anthony davis is slightly more athletic mikan

[swagga]

Looking at the pic of Mikan with Wilt and Kurland, I doubt he was only 6'10, even if the photo doesn't show their whole bodies. He looks pretty close to Wilt's height and Wilt doesn't seem bending and he also looks as tall as Kurland (or marginally shorter), and Kurland was a 7-footer, which is consistent with what we see here, next to Wilt again. Mikan might very well be very close to the 7-footer range.
Couple this with his wide shoulders and his long arms and, from these standpoints, he resembles a white Anthony Davis. He'd likely still be less overall athletic, but heavier and stronger, a definite C. With modern training, he'd likely produce high numbers as well, since, as it has been mentioned, he had a killer instinct that few bigs could match and, as it's heard, he was a hard and worker who never quit. Needless to say, and this almost doesn't even need to be assumed, nowadays, his injury matters would have been taken better care of.

deep and thoughtful analysis. :applause:

[The_Pharcyde]

Any all time great would be good in any era...
Anyone who says different is just trolling or clueless

It's the cerebral part of the game that they have... They mastered all the knowledge that was available at the time. Allow them to train right now and they would master everything available today

Newton isn't any dumber than Einstein because he was developing Newtonian physics as opposed to studying quantum mechanics

He mastered everything available at the time and then innovated

The same follows suit when comparing players in any era

[Psileas]

I love how OP didn't bold what doesn't serve him. Let tme do this for you, OP:


Couple this (=Mikan being close to a 7 footer) with his wide shoulders and his long arms and, from these standpoints, he resembles a white Anthony Davis. He'd likely still be less overall athletic, but heavier and stronger, a definite C.

Needless to say, I nowhere pointed out the extent Davis would be more athletic than Mikan, but the OP still read my mind. :applause:

[nba_55]

Any all time great would be good in any era...
Anyone who says different is just trolling or clueless

It's the cerebral part of the game that they have... They mastered all the knowledge that was available at the time. Allow them to train right now and they would master everything available today

Newton isn't any dumber than Einstein because he was developing Newtonian physics as opposed to studying quantum mechanics

He mastered everything available at the time and then innovated

The same follows suit when comparing players in any era

Basketball is more than just knowledge, I'm sure some of WNBA players have more knowledge than NBA players, can they play in the NBA? No.

[Velocirap31]

How does anyone know how good Mikan was? Footage is scarce and grainy black and white at best. Unless you guys are all at least 60 years old, you can't have any idea outside of opinions of other old guys.

[RoundMoundOfReb]

Lmfao theses senile old 60s stans are ****ing hilarious

[Real Men Wear Green]

How does anyone know how good Mikan was? Footage is scarce and grainy black and white at best. Unless you guys are all at least 60 years old, you can't have any idea outside of opinions of other old guys.
I'm inclined to disregard any basketball achievements that happened pre-integration. Having said that i do at least respect the fact that Mikan was an important figure to the history of the game. The fundamentals that we regards as basic were developed by him and guys like him. So while i do believe a guy like Davis would destroy him we should all remember that a guy like Mikan didn't have the benefit of all we know about the game today when he was coming up.

[IncarceratedBob]

For the last time guys, we can't compare human beings from 1960 to a human being from the modern age. It's called evolution

[The_Pharcyde]

Basketball is more than just knowledge, I'm sure some of WNBA players have more knowledge than NBA players, can they play in the NBA? No.


It's relative, Mikan is 7ft still, he isn't a midget woman
You don't have to be athletic to play very well at all
Love,Nash and dirk are all examples
Have respect for the legends

And no I'm not some 65 year old senile old man. I'm still in college but have the respect for prior generations and recognize the talent.

[KungFuJoe]

For the last time guys, we can't compare human beings from 1960 to a human being from the modern age. It's called evolution

Good lord kid, go back to school and get your GED.

Evolution isn't something that happens over a single generation. It occurs over many many (hundreds, thousands, millions) of generations as certain traits become more prevalent and others less common due to being better or worse for survival.

Humans in the 60s are exactly the same as humans today in terms of the traits we possess at birth. Yeah there's differences in health and nutrition that allow us to live longer and train more efficiently but we all still have the same "ceiling" as we did back then. And some might argue that our improved quality of life has made us softer so it's a trade off.

50-60 years is a blink of an eye when talking about human evolution.

[bizil]

Any all time great would be good in any era...
Anyone who says different is just trolling or clueless

It's the cerebral part of the game that they have... They mastered all the knowledge that was available at the time. Allow them to train right now and they would master everything available today

Newton isn't any dumber than Einstein because he was developing Newtonian physics as opposed to studying quantum mechanics

He mastered everything available at the time and then innovated

The same follows suit when comparing players in any era

I agree with that. And that's the respect that I give the legends. They would have the medical advances and the skillsets of the generations that came after them. For example, if Wilt was playing today he wouldn't average 50 points a season. Evolution dicatate that players get bigger, stronger, and faster. So there would be more guys around athletically who could give Wilt tougher defense.

But I do think Wilt could average 30 points and 14-15 rebounds a game. Which would make him the best center in the league. West was the best SG in his era. In today's game, I think he could be a top 3-4 SG or PG. So the greats would be good in any era but they might not be quite as dominant. It's the fringe or average players that wouldn't be able to adapt.

[ralph_i_el]

Nobody here has seen him play, so he's probably as good as Anthony Davis...:facepalm

[nba_55]

It's relative, Mikan is 7ft still, he isn't a midget woman
You don't have to be athletic to play very well at all
Love,Nash and dirk are all examples
Have respect for the legends

And no I'm not some 65 year old senile old man. I'm still in college but have the respect for prior generations and recognize the talent.

I'm not going to respect his work just because others tell me it was good. I need to see his work with my own eyes to really respect it.

[Baller1986]

Plumlee > Mikan. Mikan came from a different era. Current NBA Players are much better trained, more athletic in today's NBA.

http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Mason+Plumlee+Sprite+Slam+Dunk+Contest+2015+vsKud6-ty9Zl.jpg


http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/155/files/2013/11/7923316.jpg

http://tradesportsinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Mason-Plumlee-Spin-Dunk.gif

http://tradesportsinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Mason_Plumlee_dunks_on_Luke_Babbitt.gif