What's more impressive: 57.75% FG%, 53.41 FT%, 12.4 RPG, 2.7 APG, 2.7 BPG, 0.8 SPG, 27.5 PPG or 58.53% FG%, 51.99 FT%. 9.96 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.95 BPG, 0.5 SPG, 20.88 PPG
Uhhhhh... right. Last I checked Big Ben couldn't ever hit 16-foot turnaround-fadeaway jumpers off the glass at will. Also pretty sure he couldn't play guard for the Globetrotters or lead the NBA in assists, no matter what year.
Understandable... I'd like to see who win between 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s... I guess you can set the team up according to when the best players were most productive. Reggie Miller is a great shooting guard as Grant Hill was a great versatile forward, but I think Mitch Richmond, Dominique Wilkins, Alonzo Mourning, or even Chris Webber could take those spots. I specifically say Dominique, because his numbers were almost MJ-lite, I'll even say on the level of Kobe until about 34.
I'll take 90s for the the following reasons: MJ Dream Scottie Pippen was more than capable of giving Magic, Larry, Kobe etc. hell defensively. Prime Scottie Pippen is the best wing/guard defender I've seen.
Or average 20 points in 3 consecutive games. There were HOF centers who couldn't stop (or had trouble doing so) Wilt (Kareem, Nate Thurmond, and even Bill Russell). And consider that Ben Wallace is shorter than Bill Russell. To me, Wilt is what Shaq, Ewing, and David Robinson would be as one player. Combined power, speed, length, athleticism, above average jump shot (for centers), and possibly the best passing skills of any big men ever (he could pass and pile up assist when he wanted to). Sidenote: There are HOF shooting guards who averaged less assists per game in their career than Wilt did. He only has .2 less than Kobe, same number as Calvin Murphy, and is ahead of Elgin Baylor, Connie Hawkins, and Earl Monroe. Yet, he often is pegged as the biggest ball-hog ever, according to some. But, how many other centers passed or accumulated assist as much as he did. I know assist isn't the only stat to consider, when passing, but a center getting anything close to 5 a game or much more with 8 or 9 is outstanding in a season. http://www.databasebasketball.com/l...0&orderBy=hl&filter=NBA&row=101&submit=Search
where's Penny and Kidd? they could easily take stockton and Payton's spot. also Kemp, KG, or Webber are possibilities in place of Malone. I would have to fit AI and Rodman in there as well. but OP is right. the 90's was stacked with talent.
Interesting. Many people consider the 80s not the 90s to be the golden era of NBA. I think a team from the 80s alone can beat the 90s, let alone all time. Many players crossed two decades. It's unfair to just use championships to measure where the guy peaked. Jordan, Hakeem, and Ewing, could easily be put in the 80s. And yes, Shaq could belong to the 90s too. He got rings in the 00 mostly because he had better teams. Anyway, there have been so many great players in basketball history, I doubt that any decade could beat the sum total of talents from the all-time pool.
Penny, maybe, but Kidd was never as productive as Stockton or Payton, especially in 90s. Kemp, KG, and Webber were great players, but they aren't quite and never have been in Malone's league. Malone is 2x MVP, personally don't think he deserved (over MJ in 97 or TD in 99), but they are in record books. He helped turn a very mediocre franchise into a perennial powerhouse and three trips to the NBA Finals. Also, this is the 90s, where Webber only made the playoffs three times, as KG never reached the next round of the playoffs until 04 (had only been in the league for about 4 years at the end of 90s and on the bench his 1st season). While the Reign Man went to Cleveland was never quite himself again. I could make the argument that Karl Malone was a great player and a top 4 power forward in the league in three different decades.
Maybe not, but Wilt would still murder 98% of centers and power forwards in the NBA right now. Name five centers right now, outside of maybe Shaq, Dwight Howard, Yao, and possibly Kendrick Perkins that would give him any trouble.
90s would most likely get murdered, because their big men won't be able to defend against the better big men.
In the current NBA? you could say the same thing about Yao/Dwight; are they the best ever? Dream Shaq Duncan KG Robinson Mourning Ewing Eaton Malone Mutumbo K. Malone Tree Rollins Sabonis Divac Camby Wallace Would eat Wilt's lunch. The pace of the NBA back then would make the game look foreign to a modern day spectator. Wilt was one dimensional, could only use his right hand, and had no semblance of a shot. The average player to guard him had the height and athletic ability of Scola. He was just simply bigger, stronger, and faster than anyone else of his time. there is no reason to believe he would "dominate" any modern day centers. (except euro softies)
Why don't you educate us? I bet you'll sagely tell us that there was no competition when Wilt played, and combine that by trotting out "he played against nothing but a bunch of slow white guys." And you would be wrong on both counts. Wilt would dominate in any era, period.
Wilt was 7'1 275. Russell was 6'9 220. Mikan was 6'10 245. Shaq is 7'1 300-350+. Yao is 7'6 310. Dwight is 6'11 265. Yea the game isn't any bigger or faster than before is it? Lebron could man handle most centers of that era.
What in in the name of whatever god you pray to does George Mikan have to do with ANYTHING relating to Wilt? Wilt started his career in 1960 when Mikan had been RETIRED FOR 4 YEARS ALREADY. Dear god man... 8 seconds on a basketball reference website would tell you that. You could not possibly make it any clearer that the entirety of your "knowledge" about the pre-1980s NBA is limited to ESPN top 10 lists and sound bytes.
Oh hey look, you can't prove my point wrong so you nitpick. Regardless of Mikan's relevance (I believe it is relevant because it shows another "dominate" "rule changing" center who would be mince meat to the modern day athlete), you haven't addressed any facts. I don't expect you too either. Troll elsewhere.
I disagree. I doubt any of those centers on the rest team could deal with Robinson's quickness and Ewing was probably the best outside shooting big man save maybe rik smits. Ewing might be more important to the 90s team success than hakeem because he could draw the defense out of the lane.
Here is an interesting little tid bit: http://www.411mania.com/sports/nba/48122/The-Death-of-the-NBA-Big-Man-Part-1.htm
