Tip-Off Timer: 67 Belongs To Wilt

I hope all of this era's fans who think Shaq is or was the most dominant NBA player ever read this.

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while wilt's scoring is impressive, I've never been one who is impressed by someone who is so tall they just stand under the basket and put the ball in...it's mostly layups for them which are a high percentage shot by nature...whereas the likes of MJ, Kobe in this era and others, who actually have to 'shoot' the ball from some distance, are much more indicators of skill...dunking a ball over smaller people doesn't require much...and for Shaq's stats...dunking a ball after you've been able to lower your should and use your 300+ lbs. like a lineback to ram into them is not all that impressive either...Larry Bird is impressive, most centers are not...at least to me...given the absence of a high degree of difficulty to putting the ball in the hoop

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67 is also the year when Wilt led the former Syracuse Nationals, the Philadelphia `76ers, to the Nba championship over his former team, the Philly turned Goldern State Warriors. He was already being forced to submit, to dumb down his game, by folks who resented his high scoring, despite the fact her was usually leading the association in FG%, and should have really been shooting MORE, not less. Wilt was traded in the `64/`65 season back to Philly, and was probably one of the conditions of letting the Warriors go to California in the first place (Yeah we`ll let you have Wilt a little while to help establish the Nba in the western half of the country, but then we want him back). Wilt`s last full season in San Francisco he averaged 36.9 points, more than anyone else ever, 22.3 rebounds, shot 52.4% from the field, 2nd in the league, as in rebounding, 5.0 assists, 5th in the league, best man over 6`5. His first full season back in Philly he averaged 33.5 pts., first in the league, 24.6 rebounds, 1st in the league, 54.0% from the field, first in the league, 5.2 assists, 7th in the league, but 1st among men over 6`5. But the next season, though he won the chmapionship the end of that year, his scoring dropped over 9 pts. a game, down to 3rd in the association, rebounding dropped slightly to 24.2, still first in the association, assists up, to 7.8, 3rd in the association, field goal percentage SOARED, to 68.3%, second was Walt Bellamy way down at 52.1%. Despite the fact Wilt was living in New York, like Walt, and commuting to Philly, he was an excellent teammate.
And since `67 also includes `67/`68, Wilt`s last year in Philly, I should mention he was again 3rd in scoring, 24.3, 1st in rebounds, 23.8, 1st in FG%, 59.5, but was also the only center to lead the association in assits, 8.6. An introvert is usually a frustrated extrovert. Wilt stammered in his speech, and at the free throw line. A lot of pent up frustration. Getting to the Harlem Globetrotters, which he joined as a point guard, usually, a year before the nba and didn`t leave when he joined the nba, helped. But in the nba, he didn`t have a Tommy Gun Heinsohn teammate to beat him out for rookie of the year, or an association mvp point guard, a Bob Cousy, to take the pressure of the invasive media off of him. He wasn`t perfect, no one is. But he was an excllent nba athlete, and yes, easily the most dominate ever, rebounding and defending about as well as Russell, an inferior style of shot blocking, less dominant on the perimeter where you don`t want the big fella to play anyway, more dominate inside, and scoring about as well as Mike Jordan but assisting better than Jordan.

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Remember, basketball was only invented when Michael Jordan started to win championships for Chicago. You know, when it became legal to palm the ball and take 3+ steps. It's ok to talk about Larry and Magic, but we have to be sold, errr marketed, that Michael is the greatest and those 72 win Bulls were the greatest team ever. RIGHT....Thank God those Bulls didn't have to play the Russell led Celtics of the 60's or Wilt's '67 76'ers, or the West/CHamberlain '72 Lakers. Gee, a clutch shot against a Craig Ehlo doesn't really seem like much when you think of those great teams and the wars between Chamberlain & Russell, Chamberlain & Abdul- Jabbar, West & Robertson, etc. does it? No, scratch that, it isn't part of the Stern marketing plan! Yeah Bulls, over whatever stiffs the NBA claimed to be worthy competition.

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all of you are missing the actual issue,when Wilt came into the league he was such a dominant force that the league changed to game to make harder for him and easier for everyone else,so we can talk about everyone in NBA history Wilt hands down is the greatest basketball player for ever more,he changed the game by himself and no one has done that since,enough said

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plus just to add another game changing stat,Wilt never fouled out of a game from elementary,high school,college,and pros so put that in your biased stats,enough said

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I have been a hoops fan for almost 50 years and I am still astonished by how dismissive "experts" are about Wilt. NOBODY is even close to being as great as he was. People who say he was taller or played in the post so he 'should' score like that is truly an idiot. If it is so easy, why do poseurs like O'neal and the rest average20 and 10? Wilt is inarguably the greatest basketball player ever, but one of the top 10 greatest athletes of all time.

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Something else about Wilt. He virtually invented the fade-away jump shot. A shot he developed against the likes of Russell and Jabar. He did not live in the paint. He was just that good

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Yeah, it was The Big Red Head, sort of the original Bill Walton, Dr. Bob Kurland, and George Mikan, who lived in the paint. The offensive goal tend, which was fine with Mikan`s coach when he did it, but not when Kurland did, for some reason, was banned in `58, when Wilt left Kansas for the Harlem GlobeTrotters. And Wilt was a track and field letterman before he was a basketball letterman, he out quicked his own men, which is why defenses collapsed on him and tried to hold him down. Even in his 14th season, no longer the tallest good player, he still out quicked everybody else for the most rebounds and highest field goal percentage (72.7%!). Shaq wasn`t as fast, much less as good a leaper, but he also outquicked guys. When he stopped moving his feet his last couple of years in Miami, he became a has been, when he started moving them again, he became an all star again. Big guys do tend to shoot closer in, to be in better position for offensive rebounds, because other guys aren`t big enough to force them out, and coaches want them in, and defenses want them out, but many CAN shoot from the perimeter if they want. When Wilt came into the NBA, he preferred shooting from the perimeter, but settled for beating most of his teammates shooting from the perimeter in practice. Walt Bellamy shot ever less, he averaged over 30 points a game as a rookie, but never stopped taking some of his shots from the perimeter, too many to suit coaches, just to prove he could still do it. Russell was great, but the idea a guy is better if he isn`t as good, but is shorter, is crzay. Iverson is even shorter than Wilt by an even bigger margin than Russ and Air, does that make him even better than Jordan and Russell? Of course not! Main reason the NBA kisses Mike Jordan`s black diamond earring about how great he was (and he was great), is because they STILL won`t admit Chamberlain was as good a Russell and Jordan combined. But he was.

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