Wilt Chamberlain free throw dunks:

[QUOTE=millwad]You're never going to get any evidence when talking about Wilt, everything is "documented" through quotes...:facepalm

Haha, people who believes all crap about Wilt are idiots, one of these moron's even posted some kind of record long jump record from 500 BC and told us about how there's no video proof of that jump so it's too much to ask to get any visual evidence regarding Wilt..:facepalm

[B]Around 500 BC the tallest person according to witnesses was some lady who was like 19 feet tall[/B]...:facepalm[/QUOTE]

Um no. :roll:

[QUOTE=CavaliersFTW]Good luck learning about Dinosaurs, Egypt, Ancient Rome, and the Civil War brah :roll:

pics or it didn't happen! :lol

Youtube has destroyed your ability to trust historical documents or word of mouth. Why trust that shit right? Why trust it at all? :roll:[/QUOTE]

Haha, you idiot, so you have no proof of dinosaurs, Egypt, Rome and the Civil War other then ONE quote from some poor fellow?

I guess Big Foot exists and so does aliens..:facepalm

[QUOTE=millwad]Haha, you idiot, so you have no proof of dinosaurs, Egypt, Rome and the Civil War other then ONE quote from some poor fellow?

[B]I guess Big Foot exists and so does aliens..[/B]:facepalm[/QUOTE]

Um no. :lol

[QUOTE=CavaliersFTW]Um no. :lol[/QUOTE]

[I]Thucydides, Cavs-dude..... Thucydides[/I]

[QUOTE]I guess Big Foot exists and so does aliens..[/QUOTE]

OT: I'm no conspiracy theorist, but you'd better believe that aliens do exist, and probably in big bunches. They have to, statistically, even if you don't believe the evidence, which is still way, way more than the evidence of the Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster, etc.
The majority of them are just different types of organisms like the Earth's animals, plants, bacteria, etc, but a few of them will have become definitely more advanced than humans.

BTW, even for Wilt standards, this thread has become excessively long, with its 255 posts (Deuce Bigalow's "posts" don't count).

[QUOTE=millwad]You're never going to get any evidence when talking about Wilt, everything is "documented" through quotes...:facepalm

Haha, people who believes all crap about Wilt are idiots, one of these moron's even posted some kind of record long jump record from 500 BC and told us about how there's no video proof of that jump so it's too much to ask to get any visual evidence regarding Wilt..:facepalm

Around 500 BC the tallest person according to witnesses was some lady who was like 19 feet tall...:facepalm[/QUOTE]


I'm just gonna assume right now your an atheist and don't believe any kind higher power beyond your own scope of thought limitations.

[QUOTE=millwad]Haha, you idiot, so you have no proof of dinosaurs, Egypt, Rome and the Civil War other then ONE quote from some poor fellow?

I guess Big Foot exists and so does aliens..:facepalm[/QUOTE]


The footage is right there in front of your face. Wilt is head-level with the rim which indicates a 36" vertical...and that's carrying the ball with him in an in-game situation...40" rise is not out of the realm..

Michael Jordan is recorded at a 48" peak rise....you've never seen him do it in-game though....i have seen him get eye-level with the rim, that's would a take a 45-46" rise....take the ball out of the equation with no distractions i'm sure he could get a couple more inches.

40" is not impossible.:rolleyes:

[QUOTE=Psileas]OT: I'm no conspiracy theorist, but you'd better believe that aliens do exist, and probably in big bunches. They have to, statistically, even if you don't believe the evidence, which is still way, way more than the evidence of the Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster, etc.
The majority of them are just different types of organisms like the Earth's animals, plants, bacteria, etc, but a few of them will have become definitely more advanced than humans.

BTW, even for Wilt standards, this thread has become excessively long, with its 255 posts ([B]Deuce Bigalow's "posts" don't count)[/B].[/QUOTE]



:lol

[QUOTE=bwink23]The footage is right there in front of your face. Wilt is head-level with the rim which indicates a 36" vertical...and that's carrying the ball with him in an in-game situation...40" rise is not out of the realm..

Michael Jordan is recorded at a 48" peak rise....you've never seen him do it in-game though....i have seen him get eye-level with the rim, that's would a take a 45-46" rise....take the ball out of the equation with no distractions i'm sure he could get a couple more inches.

40" is not impossible.:rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

where is MJ 'recorded' vertical. I call bs.

weird post.

[QUOTE=32jazz]where is MJ 'recorded' vertical. I call bs.[/QUOTE]


What's BS about it?? It's not his standing vertical, it's his rise. If he gets eye-level with the rim, that's gonna take a rise of around 45-46".

RIM = 120 inches....at his eyes at least another 4 inches higher.

Jordan = 6'6"......124 inches - 78 inches = 46" rise....:no:

With no ball he surely could get 48" rise.

[QUOTE=bwink23]What's BS about it?? It's not his standing vertical, it's his rise. If he gets eye-level with the rim, that's gonna take a rise of around 45-46".

RIM = 120 inches....at his eyes at least another 4 inches higher.

Jordan = 6'6"......124 inches - 78 inches = 46" rise....:no:

With no ball he surely could get 48" rise.[/QUOTE]

none of that means "recorded."

[QUOTE=La Frescobaldi]none of that means "recorded."[/QUOTE]


OH gee wiz........:facepalm You people are weird as hell....

Even if it wasn't "official", to say he couldn't rise 48" is pretty ridiculous....even Julius Erving got eye-level with the rim on a dunk. Jordan isnt the only one in history to be able to do that.


:facepalm :facepalm

[QUOTE=bwink23]OH gee wiz........:facepalm You people are weird as hell....

Even if it wasn't "official", to say he couldn't rise 48" is pretty ridiculous....even Julius Erving got eye-level with the rim on a dunk. Jordan isnt the only one in history to be able to do that.


:facepalm :facepalm[/QUOTE]

LOLOLOL nah bro I'm just teasin'.... just giving you a dose of the troll medicine you see on here from a couple of guys who are pure 100% lemon bitterness

MJ was mr. athletic and so was chamberlain

[QUOTE=La Frescobaldi]LOLOLOL nah bro I'm just teasin'.... just giving you a dose of the troll medicine you see on here from a couple of guys who are pure 100% lemon bitterness

MJ was mr. athletic and so was chamberlain[/QUOTE]


LOL....i'm getting troll poisoning enough as it is, they don't need your help :lol

I cannot believe some of these idiots who post on this forum...:facepalm


Good job CavsFTW :applause: ... I wouldn't have the patience to go into such depth over and over with some of these guys

*le bump*

[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH7OjWsXFEo&t=1m22s"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH7OjWsXFEo&t=1m22s[/URL]


yup, he made those rule changes just for the lulz

[IMG]http://assets1.wordansassets.com/wvc-1317810557/wordansfiles/images/2011/10/5/101092/101092_340.jpg[/IMG]

What's being rejected here, that somebody could dunk from the FT line? Which is dumb cause Ibaka can do it too. Or that they used to let players run and dunk their FTs? Which is dumb but believable since dumbness has never stopped humans from implementing something.

[QUOTE=dunksby]What's being rejected here, that somebody could dunk from the FT line? Which is dumb cause Ibaka can do it too. Or that they used to let players run and dunk their FTs? Which is dumb but believable since dumbness has never stopped humans from implementing something.[/QUOTE]

The claim is he could do it in 3 steps, within the free throw circle area. Which is impossible.

There are claims that Bruce Lee, a 135lbs man could hold a 120lbs dumbbell in front of himself inline with the ground for 10 seconds. There are eyewitnesses, etc. I really couldn't care if 15 people say they saw it, I still wouldn't believe it. Why? Because its not possible. You have the strongest men of today who can't do it. Same logic applies to Wilt. Wilt isn't far and away better than every athlete that's ever stepped foot on the planet, and yet we have no one close that can dunk from the free throw line with 3 steps, all inside the free throw circle.

Its common sense. Nearly everything back then was romanticized to extremes and made out to seem legendary to beyond belief. If they toned it down slightly, we may even believe it today. Though they went too far with it.

[QUOTE=plowking]The claim is he could do it in 3 steps, within the free throw circle area. Which is impossible.

There are claims that Bruce Lee, a 135lbs man could hold a 120lbs dumbbell in front of himself inline with the ground for 10 seconds. There are eyewitnesses, etc. I really couldn't care if 15 people say they saw it, I still wouldn't believe it. Why? Because its not possible. You have the strongest men of today who can't do it. Same logic applies to Wilt. Wilt isn't far and away better than every athlete that's ever stepped foot on the planet, and yet we have no one close that can dunk from the free throw line with 3 steps, all inside the free throw circle.

Its common sense. Nearly everything back then was romanticized to extremes and made out to seem legendary to beyond belief. If they toned it down slightly, we may even believe it today. Though they went too far with it.[/QUOTE]
Taking three steps and dunking from the stripe? I knew jlauber was full of shit but it seems like the pile is big enough for the rest of the flies to feed on :biggums: :biggums: :biggums: :biggums: :biggums:

Dunking from the free throw line's not some extraordinary feat, so that an athlete known for extraordinary feats can pull it off on a routine basis shouldn't surprise anyone.

[QUOTE=BoutPractice]Dunking from the free throw line's not some extraordinary feat, so that an athlete known for extraordinary feats can pull it off on a routine basis shouldn't surprise anyone.[/QUOTE]

Have you seen anyone do it in 3 steps?

Depends how big the steps are :lol
Okay, there must have been a level of exaggeration on that aspect, as always with eyewitnesses (then again if anyone could do it it would be Wilt Chamberlain, the definition of an "outlier" with his height, jumping ability and long arms). But the fact that he took off behind the free throw line is more likely to be true than false, as well as the fact that it was a dunk and not a layup.

[QUOTE=plowking]Have you seen anyone do it in 3 steps?[/QUOTE]
I don't mean to start an argument or anything, but why would that VERY reputable source that I posted claim that he did it, if he didnt? Why would he change the rules if it never happened? Although highly unlikely and damn near impossible for most, I think wilt having the hops and being as LONG as he was (97.5 standing reach in shoes, 7'8 wingspan) makes it within reason...You'd have to be long as hell and a freak athletically which wilt was especially in the early years in college when he was lighter. If it wasn't for his length especially, id say no way. But Im not trying to say I know everything and I'm right, i could easily be wrong...and tex winter COULD be fibbing but what reason does he have to fib? I'm sure he wouldnt go to the people who implement rules and just do it for the lulz... Would you see it as being possible if it was something like this ?


[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7uOU3AHCrc[/url]


Close but more of a throw in than a dunk

[QUOTE=BoutPractice]Depends how big the steps are :lol
Okay, there must have been a level of exaggeration on that aspect, as always with eyewitnesses (then again if anyone could do it it would be Wilt Chamberlain, the definition of an "outlier" with his height, jumping ability and long arms). But the fact that he took off behind the free throw line is more likely to be true than false, as well as the fact that it was a dunk and not a layup.[/QUOTE]
It wasn't in reply to you but what do you think of what I just posted?

[QUOTE=plowking][B]The claim is he could do it in 3 steps, within the free throw circle area. Which is impossible. [/B]

There are claims that Bruce Lee, a 135lbs man could hold a 120lbs dumbbell in front of himself inline with the ground for 10 seconds. There are eyewitnesses, etc. I really couldn't care if 15 people say they saw it, I still wouldn't believe it. Why? Because its not possible. You have the strongest men of today who can't do it. Same logic applies to Wilt. Wilt isn't far and away better than every athlete that's ever stepped foot on the planet, and yet we have no one close that can dunk from the free throw line with 3 steps, all inside the free throw circle.

Its common sense. Nearly everything back then was romanticized to extremes and made out to seem legendary to beyond belief. If they toned it down slightly, we may even believe it today. Though they went too far with it.[/QUOTE]
I think those are two seperate claims. Wilt substantially after the fact said from within the free throw circle. Three steps seems to be Tex's claim.

I'm not sure anyone on here believes he did a dunk that simultaneously fit both criteria. CavsFTW seems to believe the the 3 steps but that that was perhaps from the center circle.

Anyway my take which probably hasn't changed
[url]http://insidehoops.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6949722&postcount=188[/url]
[QUOTE=Owl]I'm too not sure that I'd endorse Wilt's character with regard to honesty. And I haven't read through the whole thread, but in "Wilt: Just another ..." his first book (his autobigography, written at the end of his career, rather than his later books which were more opinion/musing based and which included claims of 50" vertical and 20,000 women) he claims to have run up from around center court (could dig up the quote if anyone really cares) for his free throw dunks. No mention of 3 steps (which I don't personally believe, but Wilt did have very long lengs so would cover greater disances in fewer strides). I tend to doubt 3 strides and don't know whether or not he was breaking the plane of the ft line (as I vaguely seem to recall Dr J doing for his free throw line dunk), to me it's not really that relevant. Wilt was a tremendous athlete and anyone who thinks he was only good because he was playing in an predominantly white league doesn't know their history.[/QUOTE]

Originally Posted by Owl
I'm too not sure that I'd endorse Wilt's character with regard to honesty. And I haven't read through the whole thread, but in "Wilt: Just another ..." his first book (his autobigography, written at the end of his career, rather than his later books which were more opinion/musing based and which included claims of 50" vertical and 20,000 women) he claims to have run up from around center court (could dig up the quote if anyone really cares) for his free throw dunks. No mention of 3 steps (which I don't personally believe, but Wilt did have very long lengs so would cover greater disances in fewer strides). I tend to doubt 3 strides and don't know whether or not he was breaking the plane of the ft line (as I vaguely seem to recall Dr J doing for his free throw line dunk), to me it's not really that relevant. [B]Wilt was a tremendous athlete and anyone who thinks he was only good because he was playing in an predominantly white league doesn't know their history.[/B]

:applause:


if you have the time, checkout a few highlights I made and let me know what you think

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEGabY6DMMw[/url]

jongib369 > Well, the Howard dunk is an interesting case. It's an alley-oop, making it more difficult, and it's clear that Howard is capable of completing an actual dunk on this play instead of throwing it in, he just didn't do it perfectly under pressure.

Howard and Wilt have very different bodies though. But if someone were to tell me JaVale McGee would sometimes dunk his free throws in high school, I would believe them (and not just because of the whole brain issue). What he pulled off at the dunk contest was crazy, and he's a poor man's Wilt athletically (even disregarding strength).

I literally got nervous when I read the articles. It's scary to think a guy cold dunk from the FT line off his own rebound. :eek:

[QUOTE=millwad]Are you retarded?
I challenged the nonsense your buttyboy Jlauber put up on here regarding the 3 small step dunk from the FT-line.

Ibaka can dunk from the FT-line but he's an athletic freak and he needed a full court run to do it, the nonsense about the 3 small step dunk from the FT-line is obvious BS.

If Ibaka could maybe Wilt could as well, I never challenged that..[/QUOTE]

I believe Wilt was a high jumper...so him taking three steps was probably enough for him to get there( I doubt they were baby steps/small steps)...and it probably wasn't a monster dunk at that...he was probably stretched out like a mofo.....hell look at his reach.

[QUOTE=Calabis]I believe Wilt was a high jumper...so him taking three steps was probably enough for him to get there( I doubt they were baby steps/small steps)...and it probably wasn't a monster dunk at that...he was probably stretched out like a mofo.....hell look at his reach.[/QUOTE]I'd be curious to see how close to the rim other bigs could have gotten on short run ups from the free throw line. Like, could Shaquille O'Neal at least have given himself a very make-able finger roll from that distance?

[QUOTE=Rake2204]I'd be curious to see how close to the rim other bigs could have gotten on short run ups from the free throw line. Like, could Shaquille O'Neal at least have given himself a very make-able finger roll from that distance?[/QUOTE]
[URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8gfOGYuPM0"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8gfOGYuPM0[/URL]
Mcgee is pretty close to Wilt and he made this (inside the ft line) dunk look super easy. Add a couple more inches to his reach and vertical and a past high/long jump training history and it becomes even easier.
[URL="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-rGGJ-hjlojU/UIJLYAPdzBI/AAAAAAAADrE/wa-NbN-L5QI/s0/(Wilt%20Javale%20Dwight%20Scale).jpg"]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-rGGJ-hjlojU/UIJLYAPdzBI/AAAAAAAADrE/wa-NbN-L5QI/s0/(Wilt%20Javale%20Dwight%20Scale).jpg[/URL]

[QUOTE=Jakeh008][URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8gfOGYuPM0"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8gfOGYuPM0[/URL]
Mcgee is pretty close to Wilt and he made this (inside the ft line) dunk look super easy. Add a couple more inches to his reach and vertical and a past high/long jump training history and it becomes even easier.
[URL="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-rGGJ-hjlojU/UIJLYAPdzBI/AAAAAAAADrE/wa-NbN-L5QI/s0/(Wilt%20Javale%20Dwight%20Scale).jpg"]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-rGGJ-hjlojU/UIJLYAPdzBI/AAAAAAAADrE/wa-NbN-L5QI/s0/(Wilt%20Javale%20Dwight%20Scale).jpg[/URL][/QUOTE]Good stuff. Thanks. Now I'm kind of wondering how close players could get off the limited step run-up I've heard mentioned (i.e. non-sprinting start).

[QUOTE=Rake2204]I'd be curious to see how close to the rim other bigs could have gotten on short run ups from the free throw line. Like, could Shaquille O'Neal at least have given himself a very make-able finger roll from that distance?[/QUOTE]

Especially young Shaq when he could jump.....hell Wilt was an elite jumper as well so that only helps his case.

Let's see here......

Pythagorean theorem: the square of the length of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides.
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/5/6/a/56a04a849a1772efc82b68e21880cef4.png[/img]

10 feet from floor to rim. X = 10
13 feet from freethrow line to rim. Y = 13

X x X = 100
Y x Y = 169
Square root of 269 = 16.41

So. free throw line to rim, at the shortest possible angle, we have 16.41 feet.

Wilt was 7'1" or 7.083 feet long. But we have to consider wingspan, not height. Cavs tells us Chamberlain's wingspan was 7'8" or 7.67 feet.
So, if the player travelled along the shortest path - directly along the hypotenuse, from free throw line to rim - we get:

16.41 - 7.67 = 8.74 feet

Naturally he has to not just touch the rim but dunk the ball, so we add that in too: 9 inches or .75 feet.

8.74 + .75 = 9.49 foot leap.
Of course, he'd have to get 9 inches higher, to get the ball over the rim.

[B]The standing long jump record is nearly 3 feet further, at 12.17 feet.[/B] But that is feet leaving, and feet landing.
A guy sprawled out trying for [B][I]reach[/I][/B] would not have to go so far with his feet in order to make the basket. And of course, the claim is with a 3 step leap, not a standing long jump. Spring is vastly improved with steps.

Looks possible from the pure math side.

All that is aside from the fact that the chairman of the NCAA Rules Committee, Tex Winter, went to KU, watched Wilt Chamberlain dunk free throws and got the NCAA rules changed to outlaw... dunking free throws.

[QUOTE=La Frescobaldi]Let's see here......

Pythagorean theorem: the square of the length of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides.
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/5/6/a/56a04a849a1772efc82b68e21880cef4.png[/img]

10 feet from floor to rim. X = 10
13 feet from freethrow line to rim. Y = 13

X x X = 100
Y x Y = 169
Square root of 269 = 16.41

So. free throw line to rim, at the shortest possible angle, we have 16.41 feet.

Wilt was 7'1" or 7.083 feet long. But we have to consider [B]wingspan[/B], not height. Cavs tells us Chamberlain's wingspan was 7'8" or 7.67 feet.
So, if the player travelled along the shortest path - directly along the hypotenuse, from free throw line to rim - we get:

16.41 - 7.67 = 8.74 feet

Naturally he has to not just touch the rim but dunk the ball, so we add that in too: 9 inches or .75 feet.

8.74 + .75 = 9.49 foot leap.
Of course, he'd have to get 9 inches higher, to get the ball over the rim.

[B]The standing long jump record is nearly 3 feet further, at 12.17 feet.[/B] But that is feet leaving, and feet landing.
A guy sprawled out trying for [B][I]reach[/I][/B] would not have to go so far with his feet in order to make the basket. And of course, the claim is with a 3 step leap, not a standing long jump. Spring is vastly improved with steps.

Looks possible from the pure math side.

All that is aside from the fact that the chairman of the NCAA Rules Committee, Tex Winter, went to KU, watched Wilt Chamberlain dunk free throws and got the NCAA rules changed to outlaw... dunking free throws.[/QUOTE]

Why wingspan, though?
I think you meant standing reach.

[QUOTE=Psileas]Why wingspan, though?
I think you meant standing reach.[/QUOTE]

true. I hate math though. I ain't doing all those gyrations again

OK, since Toni Kukoc (6-10 or 6-11) could dunk from the FT line and there is a video of that while Wilt could not !?

The articles and pics in the OP do not constitute a proof (that would be live footage during a game) but they provide strong indications that Wilt did indeed do this. I mean we have newspapers mentioning rule changes and several live accounts. And of course seeing his leaping ability from other videos it doesn't sound unreasonable at all. In fact I'm 99% sure that Wilt could dunk from the free throw line.

However... that doesn't indicate that such a strategy of making free throws would be viable in a game.

1) He'd need to take off from behind the line. If he stepped on the line he would commit a violation. He would have to practice quite a bit to take off at the right spot.

2) He would get tired dunking the ball from the FT line 10-15 times a game.

3) How would it work on the second free throw when the defensive players would enter the lane to get a rebound?