Is Shaq the strongest in the NBA, history?

[SichtingLives]

I don't know if Wilt is stronger than Shaq or vice versa, but I'd put money that mano a mano Karl Malone would whoop Shaqs ass.

[Tubal]

It was a long day of driving and boating and skiing, and when we got back to the house, Wilt totally took my breath away with an incredible feat of strength. Instead of going through the difficult maneuver of backing the boat trailer into the carport, Wilt simply unhitched the boat from his station wagon and single-handedly pushed that heavy boat and trailer into place.

Everyone has their Strong Wilt story. That’s mine.

Not to question Wilt's strength or anything, but I could probably push that boat and trailer around by myself. It's not that hard on a trailer.

[D.Brasco]

Wilt Chamberlain is a known liar...

First this is BS what proof do you have?

Second of all 90% of the strength feats mentioned about wilt are said by OTHER people not wilt himself. Arnold schwarzenegger,his former coaches, former players, journalists but of course it's all some huge conspiracy to make wilt seem strong.

Real gm's motto should be "if it happened before 1990 it didn't actually happen at all."

Sports Illustrated article from 1964 before wilt's peak physique/strength even

About the only people not happy are the Warriors' opponents. The St. Louis Hawks' 6-foot-9, 240-pound Zelmo Beaty, for example, found out recently that he can no longer take Chamberlain's great strength for granted. Unable to slow Wilt down with conventional maltreatment, Beaty tried to yank his shorts off. Chamberlain, who can press 400 pounds without breathing hard, makes it a point to control his temper, primarily because he is genuinely afraid he might kill somebody. Beaty's unethical yank, however, was too much. [b]Wilt flicked an arm, and Beaty flew across the floor like a man shot out of a cannon. Referee Mendy Rudolph rushed over to him and said: "For God's sake, stay down, man. Don't even twitch a muscle."[/b]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/ ... /index.htm

[mattg]

Don't perpetuate myths about how good wilt was at track, check Kansas history. He was not some allstar track athlete.

[djay]

Only a few of us on this board have seen Wilt play, and there isn't a ton of video on youtube, so poster's views will be skewed. So I would like to address some of the points here.

First, I just love the statement that Wilt played against "white stiffs" and Shaq didn't. Well if you count Bill Russel and Kareem as stiffs, you just might be a redneck.

Next, Wilt is overrated. Really? Check out the records he holds and then get back to me.

Shaq is the strongest because he dunked on everybody! Really? Shaq dunked because of two things. !. Shaq couldn't shoot, and 2. the refs let Shaq charge his way to the basket.

Now, who are these top centers that Shaq played against? Vlade? Old centers like Hakeem or Robinson?

What rule changes did the NBA institute because of Shaq? They changed a lot of them to curtail Wilt. And to add to this, since MJ led the league, the NBA has changed more rules to give players even more advantages on offense.

Now that we've cleared a few things up, let's transport Shaq back to when Wilt played. Would he dominate? Probably would. But without working on his offensive game, the refs wouldn't let him run over people back then. And that dunk he pulled on Chris Dudley would have dire consequences in Wilt's era. They had enforcers back then and you didn't want to show up your opponent.

Finally, about strength. If Arnold works out with Wilt and proclaims that Wilt is super strong, who are we to debate this? Arnold was there we weren't. But he didn't work out with Shaq so he only can comment on Wilt.

Tell me this is ajust a joke?

I want to REMIND you, the game back then is a joke. That's why you have guys ahead of time can dominate the league so easily like Oscar, Wilt, Russel, and even the freaking 6'5 Elgin Baylor can average 38/18reb. It's just a joke league, that's it. Please Shaq in WIlt era, he would simply DESTROY his competition. Nobody ever seen a bulky guy like Shaq can move the way he does. This mythical story is good to listen but most of it are an exaggeration. I can't believe some folk believe in this. Watch the tape. It's hilarious.

Wilt was far more athletic than Shaq. Just because something happened in the past doesn't mean it's inferior. 30 years from now people will be saying the Magic, Bird, and Jordan were over-rated and would ride the pine in the current era.

I'm sorry to disappoint your boat but the myth of the 60s and 70s need to come to an end.

Watch this video. Basketball looks like a joke. This is JV player by today standard.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDK5VDdX-yo[/youtube]

[Tave]

This doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

1) The stylized, mono-directional strength of weight-lifting doesn't translate that directly to the complexity of power in the real world.
2) Size and bulk are actually hugely important for force and positioning on a basketball court.

This is a huge misperception perpetuated by the overall crappy state of post play in the modern NBA. You're not technically wrong, because that is how a lot of players approach the game, but it's an inefficient and fundamentally flawed way to play basketball. Obviously size is relevant, and you want to try and match height/bulk with the opposing team when possible, but in most instances bulk has little to do with proper positioning or using force effectively on the block.

Any player with a strong base, quick feet, and good defensive instincts should be able to maintain position against a bulkier player. The key is to learn how to set your man on your thigh so that your legs take the brunt of the force instead of your core or upper body.

The problem boils down to youth coaching. Most of those coaches have no idea how to train big men, so the kids never learn, and therefore these things don't come naturally to them when they're older. Basketball footwork is a learned skill due to the nature of the pivot and dribbling rules, and very very few players intuitively "get" it. Defense can be a little easier but there are still a lot of tricks out there in terms of defending big men that you wouldn't have any reason to know if you weren't taught by someone who knew what they were doing.

I cringe everytime I watch one of those Hakeem videos and see him instruct PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYERS to jump to meet an entry pass and spin off of either pivot foot depending on which direction the defense is cheating. Not that I don't appreciate seeing the Dream do his thing--he's poetry in motion--but it's maddening that today's big man doesn't understand those basic building blocks of center play.

Wasting shot clock by backing someone down is a very clumsy and inefficient way to play in the low post, and it can easily be nullified by proper positioning and good help defense. It worked for Shaq because he was a freak of nature, adept at passing out of the double, had the footwork to go along with his size, and few defenders understood that they needed to get him on their legs instead of leaning into him. That last one is easier said than done but most players didn't even try. The best I saw anyone do it was Big Ben that year the Pistons won the title. Yeah Shaq got his and had a couple big games but Ben was able to keep him well under 20FGA/game and made him look outright foolish in games 3 and 5.

[dtown8]

Wilt says hi.

not even on the same level as Shaq or Duncan. Wilt never even broke 300lbs. and an undersize Russel always had an easy time pushing him around.

[Sothron]

There are far too many people that knew Wilt in some fashion and watched him do things either on the court or in some other sport or in real life that speaks of incredible strength for me to just poo poo it like some of the younger posters do on this site. Unless every single person who saw Wilt play or do something amazing is lying the simple fact is that the man was apparently a freak. He didn't have to be a fat tub of lard like Shaq to have mass to have strength.

[magicman1978]

Charles Oakley, Maurice Lucas, Darryl Dawkins, and yes, even Kwame Brown deserve a mention. Yes, Kwame is subpar as a player, but he is very strong. In a game years ago, I remember watching Shaq try to back down Kwame and he couldn't move Kwame. Kwame is very strong.

I agree about Kwame. I remember the same thing in regards to Shaq trying to back him down. I don't think Kwame really lifts weights much - he just seems to have a naturally strong base.

[BubbaTee]

Don't perpetuate myths about how good wilt was at track, check Kansas history. He was not some allstar track athlete.

Setting state records in high school and willing multiple conference championships at the university level is somehow not a "track allstar"?

If you couldn't tell Chamberlain was strong, fast and agile from his basketball playing, you could look to his track and field performances. As a prep, he set Pennsylvania state records in the shot put and the 110-meter hurdles, and his scholarship to Kansas was for both basketball and track. He earned the track portion by winning three straight Big Eight high jump titles.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... ndathletes

Don't believe ESPN? How about believing your own eyes?

Wilt never even broke 300lbs. and an undersize Russel always had an easy time pushing him around.

Oh wait, you're being serious?

Wilt went for 50+ points 7 times against Russell, with a high game of 62.
Wilt grabbed 40+ rebounds 7 times against Russell, with a high game of 55.

Wilt dominated Russell on an individual level. Russell had a better team, and won 88 of their 142 matchups.

[Scubetrolis]

Wilt Chamberlain is a known liar...

First this is BS what proof do you have?

how many women did he sleep with again?

[HotRocks34]

This doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

1) The stylized, mono-directional strength of weight-lifting doesn't translate that directly to the complexity of power in the real world.
2) Size and bulk are actually hugely important for force and positioning on a basketball court.

This is a huge misperception perpetuated by the overall crappy state of post play in the modern NBA. You're not technically wrong, because that is how a lot of players approach the game, but it's an inefficient and fundamentally flawed way to play basketball. Obviously size is relevant, and you want to try and match height/bulk with the opposing team when possible, but in most instances bulk has little to do with proper positioning or using force effectively on the block.

You might be right, but I will tell you one guy who really suffered for lack of bulk but not lack of strength. Ralph Sampson.

He was incredibly strong, had a bunch of lifting records at the University of Virginia. But he was so slight he could be moved around pretty easily on the block.

Sampson still did well with his "floating power forward" game, until I think his knees gave out. But his lack of bulk really hurt him, I think, in what he could have been.

[Scubetrolis]

does anyone here honestly think Wilt could even come close to benching 500 pounds? this is so ridiculous to me.

arnold could barely bench 500 pounds...and there is actually no record that he ever could, just his claims.

seriously....look at arnold, and look at wilt. (who has arms like 90" long, which makes benching even harder)



someone tall and strong like Kane, said he benches 365 pounds..



you guys can believe what you want...but im just throwin this out there....

[SacKingZZZ]

Not sure Shaq was really "strong" as he was just big and knew how to really use his weight. That in basketball is worth way more than pure strength. In terms of strength, I'd take Wilt. The guy weighed almost as much as Shaq and still looked to have the perfect basketball body type ever.

[HotRocks34]

does anyone here honestly think Wilt could even come close to benching 500 pounds? this is so ridiculous to me.

arnold could barely bench 500 pounds...and there is actually no record that he ever could, just his claims.

seriously....look at arnold, and look at wilt. (who has arms like 90" long, which makes benching even harder)

someone tall and strong like Kane, said he benches 365 pounds..

you guys can believe what you want...but im just throwin this out there....

People have said that Arnold basically had to tell Wilt to calm down on the set of "Conan" because Wilt was so strong. I think Arnold has said something like that himself, and Arnold isn't really a guy known for trying to make himself look bad by comparison. Especially on something like how strong or big he is.

I've heard Kane could do pretty easy sets of 405 x 10 on bench. He is freakishly strong, and was regarded as one of, if not the, strongest guy in the WWE at one time. I think Brock Lesnar said Kane was the strongest guy in the company when he (Lesnar) was there.

Kane (Glen Jacobs) is listed at 7', but I think he's more like 6' 7".

[Scubetrolis]

i have no doubt that wilt chamberlain was probably freakishly strong...he just doesnt appear to have the mass to be able to bench press that much. can anyone show me pictures of someone as lean as him with actual records of a 500 lb bench press.

[HotRocks34]

i have no doubt that wilt chamberlain was probably freakishly strong...he just doesnt appear to have the mass to be able to bench press that much. can anyone show me pictures of someone as lean as him with actual records of a 500 lb bench press.

I just read that Ralph Sampson (Sr.) -- himself a well-accomplished weightlifter while at Virginia -- could squat 500 lbs shortly after he went to UVA:

http://bit.ly/RjpsKM (first paragraph on the left)

Mechanically, Sampson should not be able to do that. He's like 7'2", and it's nuts that someone that tall could squat that much.

But it happens. Guys that tall with limbs that long have some awesome leverage when it comes to lifting and strength. It's just usually the mechanics don't work out for them to be able to show the strength because the bones are too long, etc.

Wilt was an athletic freak who was also known for his unreal strength. Some guys just have that. And remember, Wilt was not a twig. He was always built, he just looked skinny because he was so tall. The guy played at like 315 of solid muscle later in his career.

[Scubetrolis]

ralph sampson squatting 500lbs doesnt seem crazy at all...look at those legs

[D.Brasco]

i have no doubt that wilt chamberlain was probably freakishly strong...he just doesnt appear to have the mass to be able to bench press that much. can anyone show me pictures of someone as lean as him with actual records of a 500 lb bench press.

You're confusing mass with appearance. Wilt at his peak strength was well over 300 pounds. If i told you a 300 pound guy could bench press 465-500 lbs most people would probably think that would be feasible. The reason wilt doesn't look what most would think a 300 pounder would look like was

a) He was well over 7 feet tall

b) He had very dense mucles.

Appearance in strength is not everything.

This guy could bench way more



Than this guy:



and finally lol at people posting pics of wilt as a rookie or even a globetrotter to justify his peak physique or strength.

[Scubetrolis]

his arms look decent size in that basketball card, still havent seen anything impressive with his chest. to be able to bench 500lb hes gonna need more than that bird chest.