In multiple recent threads, people have claimed that Wilt Chamberlain would be absolutely unstoppable today. They say he would be an automatic title contender, that he would average 35 or 40 points a game, that no one in the modern era could guard him, etc.
Now, forget for a second that modern players are taller, bigger, more athletic, Blacker, and much more skilled than your average guy on the court in the 1960s. When Wilt was a rookie in 1960, there were literally only 3 other players over 6'8".
Also forget for a second that the zone was specifically instituted to make life more difficult for Shaq, the player with the closest impact to Wilt in recent memory.
Also forget that Wilt played the first part of his career with a 12-foot lane, which allowed him to camp practically right next to the basket. Wilt led the league in scoring 5 out of 5 years with a 12-foot lane, and only once more in the 10 years after the lane was expanded to 16 feet.
But lets set aside for a moment that playing against bigger, stronger, better competition with zone defenses and a 16-foot lane would make life for difficult for a center who only scores close to the basket on isos. Let's, for a moment, ONLY focus on what Wilt did in his own era.
Because Wilt was never unstoppable on offense even in his own time.
Everyone focuses on Wilt's huge regular season numbers. But in the 1960s, few teams played meaningful defense during the regular season - instead, they just ran up and down the court taking the first shot available. The average # of possessions for an NBA team was 150 at one point (now it's only 100), and even average teams scored 115 points a game despite not having a three-point line and the average player not really being able to shoot. Running up and down the court like that, no one had any energy for defense, so it wasn't played most of the time.
I don't care about Wilt's regular season stats - in that environment, they're almost meaningless. Let's take a look at what he did in the playoffs, when teams started clamping down and trying on defense (though still not anything near the effort they reached in the 1990s and beyond).
In the playoffs, Wilt Chamberlain was NEVER "unstoppable" on offense.
Now, forget for a second that modern players are taller, bigger, more athletic, Blacker, and much more skilled than your average guy on the court in the 1960s. When Wilt was a rookie in 1960, there were literally only 3 other players over 6'8".
Also forget for a second that the zone was specifically instituted to make life more difficult for Shaq, the player with the closest impact to Wilt in recent memory.
Also forget that Wilt played the first part of his career with a 12-foot lane, which allowed him to camp practically right next to the basket. Wilt led the league in scoring 5 out of 5 years with a 12-foot lane, and only once more in the 10 years after the lane was expanded to 16 feet.
But lets set aside for a moment that playing against bigger, stronger, better competition with zone defenses and a 16-foot lane would make life for difficult for a center who only scores close to the basket on isos. Let's, for a moment, ONLY focus on what Wilt did in his own era.
Because Wilt was never unstoppable on offense even in his own time.
Everyone focuses on Wilt's huge regular season numbers. But in the 1960s, few teams played meaningful defense during the regular season - instead, they just ran up and down the court taking the first shot available. The average # of possessions for an NBA team was 150 at one point (now it's only 100), and even average teams scored 115 points a game despite not having a three-point line and the average player not really being able to shoot. Running up and down the court like that, no one had any energy for defense, so it wasn't played most of the time.
I don't care about Wilt's regular season stats - in that environment, they're almost meaningless. Let's take a look at what he did in the playoffs, when teams started clamping down and trying on defense (though still not anything near the effort they reached in the 1990s and beyond).
In the playoffs, Wilt Chamberlain was NEVER "unstoppable" on offense.
