writerman wrote:Great post...and it echoes what others said about him:
"I call Wilt Chamberlain a very honest workman. By that, I mean he always did what his employer wanted. No star athlete has ever given his boss more for the money than Wilt did during his career. Eddie Gottlieb [owner of the Warriors] wanted Wilt to score like no man ever had, so Wilt did. [Alex] Hannum and some of his other coaches wantedhim to pass and play defense, so he did that and he played 48 minutes a night. Those who criticized Wilt -- first for his scoring, then for not scoring more -- really should have criticized his employer."
--Leonard Koppett, Tall Tales (by Terry Pluto) p. 329
and
"I have great respect for Wilt. When I was with the Lakers, he never missed a practice or a game, or was late for a plane. If I asked him to make an appearance, he did it. This man has gone through life with a bad rap. We are talking about a very good person."
--Fred Schaus, Tall Tales (by Terry Pluto) p. 334
TLAF is rigth is saying that Wilt had killer instinct, more than I had said in my posts. Wilt's "weakness,"rather, was that he was a very intelligent and multifaceted person. He had so many varied interests basketball could never be the all-in-all for him, and that's the reason, beyond his incredible skill and athleticism, that I have come to admire him. Shaq's "strength" on the other hand--and I think the man is a total buffoon despite his success on the basketball court--is that he has the myopic ability to focus totally on the one thing he does well that is the unmistakeable trademark of the dullard.
And Wilt was, IMO, just plain all-around better than Shaq was at his absolute best. Equally motivated, it's no contest--Wilt would dominate.
Well, is is true that Wilt Chamberlain is a very well rounded, intelligent, and multifaceted person who is perhaps, one of the most greatest overall human beings of All-Time, with his kindness, generosity, talent, and athleticism.
I disagree that Shaq is a dullard, and that he's a boring person.
Wilt Chamberlain is better than Shaq at defense, and rebounding. Nothing much else, as he had a very poor feel for the game, but that's just me. It would be exciting to watch them play each other.