[GR] wrote:Wilt played Russell in 142 games. He averaged 28.7 pts and 28.7 rebounds.
Praise be to the most high.
I only saw Wilt in person once, but saw him a lot on TV...back in the day. It was a somewhat different game but the guy had MAJOR talents. A lot of what became "textbook skills" for a big....Wilt invented.
Later in his career...Wilt DID face more talented bigs,like Walt Bellamy,a young Kareem, and the overall level of the NBA, the tactics...improved, so the numbers were less extreme. Check out the first 5 yr of Oscar Robertson's career. While the Big O did average a Triple Double one year...if you combine the stats...he actually averaged a triple double his first 5 years. Defenders got away with fewer bumps,grabs,hand checks etc. There was just "man on man". While there were some VERY good players...the talent wasn't as deep or as athletic.
CENSORED... No comment.