All known blocked shot data of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain:

[CavaliersFTW]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j5q0XjUAHc[/youtube]

A defensive video compilation of Wilt

[wigglestrue]

This is awesome.

Two things...

1. Why shouldn't "nicks" be counted as blocks? They are today, right? At the time, there was no official "block" stat, so I'd assume that "block" and "nick" are just ways of describing different kinds of blocks.

2. I've asked this before: How many full games exist on film for these guys? It should be a high priority for basketball history obsessives to gather all of them and run them through the same full spectrum databall analyses we have today. Small or not, 100% representative or not, the samples do exist, and should be processed.

[70sFan]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j5q0XjUAHc[/youtube]

A defensive video compilation of Wilt

One of your best videos (that's mean more than something!!). Thanks soo much for you work and passion
I don't think there's ever been a center who could protect the rim as good as Wilt. He wasn't the best defender ever, he had his weaknsesses but show me player with that reach, timing and strenght... Impossible

[old rem]

Great find. I always knew Wilt blocked more shots than Russell. One of my very old friends saw Wilt play many, many times and he always said, "If they kept track of blocks, Wilt and Russell would have averaged triple-doubles just like Oscar did." My friend thinks if they kept track of blocks, Wilt would have been the triple-double leader of the NBA by a wide margin to boot.

I saw a lot of Wilt and Russell They DID block a lot of shots. I doubt they ever averaged 10+ blocks, or even got real close.

[pdevos]

I agree that pace and style make a large difference in a stat as situational as blocked shots. That's one reason I'm interested in block% rather than raw numbers and why actually having the raw numbers to look at is still very valuable.

I don't, however, subscribe to the idea that the 1960s were a particularly weak era. The 50s and the 70s, yes due to the circumscribed player pool in the 50s and the watered down league in the 70s (and to some extent in the 80s though Magic and Bird never seem to get called out on this). Then the explosion of foreign talent has made this century's talent pool expand faster than the league so I can see thinking that the 90s were a bit weaker as well, though that's never brought up either. I tend to think that people who feel the 60s were weak (as opposed to being far less sophisticated in both offensive and defensive coaching, training, equipment, etc.) are incorrect based on both observation and looking logically at talent pools but that's their right.

I agree with all of this, save for a few caveats. Just my two cents of course, not necessarily "right."

The 70s

The 70s were a big weaker due to the ABA pulling talent into their pool. From Billy Cunningham, Rick Barry, George McGinnis, Mel Daniels, Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore, Joe Caldwell, Charlie Scott, Connie Hawkins, Moses Malone, and Julius Erving among many other talented players spend seasons in the ABA in the 70s that could have been in the NBA.

The 80s

The 80's was packed with talented teams. I'd take the 80s Lakers, Celtics, 76ers, late 80s Pistons vs any 70s team other than the '72 Lakers and over any 2000s team. Also, the Bulls, Blazers, early 80s Bucks, mid 80s Nuggets, and Rockers were some fun and talented teams. I have 4 of the top 10 players coming from the 1980s and that doesn't even include Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who is also in my top 10, but I consider him a child of the 70s. It also doesn't include Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Moses Malone, Julius Erving, Wilkins, Isiah Thomas, Scottie Pippen, and Clyde Drexler among many other great players. I actually think the 80s was the golden age of basketball, it was the toughest with the most talent, especially following the consolidation of the ABA into the NBA. Only the Dallas Mavericks (1980) were an expansion team otherwise during most of the decade and since the ABA basically jammed 7 teams into 4 NBA teams talent wise, it was definitely helping the league. Imagine an NBA draft where you had Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore, Bobby Jones, Don Buse, George Gervin, David Thompson, Billy Knight, and Ron Boone all immediately came over in 1976-77. IMO, that's only outdone by the 1984 NBA Draft in the league's history. In years prior to the ABA-NBA merger you had other very talented players coming over including Connie Hawkins, Spencer Haywood, Charlie Scott, George McGinnis also come over. While also wouldn't have lost a few all-star seasons including Zelmo Beaty, Ricky Barry, & Billy Cunningham.

In order of strength teams and talent for NBA decades:
1 - 80s
2 - 90s
--------
3 - 60s
4 - 10s
5 - 00s
6 - 70s

[iggymcfrack]

I agree that pace and style make a large difference in a stat as situational as blocked shots. That's one reason I'm interested in block% rather than raw numbers and why actually having the raw numbers to look at is still very valuable.

I don't, however, subscribe to the idea that the 1960s were a particularly weak era. The 50s and the 70s, yes due to the circumscribed player pool in the 50s and the watered down league in the 70s (and to some extent in the 80s though Magic and Bird never seem to get called out on this). Then the explosion of foreign talent has made this century's talent pool expand faster than the league so I can see thinking that the 90s were a bit weaker as well, though that's never brought up either. I tend to think that people who feel the 60s were weak (as opposed to being far less sophisticated in both offensive and defensive coaching, training, equipment, etc.) are incorrect based on both observation and looking logically at talent pools but that's their right.

I agree with all of this, save for a few caveats. Just my two cents of course, not necessarily "right."

The 70s

The 70s were a big weaker due to the ABA pulling talent into their pool. From Billy Cunningham, Rick Barry, George McGinnis, Mel Daniels, Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore, Joe Caldwell, Charlie Scott, Connie Hawkins, Moses Malone, and Julius Erving among many other talented players spend seasons in the ABA in the 70s that could have been in the NBA.

The 80s

The 80's was packed with talented teams. I'd take the 80s Lakers, Celtics, 76ers, late 80s Pistons vs any 70s team other than the '72 Lakers and over any 2000s team. Also, the Bulls, Blazers, early 80s Bucks, mid 80s Nuggets, and Rockers were some fun and talented teams. I have 4 of the top 10 players coming from the 1980s and that doesn't even include Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who is also in my top 10, but I consider him a child of the 70s. It also doesn't include Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Moses Malone, Julius Erving, Wilkins, Isiah Thomas, Scottie Pippen, and Clyde Drexler among many other great players. I actually think the 80s was the golden age of basketball, it was the toughest with the most talent, especially following the consolidation of the ABA into the NBA. Only the Dallas Mavericks (1980) were an expansion team otherwise during most of the decade and since the ABA basically jammed 7 teams into 4 NBA teams talent wise, it was definitely helping the league. Imagine an NBA draft where you had Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore, Bobby Jones, Don Buse, George Gervin, David Thompson, Billy Knight, and Ron Boone all immediately came over in 1976-77. IMO, that's only outdone by the 1984 NBA Draft in the league's history. In years prior to the ABA-NBA merger you had other very talented players coming over including Connie Hawkins, Spencer Haywood, Charlie Scott, George McGinnis also come over. While also wouldn't have lost a few all-star seasons including Zelmo Beaty, Ricky Barry, & Billy Cunningham.

In order of strength teams and talent for NBA decades:
1 - 80s
2 - 90s
--------
3 - 60s
4 - 10s
5 - 00s
6 - 70s

Go back and watch some games from the ‘90s some time.

10s >>>> 90s >>>>>>>>>>>>> 60s

[frica]

Isn't it peculiar, the 2nd game for Wilt in that list.
20/38, and the notes say 20 field goals were dunks. So he missed 18 field goals that weren't dunks?
Even Ben Simmons would do better than that chucking 3 pointers.

[pdevos]

I agree that pace and style make a large difference in a stat as situational as blocked shots. That's one reason I'm interested in block% rather than raw numbers and why actually having the raw numbers to look at is still very valuable.

I don't, however, subscribe to the idea that the 1960s were a particularly weak era. The 50s and the 70s, yes due to the circumscribed player pool in the 50s and the watered down league in the 70s (and to some extent in the 80s though Magic and Bird never seem to get called out on this). Then the explosion of foreign talent has made this century's talent pool expand faster than the league so I can see thinking that the 90s were a bit weaker as well, though that's never brought up either. I tend to think that people who feel the 60s were weak (as opposed to being far less sophisticated in both offensive and defensive coaching, training, equipment, etc.) are incorrect based on both observation and looking logically at talent pools but that's their right.

I agree with all of this, save for a few caveats. Just my two cents of course, not necessarily "right."

The 70s

The 70s were a big weaker due to the ABA pulling talent into their pool. From Billy Cunningham, Rick Barry, George McGinnis, Mel Daniels, Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore, Joe Caldwell, Charlie Scott, Connie Hawkins, Moses Malone, and Julius Erving among many other talented players spend seasons in the ABA in the 70s that could have been in the NBA.

The 80s

The 80's was packed with talented teams. I'd take the 80s Lakers, Celtics, 76ers, late 80s Pistons vs any 70s team other than the '72 Lakers and over any 2000s team. Also, the Bulls, Blazers, early 80s Bucks, mid 80s Nuggets, and Rockers were some fun and talented teams. I have 4 of the top 10 players coming from the 1980s and that doesn't even include Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who is also in my top 10, but I consider him a child of the 70s. It also doesn't include Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Moses Malone, Julius Erving, Wilkins, Isiah Thomas, Scottie Pippen, and Clyde Drexler among many other great players. I actually think the 80s was the golden age of basketball, it was the toughest with the most talent, especially following the consolidation of the ABA into the NBA. Only the Dallas Mavericks (1980) were an expansion team otherwise during most of the decade and since the ABA basically jammed 7 teams into 4 NBA teams talent wise, it was definitely helping the league. Imagine an NBA draft where you had Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore, Bobby Jones, Don Buse, George Gervin, David Thompson, Billy Knight, and Ron Boone all immediately came over in 1976-77. IMO, that's only outdone by the 1984 NBA Draft in the league's history. In years prior to the ABA-NBA merger you had other very talented players coming over including Connie Hawkins, Spencer Haywood, Charlie Scott, George McGinnis also come over. While also wouldn't have lost a few all-star seasons including Zelmo Beaty, Ricky Barry, & Billy Cunningham.

In order of strength teams and talent for NBA decades:
1 - 80s
2 - 90s
--------
3 - 60s
4 - 10s
5 - 00s
6 - 70s

Go back and watch some games from the ‘90s some time.

10s >>>> 90s >>>>>>>>>>>>> 60s

I won't argue, just state how I arrived at my conclusions...

The 90s had:
6 years of Michael Jordan's championship bulls (best player ever)
2 years of Shaq & Kobe of a 3peat at their peak (two of top 15 players ever)
2 years of Hakeem's dominance and championships (top 6 player ever)
Tim Duncan, David Robinson, and Ginobli on the same team. (two more top 15 players ever)

That's 6 of my top 15 players ever (40%) in a single decade. Again, I have 80s and 90s in their own tier. The maturity of the game had developed and the influx of talent was amazing.

The game saw Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan enter the league and have an impact in those same 90s.

Comparing 90s vs 10s

The 10's have an older Spurs team (not as good as 90s Spurs IMO).
Kobe/Pau/Bynum not as good as Kobe/Shaq.
Not a believer in the 2-for-4 Miami Heat superteam as a great team. LeBron is top 10 all-time tho.
The Warriors are great in the dawn of a new era post 2014 aka "pace and space era" of free movement, unlimited carries, unlimited moving screens, and James Harden shooting 13 3s per game. I think this is the easiest era to score points in. This is our last year in the 10s and I probably need a few years after to rightly see how 2014-Present is in the new era.

That said, for personal application to my personal rankings, I feel pretty confident in my viewing of the present game (10s), 00s, 90s, and mid 80s. 10s just would like another 3-4 years into this new era of basketball tho to finalize my takeaways on it. Admittedly, I wasn't old enough to watch 70s and below live or understand the game at that point so I admit my perception of them is mostly research in nature, 2nd hand accounts, and limited video vs first-hand in the moment.

[Cavsfansince84]

I won't argue, just state how I arrived at my conclusions...

The 90s had:
6 years of Michael Jordan's championship bulls (best player ever)
2 years of Shaq & Kobe of a 3peat at their peak (two of top 15 players ever)
2 years of Hakeem's dominance and championships (top 6 player ever)
Tim Duncan, David Robinson, and Ginobli on the same team. (two more top 15 players ever)

That's 6 of my top 15 players ever (40%) in a single decade. Again, I have 80s and 90s in their own tier. The maturity of the game had developed and the influx of talent was amazing.

The game saw Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan enter the league and have an impact in those same 90s.

Shaq and Kobe's 3 peat didn't start until the 2000's. Also KG and Kobe barely had any impact in the 90's. The late 90's was kind of weak imo. It was basically the same guys dominating then that were in the early 90's except they were all in their mid to late 30's by then. Also, Ginobili didn't enter the league until 2003.

[HeartBreakKid]

I agree with all of this, save for a few caveats. Just my two cents of course, not necessarily "right."

The 70s

The 70s were a big weaker due to the ABA pulling talent into their pool. From Billy Cunningham, Rick Barry, George McGinnis, Mel Daniels, Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore, Joe Caldwell, Charlie Scott, Connie Hawkins, Moses Malone, and Julius Erving among many other talented players spend seasons in the ABA in the 70s that could have been in the NBA.

The 80s

The 80's was packed with talented teams. I'd take the 80s Lakers, Celtics, 76ers, late 80s Pistons vs any 70s team other than the '72 Lakers and over any 2000s team. Also, the Bulls, Blazers, early 80s Bucks, mid 80s Nuggets, and Rockers were some fun and talented teams. I have 4 of the top 10 players coming from the 1980s and that doesn't even include Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who is also in my top 10, but I consider him a child of the 70s. It also doesn't include Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Moses Malone, Julius Erving, Wilkins, Isiah Thomas, Scottie Pippen, and Clyde Drexler among many other great players. I actually think the 80s was the golden age of basketball, it was the toughest with the most talent, especially following the consolidation of the ABA into the NBA. Only the Dallas Mavericks (1980) were an expansion team otherwise during most of the decade and since the ABA basically jammed 7 teams into 4 NBA teams talent wise, it was definitely helping the league. Imagine an NBA draft where you had Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore, Bobby Jones, Don Buse, George Gervin, David Thompson, Billy Knight, and Ron Boone all immediately came over in 1976-77. IMO, that's only outdone by the 1984 NBA Draft in the league's history. In years prior to the ABA-NBA merger you had other very talented players coming over including Connie Hawkins, Spencer Haywood, Charlie Scott, George McGinnis also come over. While also wouldn't have lost a few all-star seasons including Zelmo Beaty, Ricky Barry, & Billy Cunningham.

In order of strength teams and talent for NBA decades:
1 - 80s
2 - 90s
--------
3 - 60s
4 - 10s
5 - 00s
6 - 70s

Go back and watch some games from the ‘90s some time.

10s >>>> 90s >>>>>>>>>>>>> 60s

I won't argue, just state how I arrived at my conclusions...

The 90s had:
6 years of Michael Jordan's championship bulls (best player ever)
2 years of Shaq & Kobe of a 3peat at their peak (two of top 15 players ever)
2 years of Hakeem's dominance and championships (top 6 player ever)
Tim Duncan, David Robinson, and Ginobli on the same team. (two more top 15 players ever)

That's 6 of my top 15 players ever (40%) in a single decade. Again, I have 80s and 90s in their own tier. The maturity of the game had developed and the influx of talent was amazing.

The game saw Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan enter the league and have an impact in those same 90s.

Comparing 90s vs 10s

The 10's have an older Spurs team (not as good as 90s Spurs IMO).
Kobe/Pau/Bynum not as good as Kobe/Shaq.
Not a believer in the 2-for-4 Miami Heat superteam as a great team. LeBron is top 10 all-time tho.
The Warriors are great in the dawn of a new era post 2014 aka "pace and space era" of free movement, unlimited carries, unlimited moving screens, and James Harden shooting 13 3s per game. I think this is the easiest era to score points in. This is our last year in the 10s and I probably need a few years after to rightly see how 2014-Present is in the new era.

That said, for personal application to my personal rankings, I feel pretty confident in my viewing of the present game (10s), 00s, 90s, and mid 80s. 10s just would like another 3-4 years into this new era of basketball tho to finalize my takeaways on it. Admittedly, I wasn't old enough to watch 70s and below live or understand the game at that point so I admit my perception of them is mostly research in nature, 2nd hand accounts, and limited video vs first-hand in the moment.

Your time frame is off - you're confusing things that happened in the 00s and saying they happened in the 90s.

[pdevos]

Go back and watch some games from the ‘90s some time.

10s >>>> 90s >>>>>>>>>>>>> 60s

I won't argue, just state how I arrived at my conclusions...

The 90s had:
6 years of Michael Jordan's championship bulls (best player ever)
2 years of Shaq & Kobe of a 3peat at their peak (two of top 15 players ever)
2 years of Hakeem's dominance and championships (top 6 player ever)
Tim Duncan, David Robinson, and Ginobli on the same team. (two more top 15 players ever)

That's 6 of my top 15 players ever (40%) in a single decade. Again, I have 80s and 90s in their own tier. The maturity of the game had developed and the influx of talent was amazing.

The game saw Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan enter the league and have an impact in those same 90s.

Comparing 90s vs 10s

The 10's have an older Spurs team (not as good as 90s Spurs IMO).
Kobe/Pau/Bynum not as good as Kobe/Shaq.
Not a believer in the 2-for-4 Miami Heat superteam as a great team. LeBron is top 10 all-time tho.
The Warriors are great in the dawn of a new era post 2014 aka "pace and space era" of free movement, unlimited carries, unlimited moving screens, and James Harden shooting 13 3s per game. I think this is the easiest era to score points in. This is our last year in the 10s and I probably need a few years after to rightly see how 2014-Present is in the new era.

That said, for personal application to my personal rankings, I feel pretty confident in my viewing of the present game (10s), 00s, 90s, and mid 80s. 10s just would like another 3-4 years into this new era of basketball tho to finalize my takeaways on it. Admittedly, I wasn't old enough to watch 70s and below live or understand the game at that point so I admit my perception of them is mostly research in nature, 2nd hand accounts, and limited video vs first-hand in the moment.

Your time frame is off - you're confusing things that happened in the 00s and saying they happened in the 90s.

Yep, Shaq/Kobe part is off, that's early 2000s. Ginobli as well (2003).

Other than that the rest lines up.
source: https://ww.basketball-reference.com/leagues/


https://cdn1.imggmi.com/uploads/2019/4/15/c452bb79282e199056e9267d73224960-full.png

[pdevos]

I won't argue, just state how I arrived at my conclusions...

The 90s had:
6 years of Michael Jordan's championship bulls (best player ever)
2 years of Shaq & Kobe of a 3peat at their peak (two of top 15 players ever)
2 years of Hakeem's dominance and championships (top 6 player ever)
Tim Duncan, David Robinson, and Ginobli on the same team. (two more top 15 players ever)

That's 6 of my top 15 players ever (40%) in a single decade. Again, I have 80s and 90s in their own tier. The maturity of the game had developed and the influx of talent was amazing.

The game saw Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan enter the league and have an impact in those same 90s.

Shaq and Kobe's 3 peat didn't start until the 2000's. Also KG and Kobe barely had any impact in the 90's. The late 90's was kind of weak imo. It was basically the same guys dominating then that were in the early 90's except they were all in their mid to late 30's by then. Also, Ginobili didn't enter the league until 2003.

good call outs, my mind definitely slipped on Ginobli. KG/Kobe were drafted in 90s, got to 20 ppg level. But definitely not their peak.

I'm not sure I agree on late 90's as weaker given Jordan didn't retire until 1998. Knicks, Pacers, Rockets, Spurs, Blazers, Suns, and Jazz had some really good teams in the 90s.

[HeartBreakKid]

I won't argue, just state how I arrived at my conclusions...

The 90s had:
6 years of Michael Jordan's championship bulls (best player ever)
2 years of Shaq & Kobe of a 3peat at their peak (two of top 15 players ever)
2 years of Hakeem's dominance and championships (top 6 player ever)
Tim Duncan, David Robinson, and Ginobli on the same team. (two more top 15 players ever)

That's 6 of my top 15 players ever (40%) in a single decade. Again, I have 80s and 90s in their own tier. The maturity of the game had developed and the influx of talent was amazing.

The game saw Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan enter the league and have an impact in those same 90s.

Comparing 90s vs 10s

The 10's have an older Spurs team (not as good as 90s Spurs IMO).
Kobe/Pau/Bynum not as good as Kobe/Shaq.
Not a believer in the 2-for-4 Miami Heat superteam as a great team. LeBron is top 10 all-time tho.
The Warriors are great in the dawn of a new era post 2014 aka "pace and space era" of free movement, unlimited carries, unlimited moving screens, and James Harden shooting 13 3s per game. I think this is the easiest era to score points in. This is our last year in the 10s and I probably need a few years after to rightly see how 2014-Present is in the new era.

That said, for personal application to my personal rankings, I feel pretty confident in my viewing of the present game (10s), 00s, 90s, and mid 80s. 10s just would like another 3-4 years into this new era of basketball tho to finalize my takeaways on it. Admittedly, I wasn't old enough to watch 70s and below live or understand the game at that point so I admit my perception of them is mostly research in nature, 2nd hand accounts, and limited video vs first-hand in the moment.

Your time frame is off - you're confusing things that happened in the 00s and saying they happened in the 90s.

Yep, Shaq/Kobe part is off, that's early 2000s.

The rest lines up.
source: https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/


https://cdn1.imggmi.com/uploads/2019/4/15/c452bb79282e199056e9267d73224960-full.png

Ginobili didn't play in the 90s, his first season was in 2003.


Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant did not have much impact in the 90s, especially Kobe. They had some all star seasons.

Duncan and Iverson are barely 90s players. Tim Duncan had two seasons in the 90s and Iverson only had one superstar season in the 90s.

[An Unbiased Fan]

Speaks to how weak the competition was in the 1960's.

[70sFan]

Speaks to how weak the competition was in the 1960's.

How so? Because two of the best defenders ever averaged tons of blocks in fast-paced era without spacing/three point line? I guess 1990s is also weak era because centers averaged the double amount of blocks they do today.

[Johnlac1]

Speaks to how weak the competition was in the 1960's.

How so? Because two of the best defenders ever averaged tons of blocks in fast-paced era without spacing/three point line? I guess 1990s is also weak era because centers averaged the double amount of blocks they do today.

Nobody argues that the competition today isn't stronger than fifty plus years ago.
But most of the people (who I would guess never saw Russell play except on clips) don't realize how quick he got up to block shots.
He was a great leaper, had great length, and he got up super quick. He actually studied shot-blocking angles and usually didn't try to block shots when he thought the effort wasn't worth it. And he had the quickness to go out and block shots outside the lane.
Of course, today with the takeover of the game with the three point shot and a slower pace, there are fewer chances for centers to block shots.
But if they played the game today the same way they did in Russell's time pace-wise and no three point shot, Russell clone would be the league leader.

[countryboy667]

Speaks to how weak the competition was in the 1960's.

at least in the 60's, unlike today, chuckers got benched instead of being rewarded with a ridiculously easy three point goal.

No nice way to say this--I watched lots of NBA in the 60s. It was a different game--skilled bigs like Wilt, Russ, Bells, Nate meant much, much more--but this absurd, easily debunked conceit (by anyone who has done any reasonable amount of research) that the league was just a bunch of 6'5" white guys who couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time is so much boolsheet.

It certainly was a much more interesting game then...not the boring, predictable chuckfest today's league has become.

[An Unbiased Fan]

Speaks to how weak the competition was in the 1960's.

at least in the 60's, unlike today, chuckers got benched instead of being rewarded with a ridiculously easy three point goal.

No nice way to say this--I watched lots of NBA in the 60s. It was a different game--skilled bigs like Wilt, Russ, Bells, Nate meant much, much more--but this absurd, easily debunked conceit (by anyone who has done any reasonable amount of research) that the league was just a bunch of 6'5" white guys who couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time is so much boolsheet.

It certainly was a much more interesting game then...not the boring, predictable chuckfest today's league has become.

Eh, but it really was pretty much like that. it's funny how Mikan gets totally disregard, yet is only years away from Russ/Wilt, while Russ/Wilt are decades from even MJ, much less today. 90% of the NBA in the 60's wouldn't even make a team today. People were dribbling with one hand, had no explosion, no hops, and weren't all that physically powerful. Top ahtletes didn't go to the NBA much either, since it wasn't a premier league back then, and more like the MLS.

Just go watch old games of Wilt and Russ....it's incredibly unimpressive. Looks like some tall college players going to a rec center to play against weekend warriors.

[penbeast0]

Speaks to how weak the competition was in the 1960's.

How so? Because two of the best defenders ever averaged tons of blocks in fast-paced era without spacing/three point line? I guess 1990s is also weak era because centers averaged the double amount of blocks they do today.

Just like the larger amount of threes today speak to how weak the competition is now. ie . . . not at all, just stylistic differences and great players with ATG skill sets in certain areas.

[kendogg]

it's more the rules differences that make the 60's look weaker. the fact that NBA teams didn't lift weights until the 80's has a noticeable affect as well. the league was not as deep back then, but there were only 8 or 9 teams for most of it. there were still plenty of great players beyond wilt, russ, oscar and west.

as for how wilt and russ could get 8+ blocks, again the rules and how they played. same for eaton getting 5.6 blocks in '85, or hakeem getting 4.6 in '90. is rudy gobert, averaging 2.3 blocks today, only half as good as dream? of course not.

when blocks were first introduced in 1974, elmore smith got 4.9 per game, and kareem was #2 with 3.5. wilt did not average 8 blocks a game in 1973, his final year. his block averages were much higher in his prime (mid 60's). the 60's were dominated by centers more than forwards or guards, but I think the carrying rule plummeted FG% more than the rim protectors. it's a lot harder to get a good shooting motion without carrying because you can't feel the ball as much in the gather. but the game simply wasn't as guard oriented back then like it is today. everyone wants to be the point guard or the point forward in today's game.