like Wilt. Wilt won the conference High Jump while at Kansas. AND he won the shot put gold!!!! Think about what a freak he was.

His shooting was great. His fade away was unstoppable. Look at his FG%. He regularly scored 40+ on Bill Russell. Once scoring 62 on him. He played 48 minutes most nights and never fouled out of a game. A once in a life time freak athlete.

I’m fine with the “Jordan was the greatest” opinions because he was incredible and willed his team to 6 championships.

But please watch this full video from his prime. Listen to the words of Bill Russell and Jerry West and tell me in what world would Wilt not be one of the 2 or 3 best players who ever lived.

 

[quadzilla200]

He is also the most unstoppable GOAT athlete of all time. There are so many stories of him on the track, volleyball court and lifting that just make you shake your head how a 7' whatever could do what he could do. He used to say he'd average 50 in the 90s NBA. Imagine with how soft they are now how much he'd average.
I think Bo Jackson is also in the GOAT athlete conversation with him.
A couple crazy pics with him Andre the Giant and Arnold and also one of him on the basketball court in street clothes next to Shaq.

 

[Toots_mcgee]

True. Wilt was hitting the weights 30 years before basketball and baseball people figured out its benefits. I also read a witness account of a foot race he had in which he outran Jim Brown.

 

[BONE62]

I keep reading online and seeing on studio shows, basketball people in their 30s and 40s who list their “5 greatest players” or top 10 all time, who do not have Wilt Chamberlain in their top 3.

I am not talking down to anyone because I understand if the only video you have seen of Wilt is from his later years in the league you may not know just how incredible he was as an athlete and basketball player.

He was 7’1 and could run and jump out of the gym. He was a great shooter. The greatest rebounder. And blocked more shots than anyone. But they didn’t track blocked shots when he was in his prime.

The only 7 footer I ever saw who could run like him was Hakeem. But he couldn’t jump like Wilt. Wilt won the conference High Jump while at Kansas. AND he won the shot put gold!!!! Think about what a freak he was.

His shooting was great. His fade away was unstoppable. Look at his FG%. He regularly scored 40+ on Bill Russell. Once scoring 62 on him. He played 48 minutes most nights and never fouled out of a game. A once in a life time freak athlete.

I’m fine with the “Jordan was the greatest” opinions because he was incredible and willed his team to 6 championships.

But please watch this full video from his prime. Listen to the words of Bill Russell and Jerry West and tell me in what world would Wilt not be one of the 2 or 3 best players who ever lived.

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I saw Wilt against the Hawks at the Kiel Auditorium sometime around 1962. He was a man among boys. Saw him many times on TV. Not a very good FT shooter. He actually went to "granny" style like Rick Barry later in his career. Not sure if he was shooting them underhanded the night he scored 100 pts but he was 28 of 32 that night. He and Russell had some epic battles. A couple other amazing facts about Wilt, one year he led the league in scoring and the next year in assist's. He also became a Hall of Fame pro volley ball player even though he didn't start playing until he was 34. That makes him one of the few athletes enshrined in two pro sports hall of fames.

 

[TadQueasy]

He is also the most unstoppable GOAT athlete of all time. There are so many stories of him on the track, volleyball court and lifting that just make you shake your head how a 7' whatever could do what he could do. He used to say he'd average 50 in the 90s NBA. Imagine with how soft they are now how much he'd average.
I think Bo Jackson is also in the GOAT athlete conversation with him.
A couple crazy pics with him Andre the Giant and Arnold and also one of him on the basketball court in street clothes next to Shaq.

IMO Bo was right there with Wilt. Read a good book recently on Bo. He was legendary.

 

[kaskaskiakid]

Wilt has always been my GOAT. I wore #13 in his honor my entire career. One year he averaged 50 pts/20rebs per game. He could bench press 500lbs in his prime. At age 59, he stll bench pressed 465lbs, more than Shaq could in his prime at 450ibs. He also ran on the Kansas 4X400 NCAA championship relay team.

The 2nd place GOAT is not even close, whoever you pick.

 

[Expect2Win]

IMO Bo was right there with Wilt. Read a good book recently on Bo. He was legendary.

Yes, Bo was the man, and I can't believe anyone would consider Prime Time ahead of him.
I think this conversation is about basketball GOATS though. I don't know how you can compare across generations easily. I tend to think guys like Wilt and Russell if you put them in a game right now, would be above average but probably not GOATS, however, if they were born 25 years ago and had the opportunity for the training, diets, and other technological advances they would be GOATS now.
Centers is a hard position to choose a GOAT, because Kareem is pretty tough to beat.

 

[Toots_mcgee]

Not everyone takes Charles Barkley seriously, but I saw his top 5 all-time recently and he had Michael, Kareem, Wilt, Russell, and Oscar. It made me respect him a little more.

 

[Toots_mcgee]

Two men have led the NBA in scoring an incredible 10 times. Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan. Highest career scoring average: 1. Michael 30.1. 2. Wilt 30.1. 18th. Kareem 24.6

Chamberlain has won the most rebounding titles in his career, with 11. Highest career rebounding average: 1. Chamberlain 2. Russell

Chamberlain led the league in assists one year.

I see some people who actually list Shaq ahead of Wilt. That gives me a hell of a laugh. Compare the shooting touch of those two. I have a bigger range in my kitchen than Shaq’s.

 

[kaskaskiakid]

Wilt had finesse along with his incredible physicality, ...a la the finger roll. Wilt never fouled out of a game, Dunking was outlawed because of Wilt. In Wilt's era, the game was much cleaner and Wilt couldn't just run over people without a charge being called and dunk like Shaq made a career doing.

 

[MoSooner69]

Dunking was outlawed because of Kareem, not Wilt. It was referred to as the "Lew Alcindor Rule"

 

[kaskaskiakid]

Again I stand corrected. Loved Kareem too. I thought it may have been Kareem instead of Wilt when I wrote it.

 

[panther72]

On Wilt, he was the Big 7 champ in the HJ. He never throw the SP that far, although he did place in the Big 7 FR meet in that event as well as in the TJ. His best HJ was 6-6 3/4. None of those track times attributed to him via the internet are documented and track stats in the 50s are well documented.

 

[dtowner]

In a recent discussion about whether Jordan or James was the best ever NBA player, I tossed out the name Wilt Chamberlain. The others in the discussion were not so much mad as surprised, like they had not thought of him. Part of it is time but part of it is that the modern NBA just does not involve big dudes with their backs the the basket and one hand up calling for the ball. The center, such as he is, is just a taller dude who can handle it and makes jumpers. The guys who can't burry a jump shot pretty much just block shots and grab rebounds. Who is the best player in the NBA right now who plays like Wilt (Russell, Kareem, George Mikan) right now?