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I think Shaq is a slow lumbering giant compared to Wilt. Especially a young Wilt. Of course, I am biased because as a youngster Wilt and the 1972 Lakers were my favorite team.
Wilt would be triple teamed in his early years. People just never saw anything like Wilt before. Wilt the Stilt dominated.
How many 7 foot centers were around by the time Shaq appeared? They were dime a dozen. Two different worlds IMO.
Bill Russell was a great opponent. Of course, he was surrounded by the Celtics. Those were the days. I don't care to watch NBA nowadays.
It's clear that you haven't been watching the NBA for quite some time if you think Shaq was a slow lumbering giant compared to wilt.
The bottom line is that they were both dominant centers from eras that are utterly uncomparable.
Shaq was slow and lumbering at the end of his career but, in his prime, he was an unstoppable freight train with quick footwork and was often double -teamed as well.
Bill Russell, great as he was, was barely taller than LeBron, and weighed 220lb soaking wet. That Wilt routinely came up small in the postseason vs a player that was essentially the size of a modern day SF is damning.
individuals don't win championships-teams do-russells teams were much better than wilt's teams-i do not believe that was his fault that russell had better quality teammates and he still outplayed russell on an individual basis-look if u think jordan or oscar robertson or kareem, etc is better than wilt-I have no problem with that-you can make a case for many players being the best, but few people would say that wilt was not 1 of the best
Last edited by phoenixmike11; 06-17-2013 at 01:20 PM..
Reason: typos
Bill Russell, great as he was, was barely taller than LeBron, and weighed 220lb soaking wet. That Wilt routinely came up small in the postseason vs a player that was essentially the size of a modern day SF is damning.
Ben Wallace was 6'7" (Yes I know he was listed at 6'9") and he was one of the best defensive big men of all time in a great defensive era, he gave Shaq more trouble than maybe any post defender in the league. Rodman was also a great post defender and he was 6'7" 220 lbs. I wouldn't discount Bill Russell just based on size.
And Wilt did not struggle against Bill Russell, he averaged 29/29 against him and out-scored, out-rebounded, and out-assisted him. Wilt's teams struggled against Russell's teams.
Russell came into the league and joined a winning Celtics team that already had 3 hall of famers- Bill Sharman, Bob Cousy and Frank Ramsey. The year the Celtics drafted Russell, Bob Cousy won league MVP and Russell's teammate Tom Heinsohn won rookie of the year.
Wilt was drafted by a bad Warriors team with one hall of famer, Paul Arizin.
When Wilt was on good 76ers and Lakers teams, they both set records for wins. His 76ers team with Hal Greer, Luke Jackson, and Billy Cunningham went 68-13 and beat the Celtics in the finals. His Lakers team with Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and Gail Goodrich won 33 games in a row and finished 69-13 and won the finals 4-1 vs. New York.
Russell had great players and scorers around him so he only had to focus on defense and rebounding. His career high PPG was 18.9 and that's in an era with inflated stats. It's a lot harder to do everything for your team vs. focusing on just a couple things. Wilt's career high was 50.
EugeneOnegin is right. Good points by Phoenix Mike as well. For well over a decade the Boston Celtics were stacked. STACKED!
From 1957 to 1969 the Celtics won 11 out of 14 NBA championships. Sharman, Ramsey, and Cousy all eventually went into the HOF with Russell, whose last year as a player was 1969. And filling the shoes of the aforementioned above was no problem. By 1961 the Celtics sent to the court K.C. Jones, Sam Jones, Bailey Howell, and Tommy Heinsohn. The four of them eventually were elected into the HOF as well. And Celtic reserves like Don Nelson, Larry Siegfried, and Tom "Satch" Sanders could have easily started for other teams. And then there is one Celtic that stands up to all these guys and ranks (IMO) with the best of the Celtic best- HOFer John Havlicek. And of course Red Auerbach was a HOF coach.
As Eugene pointed out, in Chamberlain's career he didn't have NEARLY the supporting cast Russell had. Paul Arizin was a HOFer in Chamberlain's early years, Hal Greer and Billy Cunningham were HOFers in the middle, and in the last few years he had Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, and Elgin Baylor as HOFers. Baylor actually retired ten games into that record setting 1971-72 season as his knees were shot.
Russell and the Celtics were a true dynasty. That's what beat Wilt.
EugeneOnegin, that was an excellent post. A lot of great points you raised.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mathguy
It's clear that you haven't been watching the NBA for quite some time if you think Shaq was a slow lumbering giant compared to wilt.
The bottom line is that they were both dominant centers from eras that are utterly uncomparable.
That is true, Mathguy I do not watch the NBA regularly and have not for quite some time. I should say what little I have seen of Shaq has formed my opinion that Shaq is a slow lumbering giant compared to Wilt. They were built different. Wilt was thin in his younger years. Was Shaq ever thin?
Shaq cannot run the court, even as an 18 year old, the way Wilt did. That is my opinion. And if everyone disagrees, I am fine with that.
BTW, Mathguy, I think you nailed it on your last sentence. Very true, 36 year age difference between the two is a lot of years in the NBA.
Among his victims: David Robinson, Olajuwan, Sabonis, Pippen, Smits, Kemp, long-haired Ginobili, an old Robert Parish, Tim Duncan, the great Chris Mimms and Raef Lafreanz, etc.
Shaq was slow and lumbering at the end of his career but, in his prime, he was an unstoppable freight train with quick footwork and was often double -teamed as well.
He got tripled quite often. I remember Orlando building a team around him that stood out at the 3pt. line and took open shots when he was swarmed.
I've seen him play live vs. the Bulls when he was 24 or so and he was amazingly quick and nimble for a 300lb guy.
He got tripled quite often. I remember Orlando building a team around him that stood out at the 3pt. line and took open shots when he was swarmed.
I've seen him play live vs. the Bulls when he was 24 or so and he was amazingly quick and nimble for a 300lb guy.
I watched him live when he was 17-18 in high school in SA. Dude was a monster then too
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Very true, 36 year age difference between the two is a lot of years in the NBA.
