Found this gem on Reddit (credit to poster). He broke down Wilt's 100 point game and compared it to Jordan's highest scoring season and Kobe's 81 point game. Was Wilt's 100 point game really not that impressive? Thoughts?
If the Knicks had done this with Melo the other day... Should have left him in to see if he could best Kobe.
You can't compare basketball now and basketball at its infancy. Perhaps one can say it was impressive then but not so impressive now
That's what I'm saying! Dude was taken out halfway through the third. I honestly believe he would have gotten at least 80pts
Kobe 81, 62 end of 3, and 4 straight 50's(2 of them 60's) were the greatest scoring by an individual I've ever seen.
I don't know what "hype" there is around it. It's famous because it's (allegedly) the highest single scoring performance in history. It's not like people run around saying that it couldn't be done by any of today's players if they played back then. It's special because it happened. That's it.
i don't see the point in denigrating the accomplishment. No one is saying Wilt could do it today. Also, when someone is nearing in on 100 points, of course, his teammates are going to try to feed him.
wilt's 100 impresses me. Wilt impresses me in general. Not as impressive as Kobe's 81, but still probably impressive if you could see it.
Aw not another Wilt thread "He couldn't do this in today's age" "Yes he could" "Track star" "non-athletic white players" "300 lbs" "stronger than Schwarzenegger"
The pace aspect is underrated. When you go through that Wiki article, most noted occurances of more than 100 points occurred prior to the modern era of basketball. Makes me wonder how the game has changed over time. Have we evolved from a non-contact game with little to no defense, to a contact sport where defensive schemes are a lot more important? Maybe we're trending back toward the high-scoring, fast-paced game today compared to the 80's and 90's game, but what did the game look like in the 60's and earlier?
That was also sketchy. Wasn't it the last game of the season and they force fed him so he can win the scoring title? EDIT: Yes, here is the boxscore: http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199404240LAC.html He shot 41 shots of the team's 87!
The reddit poster makes a good argument, and I agree with it. Just from the numbers we have available and the game descriptions we have, Kobe's 81 seems more impressive to me. Yeah, it was against the Raptors, but at least it was a competitive game.
Sure, 100 points was a bit contrived. Let's say he just kept up the pace he set through the first 3 quarters (when he scored 69). He then would have put up 92, without all the shenanegans. Would than make the critics happier? For the record, Wilt never considered that one of his best games because of all the shot attempts and the so-so opponent. 78 points and 43 rebounds against the Lakers earlier in the year was really more impressive. People complain about the pace of the game, but the new pace of the game was ushered in by Wilt. Before he came into the league, nobody had averaged 30 ppg. Wilt, Robertson, Baylor, and the emphasis on athleticism changes all that immediately.
