When Did Wilt Prime?

[pwayknicks]

Lebron could EASILY average 110 PPG playing those days...and so could Kobe, Wade, Melo, Shaq, Jordan, etc etc!! Please, Anything basketball related before the 70's is a joke. Even the 70s was a joke compared to the 80s...

The top 25 players in today's game would have scored 100 points not breaking a sweat!!

I cant believe you have 7000 posts...

[Buck You]

Lebron could EASILY average 110 PPG playing those days...and so could Kobe, Wade, Melo, Shaq, Jordan, etc etc!! Please, Anything basketball related before the 70's is a joke. Even the 70s was a joke compared to the 80s...

The top 25 players in today's game would have scored 100 points not breaking a sweat!!

Sarcasm detector not broken.

[_BBIB_]

And to answer: imho Wilt's peak was in '67. Compare the performance of his team between '66 & '67 and it becomes clear that his non-volume scoring role made him incredibly effective for his team. It's possible that '61 Wilt could have had that same impact or great taking on the different role, but I would not assume that because it takes some solid BBIQ to pull something like that off, I doubt young Wilt was ready for it.

Wilt's prime was well before then. I can't believe people equate the idea that he finally won a championship with it having to be him improving as a basketball player.

What improved was the team around the guy. He went to the 76ers. That was the first time in his career Wilt had a supporting cast that was legitimately as good as the Celtics dynasty which is why they dethroned them when Wilt had 2 all-star teammates in Chet Walker and Hal Greer and a third guy who was a fringe, soon to be all-star in Billy Cunningham. You give Wilt the guys he had on the 76ers during his 50/25 days and they easily dethrone the Celtics long before 1967.

[Prop]

man i cant wait for lebron to shatter every one of wilts stupid little records
wilt had ZERO competition

if lebron were playing wilts time he would not only score 100 points in a game, he would average 100 points a game

Your ignorance is overwhelming. If Bron was playing during Wilt's days, Wilt would have blocked Bron's layup, knocked him down, stepped on him to get the rebound, and slept with Bron's girl that same night.

You nuthuggers amaze me.

you are one confident man, being amazed by yourself and all. do you stand in front of the mirror and do bodybuilder poses?

[_BBIB_]

Is there even anyone here who actually was alive when Wilt was playing? (when i mean alive, i mean old enough to be a fan of basketball/NBA)

No but there is more than enough visual footage to show that he was an athletic freak of nature whose game would translate in any era.

Speed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Paex9-VxPbA

Blocks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=849_WdqJ8o8

[Doctor MJ]

And to answer: imho Wilt's peak was in '67. Compare the performance of his team between '66 & '67 and it becomes clear that his non-volume scoring role made him incredibly effective for his team. It's possible that '61 Wilt could have had that same impact or great taking on the different role, but I would not assume that because it takes some solid BBIQ to pull something like that off, I doubt young Wilt was ready for it.

Wilt's prime was well before then. I can't believe people equate the idea that he finally won a championship with it having to be him improving as a basketball player.

What improved was the team around the guy. He went to the 76ers. That was the first time in his career Wilt had a supporting cast that was legitimately as good as the Celtics dynasty which is why they dethroned them when Wilt had 2 all-star teammates in Chet Walker and Hal Greer and a third guy who was a fringe, soon to be all-star in Billy Cunningham. You give Wilt the guys he had on the 76ers during his 50/25 days and they easily dethrone the Celtics long before 1967.

Okay you need to spend some time review the '65-66 Sixers and the '66-67 Sixers. Look at how drastic their improvement was, and then look at those other guys you mention - they were on both teams. I'll point out specifically the FG%. The Sixers FG% went up about 4% between years, while the rest of the teams in the league basically held steady, with the best in either year being a full 3% below the '67 Sixers.

Here's what we know: The Sixers had massive improvement, they didn't have big roster turnover, and the only major change in role over the previous year was the removal of Wilt the scorer and the arrival of Wilt the all purpose. Think for a minute how ballsy it was for coach Alex Hannum to come onto that team and say "We're going to be better off if we don't use Wilt as a volume scorer". You think anyone would do that on a whim? Nah, he saw something and made what was probably the best coaching decision in the history of basketball to create a team that flowed significantly better.

Now, it's totally up to debate whether young Wilt could have filled the same role equally as well. Certainly young Wilt was more athletic, so he's got that going for him. The thing is though that Wilt's success in that role was so much about his decision making. We see how young players struggle with that kind of thing all the time.

In the end: Am I dead convinced that '67 Wilt was Wilt at the peak of his abilities? No. It was Wilt at his most valuable, and if I'm picking any Wilt for my team, I'm going to go with the version of him that had arguably the most valuable season in history.

[_BBIB_]

And to answer: imho Wilt's peak was in '67. Compare the performance of his team between '66 & '67 and it becomes clear that his non-volume scoring role made him incredibly effective for his team. It's possible that '61 Wilt could have had that same impact or great taking on the different role, but I would not assume that because it takes some solid BBIQ to pull something like that off, I doubt young Wilt was ready for it.

Wilt's prime was well before then. I can't believe people equate the idea that he finally won a championship with it having to be him improving as a basketball player.

What improved was the team around the guy. He went to the 76ers. That was the first time in his career Wilt had a supporting cast that was legitimately as good as the Celtics dynasty which is why they dethroned them when Wilt had 2 all-star teammates in Chet Walker and Hal Greer and a third guy who was a fringe, soon to be all-star in Billy Cunningham. You give Wilt the guys he had on the 76ers during his 50/25 days and they easily dethrone the Celtics long before 1967.

Okay you need to spend some time review the '65-66 Sixers and the '66-67 Sixers. Look at how drastic their improvement was, and then look at those other guys you mention - they were on both teams. I'll point out specifically the FG%. The Sixers FG% went up about 4% between years, while the rest of the teams in the league basically held steady, with the best in either year being a full 3% below the '67 Sixers.

Here's what we know: The Sixers had massive improvement, they didn't have big roster turnover, and the only major change in role over the previous year was the removal of Wilt the scorer and the arrival of Wilt the all purpose. Think for a minute how ballsy it was for coach Alex Hannum to come onto that team and say "We're going to be better off if we don't use Wilt as a volume scorer". You think anyone would do that on a whim? Nah, he saw something and made what was probably the best coaching decision in the history of basketball to create a team that flowed significantly better.

Now, it's totally up to debate whether young Wilt could have filled the same role equally as well. Certainly young Wilt was more athletic, so he's got that going for him. The thing is though that Wilt's success in that role was so much about his decision making. We see how young players struggle with that kind of thing all the time.

In the end: Am I dead convinced that '67 Wilt was Wilt at the peak of his abilities? No. It was Wilt at his most valuable, and if I'm picking any Wilt for my team, I'm going to go with the version of him that had arguably the most valuable season in history.

1965-66 team was outmatched because Chet Walker wasn't as good and Billy Cunningham was a rookie not exactly ready to contribute. Billy Cunningham was twice the player he was his 2nd year. You may chalk that up to Wilt, I chalk it up to growth as a player, just like he continued to grow after Wilt departed, although obviously the team wasn't as good.