Prime Wilt Chamberlain vs. PRIME Antetokounmpo 1-on-1

[70sFan]

Wilt (pre-knee injury) is simply too strong, and athletic for ANYONE to handle. He was routinely abusing Bill Russell (arguably one of if not THE greatest defensive player in NBA history) in their head-to-head matchups despite losing many times to the Celtics. I think Giannis would also have a very difficult time scoring on Wilt because he was remarkably agile and quick for a man his size.

The most talented centre in NBA history is Hakeem Olajuwon. But they’re are many days where I wonder if even Hakeem could score effectively on a prime Wilt.

You guys always take it a step too far, Hakeem scored on Robinson, Rodman, Eaton, Mutumbo, Mourning, Shaq, Ewing, Parish, Kareem etc and had a 46/19 game against a young KG, a 27/12 game against Duncan in 99 when he was way past his prime. There are a combined 11 defensive player of the year awards between Robinson, Rodman, Eaton, Mutumbo and Mourning and none of these guys could even pretend to slow him down.

Nobody is stopping elite offensive talents from being efficient.

I agree, Wilt would be a very tough matchup for Hakeem but he wouldn't simply shut him down. Olajuwon faced a lot of amazing defenders and usually held his own.

The one center who would have the biggest chance of stopping Hakeem is Nate Thurmond. Nate did absolutely impossible things against Wilt, Kareem, Reed, Bellamy, Lanier and any other star bigman from that era.

[coastalmarker99]

Wilt (pre-knee injury) is simply too strong, and athletic for ANYONE to handle. He was routinely abusing Bill Russell (arguably one of if not THE greatest defensive player in NBA history) in their head-to-head matchups despite losing many times to the Celtics. I think Giannis would also have a very difficult time scoring on Wilt because he was remarkably agile and quick for a man his size.

The most talented centre in NBA history is Hakeem Olajuwon. But they’re are many days where I wonder if even Hakeem could score effectively on a prime Wilt.

You guys always take it a step too far, Hakeem scored on Robinson, Rodman, Eaton, Mutumbo, Mourning, Shaq, Ewing, Parish, Kareem etc and had a 46/19 game against a young KG, a 27/12 game against Duncan in 99 when he was way past his prime. There are a combined 11 defensive player of the year awards between Robinson, Rodman, Eaton, Mutumbo and Mourning and none of these guys could even pretend to slow him down.

Nobody is stopping elite offensive talents from being efficient.

I agree, Wilt would be a very tough matchup for Hakeem but he wouldn't simply shut him down. Olajuwon faced a lot of amazing defenders and usually held his own.

The one center who would have the biggest chance of stopping Hakeem is Nate Thurmond. Nate did absolutely impossible things against Wilt, Kareem, Reed, Bellamy, Lanier and any other star bigman from that era.

Kareem absolutely hated going up against Nate in fact he used to complain a lot to the media that the Refs let Nate push him around more than they would with the other centres in the league.




Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1970-1974):

Averages: 30.5 ppg, 15.5 rpg, 4.3 apg on 55.3% FG, 68.3% FT and 58.2% TS

vs Nate: 24.7 ppg, 15.1 rpg, 3.4 apg on 46.1% FG, 66.8% FT and 49.0% TS


Also, a fun fact about Nate is that he scouted Kareem out before he ever played him.

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[NoDopeOnSundays]

Wilt (pre-knee injury) is simply too strong, and athletic for ANYONE to handle. He was routinely abusing Bill Russell (arguably one of if not THE greatest defensive player in NBA history) in their head-to-head matchups despite losing many times to the Celtics. I think Giannis would also have a very difficult time scoring on Wilt because he was remarkably agile and quick for a man his size.

The most talented centre in NBA history is Hakeem Olajuwon. But they’re are many days where I wonder if even Hakeem could score effectively on a prime Wilt.

You guys always take it a step too far, Hakeem scored on Robinson, Rodman, Eaton, Mutumbo, Mourning, Shaq, Ewing, Parish, Kareem etc and had a 46/19 game against a young KG, a 27/12 game against Duncan in 99 when he was way past his prime. There are a combined 11 defensive player of the year awards between Robinson, Rodman, Eaton, Mutumbo and Mourning and none of these guys could even pretend to slow him down.

Nobody is stopping elite offensive talents from being efficient.

None of those dudes are Wilt though. Wilt is a whole different animal. He is perhaps the ultimate combination of strength and athleticism. The only dude who Hakeem faced who was somewhat similar (but still nowhere close) is Shaq and it is well known that Dream struggled mightily to guard Shaq.

When did prime Hakeem struggle with Shaq? From 92 to 96 he had monster games against Shaq and outscored him in that stretch, it wasn't until 1997 when he was 34 years old that Shaq started to get the best of him. Also, what does Shaq scoring have to do with what you said? You questioned whether or not Hakeem would be able to score effectively against Wilt, not whether or not he could stop him, and during his prime he thoroughly outplayed Shaq despite being 50+ lighter.

Would there be some games here and there where Hakeem wouldn't score well against Wilt, sure, but that was the case against all those other DPOY he played against, but over the course of many games none of them were able to stop him. Nobody stops elite HOF offensive talents, great offense will always find a way to beat great defense in the long run.

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[Laimbeer]

2nd block looks like a goal tend?

That hook-shot Jabbar took is probably 12-13' in the air. The feat of blocking it, is nothing short of mental.

Wilt's hand is maybe two feet above the rim, and he was crouching down and gathering himself to leap. There are dozens of players in the NBA that could block those shots in that manner.

[70sFan]

2nd block looks like a goal tend?

That hook-shot Jabbar took is probably 12-13' in the air. The feat of blocking it, is nothing short of mental.

Wilt's hand is maybe two feet above the rim, and he was crouching down and gathering himself to leap. There are dozens of players in the NBA that could block those shots in that manner.

Then why nobody could do that in 20 years of Jabbar's career?

[druggas]

2nd block looks like a goal tend?

That hook-shot Jabbar took is probably 12-13' in the air. The feat of blocking it, is nothing short of mental.

Wilt's hand is maybe two feet above the rim, and he was crouching down and gathering himself to leap. There are dozens of players in the NBA that could block those shots in that manner.

Nobody but Wilt did.

[Packbuckman]

That hook-shot Jabbar took is probably 12-13' in the air. The feat of blocking it, is nothing short of mental.

Truly mental!!

How about the feat of blocking it after Wilt had reconstructive knee surgery, in his mid 30's, and lost a foot on his vertical compared to his prime?

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By the time he faced Kareem, his vertical was down from 45" to about 35". He still held his own against peak/healthy Jabaar, blocking 16 of his shots in 1 playoff series (1971 WCF).

What newbies refuse to recognize is that elite players, such as Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Lebron, Joe Montana, Walter Payton, Jack Nicholas, Jim Brown, Joe Lewis, Ali, Jackie Robinson, Sugar Ray Robinson, Usain Bolt, Jesse Owens, Pele etc. would transcend any era. I would even imagine some Spartans lol.

Imagine these guys with todays nutrition, sports science? These kids only know the present and have little to no idea.

You forgot Jim Thorpe and Don Hudson but ya to many great players to name that would be great no matter what year it was.

[ty 4191]

That hook-shot Jabbar took is probably 12-13' in the air. The feat of blocking it, is nothing short of mental.

Wilt's hand is maybe two feet above the rim, and he was crouching down and gathering himself to leap. There are dozens of players in the NBA that could block those shots in that manner.

Then why nobody could do that in 20 years of Jabbar's career?

Kareem himself said that nobody guarding him ever blocked his Sky Hook besides Wilt.

Just imagine Wilt 10 years earlier. 40-50 lbs lighter, much quicker, with a 10-12 inch greater vertical.

[Laimbeer]

That hook-shot Jabbar took is probably 12-13' in the air. The feat of blocking it, is nothing short of mental.

Wilt's hand is maybe two feet above the rim, and he was crouching down and gathering himself to leap. There are dozens of players in the NBA that could block those shots in that manner.

Then why nobody could do that in 20 years of Jabbar's career?

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[Ballerhogger]

giannis best option taking outside shot.... There would be no driving the lane against wilt.

[MGB8]

Wilt is better and more impressive player than giannis but I think Giannis would be better suited for 1v1. Also strongly disagree with the notion that the bigger players always just backs up the smaller player time after time in 1v1 and that's why despite being a lebron fan I disagree with people that say that he would beat kobe 1v1 just because he's bigger. Also maybe this would happen if like, their life was on the line but in reality players just don't play 1v1 like that. The reason why I'm taking giannis is that he has way better face up, dribble game and can hit some shots.

This is an important point. Giannis, while no dead eye, has range and the handles of a much smaller man.

OTOH, if Wilt grew up in this era…. KAT but bigger, stronger, faster, quicker…

[70sFan]

Wilt's hand is maybe two feet above the rim, and he was crouching down and gathering himself to leap. There are dozens of players in the NBA that could block those shots in that manner.

Then why nobody could do that in 20 years of Jabbar's career?

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Parish played against Kareem for hundreds of games. He timed it once and it wasn't the same type of skyhook Wilt blocked. Find me 10 or more Parish blocks and we could talk.

It's absurd to believe that it wasn't hard to block skyhook.

[anatomicbomb]

For some of these comparison posts, I would like to see more nuanced variables included in the voting options.

For example, in this case, it might be edifying to see who has watched Wilt play, or how old the responders are, as there may be underlying correlations that point to explanations beyond yes/no. So I could vote something like "Wilt / Born in the 80s / Never saw Wilt play during his career".

***

I also feel the need to point out (again) that the people disparaging Wilt's level of competition relative to Giannis is overblown. Wilt is from that world, too, and not only that, he entered pro ball as a 16yo black man in a country going through a civil rights reckoning. If Wilt grew up with today's diets, training, tournaments, scouting, etc. he would clearly be better as a player in this era than he was then. Part of what's particularly magical about Wilt's transcendence is that he was so good in spite of playing in a world where things like smoking and drinking were commonplace before a game, or that diet and exercise were relatively underappreciated for performance relative to today, or that people of colour had an even more difficult time finding safe opportunities then than they do now.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

Wilt is better and more impressive player than giannis but I think Giannis would be better suited for 1v1. Also strongly disagree with the notion that the bigger players always just backs up the smaller player time after time in 1v1 and that's why despite being a lebron fan I disagree with people that say that he would beat kobe 1v1 just because he's bigger. Also maybe this would happen if like, their life was on the line but in reality players just don't play 1v1 like that. The reason why I'm taking giannis is that he has way better face up, dribble game and can hit some shots.

This is an important point. Giannis, while no dead eye, has range and the handles of a much smaller man.

OTOH, if Wilt grew up in this era…. KAT but bigger, stronger, faster, quicker…

There's no telling what Wilt would be had he grown up now, today the American big man isn't nearly as skilled as the international big offensively. You can't just assume he'd be KAT who is arguably the greatest shooting center ever, but also didn't play a lot of AAU ball in comparison to his American peers. If Wilt grew up today he may be a physical marvel that never gets the ball because the AAU system in America doesn't really promote skilled bigs. There are outliers sure, but for the most part the most skilled/best big men today are foreigners.

[Laimbeer]

Then why nobody could do that in 20 years of Jabbar's career?

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Parish played against Kareem for hundreds of games. He timed it once and it wasn't the same type of skyhook Wilt blocked. Find me 10 or more Parish blocks and we could talk.

It's absurd to believe that it wasn't hard to block skyhook.

Parish played hundreds of games against Kareem?

[70sFan]

Watch on YouTube

Parish played against Kareem for hundreds of games. He timed it once and it wasn't the same type of skyhook Wilt blocked. Find me 10 or more Parish blocks and we could talk.

It's absurd to believe that it wasn't hard to block skyhook.

Parish played hundreds of games against Kareem?

Exaggaration, but they played against each other 33 games in RS and 26 playoff games in playoffs. That's a lot of games and Kareem dominated him H2H.

[Laimbeer]

Parish played against Kareem for hundreds of games. He timed it once and it wasn't the same type of skyhook Wilt blocked. Find me 10 or more Parish blocks and we could talk.

It's absurd to believe that it wasn't hard to block skyhook.

Parish played hundreds of games against Kareem?

Exaggaration, but they played against each other 33 games in RS and 26 playoff games in playoffs. That's a lot of games and Kareem dominated him H2H.

Someone has to fact check your posts.

[70sFan]

Parish played hundreds of games against Kareem?

Exaggaration, but they played against each other 33 games in RS and 26 playoff games in playoffs. That's a lot of games and Kareem dominated him H2H.

Someone has to fact check your posts.

Come on, not everything I write is 100% serious.

[Zenzibar]

Truly mental!!

How about the feat of blocking it after Wilt had reconstructive knee surgery, in his mid 30's, and lost a foot on his vertical compared to his prime?

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By the time he faced Kareem, his vertical was down from 45" to about 35". He still held his own against peak/healthy Jabaar, blocking 16 of his shots in 1 playoff series (1971 WCF).

What newbies refuse to recognize is that elite players, such as Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Lebron, Joe Montana, Walter Payton, Jack Nicholas, Jim Brown, Joe Lewis, Ali, Jackie Robinson, Sugar Ray Robinson, Usain Bolt, Jesse Owens, Pele etc. would transcend any era. I would even imagine some Spartans lol.

Imagine these guys with todays nutrition, sports science? These kids only know the present and have little to no idea.

You forgot Jim Thorpe and Don Hudson but ya to many great players to name that would be great no matter what year it was.

Absolutely.
There must be dozens that could rock in this era. Al-time great Bucks like Sidney Moncrief, Bob McAdoo would be launching 3s and probably a league leading scorer, Nate Archibald, John Stockton etc to name a few more.

My point is that these younger fans lack historical references to understand that greatness translates.

[Zenzibar]

Truly mental!!

How about the feat of blocking it after Wilt had reconstructive knee surgery, in his mid 30's, and lost a foot on his vertical compared to his prime?

Spoiler:

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By the time he faced Kareem, his vertical was down from 45" to about 35". He still held his own against peak/healthy Jabaar, blocking 16 of his shots in 1 playoff series (1971 WCF).

What newbies refuse to recognize is that elite players, such as Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Lebron, Joe Montana, Walter Payton, Jack Nicholas, Jim Brown, Joe Lewis, Ali, Jackie Robinson, Sugar Ray Robinson, Usain Bolt, Jesse Owens, Pele etc. would transcend any era. I would even imagine some Spartans lol.

Imagine these guys with todays nutrition, sports science? These kids only know the present and have little to no idea.

That's mainly it. There's a pretty well known Ted Talk video where someone goes into detail about the differences in performance between Jesse Owens and Usain Bolt is more about the modern shoes and track surface and runners blocks than anything innately biological.

There have always been athletic freaks of nature in every era, they didn't emerge magically sometime in the mid 80s or so.

For example there is a famous statute called the boxer, circa 600bc that depicts a boxer who would fight for 2-3 hours, rest up and then fight again later in the day. Some boxers fought with wraps dipped in tar then glass.

We couldn't fathom the aggression, bravery and sheer athleticism a human is required to have to do this.