Wilt: I would average 70 in the 90s

[sdot_thadon]

Wilt in an interview with Bob Costas in 1997.
[QUOTE]
Costas: The 25-year-old Wilt transplanted into today

[bullettooth]

He had two or three people + Russ on him?

What the **** was everyone else on his team doing?

[Mr Feeny]

Shaq would eat him and spit him out. Dont know whether Wilt was delusional but he's not having his way against Shaq, Robinson, Hakeem, Ewing, Mutumbo and co.

[jlip]

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=290786

[TheCorporation]

He had two or three people + Russ on him?

What the **** was everyone else on his team doing?

No shooters then. Players just learned to shoot in like the last 15 years, since 2003 or so

[superduper]

No shooters then. Players just learned to shoot in like the last 15 years, since 2003 or so

Ray Allen and Reggie Miller learned to shoot in 2003?

[Xiao Yao You]

No shooters then. Players just learned to shoot in like the last 15 years, since 2003 or so

like playing with 4 Rubios

[TheCorporation]

like playing with 4 Rubios

Maybe 2 Rubios and 2 Ben Simmons but yes basically

[Xiao Yao You]

nice of Wilt to throw his teammates under the bus

[sdot_thadon]

I think it's more of a case of how dominant Chamberlain actually was than any slight to his teammates.

[sdot_thadon]

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=290786
awesome post. quoted for relevance


With the debate over Jordan's remarks regarding the players of this era and the commentary of many who grew up watching him (myself included) I figured I would find out what players of the 60's and 70's were saying about the league in the late 80's and 90's. It never fails. There is always this "back in my day" syndrome.

In this 1990 video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJsMGmb5Dwc&feature=player_embedded), there is a claim that Wilt would dominate the 90's more than he dominated the 60's potentially averaging even 70ppg in a season.

In this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=173M7ApCNKw#t=4m48s) from 1997, Bob Costas is interviewing Russell and Chamberlain. Costas asks Wilt what a 25 year old Wilt would do in 1997 (the end of the Jordan era). He replies by saying, "You see with the new rules, which are all slanted to help the offense...Now when I get the ball instead of having two and three people and Russ all (?) me at the same time, I'm by myself with one guy. I would love it. 50 points, maybe 60 points, maybe 70 points a game... It's easier now [in 1997]."

Costas then asks Russell (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=173M7ApCNKw#t=5m52s) how the best of his Celtics' teams would compete with the best teams of the 80's and 90's. Russell replies by saying, that if they were playing in the 80's and 90's "We'd still win 11 championships. I hadn't seen a team in the last 10 years or 15 years that could beat us." That 15 year period would include the '83 Sixers, '86 Celtics, '87 Lakers, Bad Boy Pistons, and all Bulls champions from '91 to '97.

Here Walt Frazier is asked (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMvmsCqRAiI#t=1m18s) how players of his era would do in today's game, and he blatantly says that Wilt would probably average 75 points a game today. Then he proceeds to explain why he said that. So in his view the 60's and 70's had tougher rules.

Just as an added bonus in this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z8mm3WUH7I) from the 1996 Finals Magic, Bird, Dr. J, and even the interviewer Bob Costas each insinuate that while the '96 Bulls were an all time great team, the level of competition that Jordan and the 90's Bulls faced was slightly less than the level of competition during the 80's.

In 2035, 50+ year old Kobe, Lebron, Wade, and CP3 will be telling everyone how tough it was to play "back in their day", and how they would dominate the new league.

[NBAGOAT]

the 80s have better elite teams but are too top heavy. Usually like 3 great teams in the whole league most years

[LAmbruh]

who wouldn't in the 90's, it was a cakewalk



shooting 3's from a womens tee :roll:



be in arms lenth of your assigned man even if he can't shoot :roll:

[sdot_thadon]

Shaq would eat him and spit him out. Dont know whether Wilt was delusional but he's not having his way against Shaq, Robinson, Hakeem, Ewing, Mutumbo and co.
You might not know this but when Shaq was coming up his full potential as a player was basically Wilt and to many he fell short at the time. However he ended up with more rings than Wilt obviously and all was forgiven. Wilt was Shaq's size (lighter but still ~300+ most years ) and actually in shape.