Peak Wilt vs Peak Shaq, who do you have if they went against each other?

[70sFan]

I'd go with Shaq.

Prime Wilt had a lot of weaknesses: I remember Phil discussing how Wilt's aggressiveness could have been limited by taking charges against him. Also, recalling the backpicks goat article which shows how "unaware" Wilt was on the flow of the game itself: He was either in passing mode or scoring mode and it took him a significant time to change between the two. This allowed defenses to prepare and keep him away from taking high efficency shots or make easy passes (making him quite turnover prone).

He was also not really paying attention to take the right position, he just tried to get into the post and overpower his opponent - while Shaq was cleverly playing the inside-out to get to the best possible position (possibly right under the rim) to start the execution from there or simply force the defense to double him and make someone open.

Also he was "feeling the game" more than Wilt: if he left alone he found the lanes to get to the rim to finish an alley oop or just use the space to speed up and become an unstoppable tank that receives the ball only a few steps before reaching the rim. While Wilt was more reactive, like "waiting the game to happen": waiting for the ball to get or let the teammate find an open spot so that he can pass to him.

Wilt's only advantage is his defense, where he was clearly superior. This is not irrelevant and a very important aspect of the game, but the factors above outmatch this single aspect. The matchup would be dependent on what teammates each other have, but if peak Shaq gets a team where he can play an effective inside out it would really hard to find someone who can beat him. (Maybe only peak Kareem or Olajuwon)

I don't necessarily disagree with you, but I have to ask: how many (even partial) games of prime Wilt have you seen? From my knowledge, there are only 2 halves from 1964 and 1967. I also have quite a lot more footage from that era, but nothing close to full game with Wilt from 1960-68. How can you know his tendencies based on that?

Most of this criticism is related to old Wilt who lost motivation to score points. We don't know how active or inactive he really was when he was younger. We don't know how he worked without the ball or how often he turned on "passing mode". We need far more footage to conlcude that.

Wilt was tough to evaluate because he was coached in very extreme way. I'm sure he would benefit with more optimal strategies that Kareem, Shaq and Hakeem faced.

Yes, that's a good point. I have to admit my knowledge on Wilt is limited to a few footages: The two halves you mentioned, 1-2 full or partial quarters, a few videos from Wilt Chamberlain archive channel on youtube and some articles on him. So yes, my view on him is derived 99% of how he played later in his career. Moreover it's fairly limited compared to what I've seen from let's say Shaq, who I brought up watching… Maybe that nostalgia from childhood makes my view a bit biased as well

Anyways: your point is very valid.

Regarding the passing: After a second thought I think I have to rephrase what I have written - because it was not valid. What I wanted to say is that Shaq's way of playing made their teammates better by how he approached the game. By moving to the right spots, by using effectively the inside out etc... Large part of this is coaching: where he needs to move, where his teammates need to move to enable a good pass etc... While Wilt's passing seemed to be "less fluid", though Wilt's eye-hand coordination seems to be better.

(Sorry for the late response, it was a busy week.)

Thanks for reply, very good post. I hope that we'll find more 1960s Wilt games to evaluate him properly, but right now it's almost impossible to do to be honest...

[Point-Forward]

Mr. Thurmond's take on the issue:

Watch on YouTube

Nothing that hasn't been stated already here, but always good to hear the legends speak so openly about this kind of stuff.

[Outside]

I've got Wilt clearly in this matchup. Most of the arguments have already been made, but I'll repeat them anyway.

Wilt was the far better defender and rebounder. Shaq's effort, especially defensively, was inconsistent at best. Despite his size and strength, Shaq never led the league in rebounding, while Wilt led the league in rebounding 11 of his 15 seasons despite competing against a GOAT-level rebounder in Russell for much of his career. Wilt wasn't a great PnR defender, but Shaq was terrible. Shaq was a good shotblocker, Wilt was significantly better.

Offensively, Wilt could obviously be as good at volume scoring as anyone. You can argue the value of Shaq's power offensive game, but Wilt could've done the same if the officiating of the era allowed it, but it didn't. Wilt's offense was based on a limited set of moves and shots, but even that was more varied and showed wider range on the floor compared to Shaq.

Shaq was a somewhat willing passer, but his passing ability was basic. Shaq averaged 2.5 APG for his career, and his two best seasons were 3.7 and 3.8. Despite leading the league in assists the one season, Wilt isn't among the best passing big men ever, but his peak Sixer and Laker teams showed he had a good feel for being an offensive hub from the post. Wilt averaged 4.4 APG for his career -- higher than Shaq's peak seasons -- and his two best seasons were 8.7 and 7.8. This is clearly an advantage for Wilt.

You can attempt to dismiss Wilt's statistical advantages as a byproduct of pace and heavy minutes for the era, but Shaq didn't have the conditioning or motor to maintain consistent effort in the more limited minutes of his era, let alone over the heavier minutes that Wilt played.

Saying that Shaq could overpower anyone offensively and that one factor tilts the decision in his favor is a simplistic way to assess the matchup, especially when that one advantage of Shaq's was debatable. Shaq is an all-time great, but Wilt was better.