I'm not sure about rookie year...but Wilt Chamberlain was scoring well above 40 a night... But that was last generation....basketball has changed.
I think during Wilt's day, anyone can park in the lane as long as you want, there is no three second violation. Does anyone know the average height of centers at that time? 6"9?
I really think that Wilt was highly overrated, because: 1) he overmatched everyone he played 2) he parked himself in the paint and gobbled up all the boards because he was so bigger and stronger than anyone else in the leagu 3) there wasn't any player in the league that had his strength and size, maybe i'm cancelling myself out because he was a titan among giants but still, i really think he would only an above average center in todays era. the man only had brute force going for him, no finesse whatsoever just my 2 cents.
Here is also a lot of discussion about Yao being an MVP. http://bbs.clutchcity.net/php3/showthread.php?s=&threadid=47660
If the Rox get to the Conference Finals and have a good run there, and assuming Yao puts up those points, then there really isn't any reasons why he shouldn't at least be considered seriously. He's not an established superstar like Shaq or Kobe (yet) but no one can seriously deny his contributions if the Rox get that far. But who knows. There'll be other big players as well.
Thats why he was so great, because he was a beast for his time. I doubt Babe Ruth would have the same numbers had he played today. Its all about how you do compared to your competition. Wilt was a man among boys.
"I don't mind the well-roundedness...just give Stevie some of Stockton's instincts and BB IQ! Oh well, can't have it all"--derrock That's actually not true, in a couple more seasons Steve will be an even more spectacular veteran and will get to know all the stuff Stockton did--he also has tons and tons of skills that Stockton could only dream of going for him as well.
The argument that Francis doesn't deserve MVP consideration because of his defense, really makes me laugh. How can you say that Francis can't win because of D, but then say that TMAC is so awesome, have any of you seen TMAC play defense he is HORRIBLE!!! Steve is one of the top 10 players in the league period.
Well... he let people like Jason Williams and Andre Miller get by him... Steve Francis should pass more and reduce the crazy stuff but still be exciting to watch. Now with Posey, Steve can hopefully get more assists if Posey can shoot. We should not worry about this stuff. Our main goal is to WIN!!! None of our guys have a chance right now...they are still young. Just win!
SLA, I agree Steve needs to play better D, but my point is how can you say that Tmac is MVP worthy but Steve isn't because of Defense, Tmac''s D is horrible, why do you think that H.Grant got kicked off the team, because he kept B******g about Tmac's defense. Correction Tmac plays NO defense.
A few things : Elvin Hayes, Ralph Sampson, Hakeem Olajuwon all put up monstrous numbers as rookies for the Rockets. I'm not sure Elvin should count, as I think his rookie season was in San Diego, but he put up 28&18 a night. I think that it might be impossible now for Yao to get the Rockets rookie record for double-doubles, because of the numbers put up by Hakeem, Sampson, et al. re : Wilt - If Wilt was playing now, he'd be the best player in the league, he'd be Shaq, but faster, and with more range. The guy was enormously strong, had great touch, and was just a superb athlete. They made numerous rule changes designed to stop this guy, but nothing could, he was that good.
There is no real clear cut for MVP so far this year. Even though Dallas had a good record but I think their 3 stars will take some of the vote away from each others. So I don't think the MVP will come out of Dallas. Also I think Dallas will have a great record but I don't think Dallas will win the championship. Remember the 3 losses they have this year were against team with good inside players (Spurs, Pacers, and Lakers). And we know in the playoff, the referees will let them play. I don't think the Mavericks have enough inside play to beat out a team with some tough inside players in a 7 games series. In a slow down and grinding out game, I think the Mavericks will have a tough time winning. In fact if Houston continue to play team ball and continue to improve defensively (with the addtion of Posey and improve defense of Yao), I think Dallas will have a tough time getting by Houston in a 7 game series.
I can't agree this more about Francis. He looks like immatured player to me, even Yao Ming is much better than him (though Yao is 2 years younger). I also want to know which moron first suggest Francis as point guard, he is NOT PG, remember he was shooting guard in Maryland, I think Gary is much smarter than Rudy, it really does nothing good to put him as PG.
sheesh from what a few of you said, we apparently have the worst PG in the NBA in Francis. Stop knocking the guy, he's well rounded, does many things, and is still young and developing. Stop comparing him to Jason Kidd, they both have different games. Jason never got past the first round when he was in Dallas or Phoenix, so stop knocking Franchise, see what he does in the playoffs first. Also, I'm pretty sure The Big Fundamental had the most double-doubles for a rookie, 40 something, I think. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this one
On PTI yesterday they made a very good point: Yao is putting up some great numbers in an offense that doesn't run through him...yet. They said that Steve and Cuttino, two of the best guards in the league, don't run the offense through Yao and they still look for their shots. Imagine what would happen if the team actually ran the offense through Yao. Do you think his numbers would be greater or less? I think greater because you have to realize that Steve and Cuttino are getting 15-20+ shots a game (EACH!) still and a lot of Yao's points come from their misses and offensive put backs. I mean the guy is 7'5" and has an awesome turn-around which I doubt many in the NBA can block because of the height. So if he got some of these shots plus the offesive put back of others there's no telling what this guys stats would read.
When you think about it, the NBA was even more difficult than it is today. Back then, there were fewer teams, and only the best players would be on a team (No High school wanabe's or Dan Lanky's.) You may have 4-5 all-star worthy players on one team at a time; compared to today where it's usually at most about 2. I can only think of a handfull of players that could even come close to avg. Wilt's numbers. Come to mention it, Ming had similar numbers when he played in China...
