New data about how many blocked shots Wilt averaged in the playoffs.

[coastalmarker99]

Wilt is arguably the greatest 7 foot defensive center in NBA history. The late, great Harvey Pollack did keep track of blocked shots when Wilt played for the Warriors/76ers, and despite the 76ers in the 1980s later discarding a good number of those statistics that Pollack kept in his notebooks he estimated that the Big Dipper averaged 8-10 blocks a game during his prime years. In Chamberlain's last 2 seasons with the 76ers and his 5 years with Lakers, sportswriters (e.g., UPI, AP, Sixer/Laker beat writers) were being more diligent about keeping track of blocked shots. This was especially the case in the playoffs. Examples include...

1967 PLAYOFFS 21.7 PTS 29.1 REBS 9.0 ASTS 9.2 BLKS FG% 57.9
1968 PLAYOFFS 23.7 PTS 24.7 REBS 6.5 ASTS 9.7 BLKS FG% 53.4
1969 PLAYOFFS 13.9 PTS 24.7 REBS 2.6 ASTS 8.5 BLKS FG% 54.5
1971 PLAYOFFS 18.3 PTS 20.2 REBS 4.4 ASTS 6.0 BLKS FG% 45.5
1973 PLAYOFFS 10.4 PTS 22.5 REBS 3.5 ASTS 6.9 BLKS FG% 55.2

[coastalmarker99]

The more data and footage we get of Wilt proves just how underrated he is viewed as a defender by both the Media and fans who instead focus on other areas of Wilt game such as his scoring and his playmaking.

[coastalmarker99]

How many blocks do you guys think Wilt would average per game if he was playing nowadays I can see realistically Wilt averaging about 3 to 5 blocks per game depending on the number of minutes he plays per game.

[light]

"Wilt is arguably the greatest 7 foot defensive center in NBA history"

that is not saying much.

7 footers lack tireless defensive effort because they've never had to work for playing time in this sport.

[Psileas]

Coastal, do you have regular season estimates as well, at least partial? I was wondering how many more triple doubles Wilt gets after this data is taken into account. Also, I wonder how many 0 block games Wilt had out of these.
Another thing that seems interesting to check and pretty much nobody does is his steals. Especially given the footage vs Kareem, he seems particularly able to knock the ball away of his hands whenever it gets a little exposed, although he doesn't seem to do this as frequently to everyone or earlier on in his career, although he always seemed good at deflecting passes thanks to his long arms and supreme reflexes.

[Psileas]

"Wilt is arguably the greatest 7 foot defensive center in NBA history"

that is not saying much.

7 footers lack tireless defensive effort because they've never had to work for playing time in this sport.

That's saying he may be above Kareem, Robinson, Mutombo, Eaton, Gobert, Walton and Garnett (the last two being 7-footers labeled as non such).

[DCL]

if you brought it in the paint against wilt, you better skyhook that mothafu...

he probably blocked a bunch of those too.

[Horatio33]

Harvey Pollack was a 76er employee. Maybe not the most impartial of sources.

[72-10]

Wow, those are some insane numbers. They're high in rate and total. I'd bet people will keep researching the numbers for years to come since he is undeniably great.

[Reggie43]

Any data on steals? I was wondering how he stacks up against Olajuwon and Robinson in that department wherein they have the ability to lead the league in Blocks while also being among the best at stealing the ball.

[72-10]

In fact, Wilt is clearly one of the best players in the world. He's the best Sixer, and I don't think anyone can argue on that point. Playing the way he did would require a very powerful motor. There's not much to gripe about with Wilt's game, he even had a fadeaway to a certain extent, but he couldn't beat defenders out on the perimeter like some of these modern stars do.