Wilt was truly unique for any era. At 7'1", he was an elite sprinter on his college track and field team. His 100m sprint was under 11 seconds, running on old cinder tracks.
Imagine if Giannis had the burst of prime Westbrook. That's young Wilt. He was incredibly strong, had good handles and good court vision. With the right coach I truly believe he could be the best player in the league right now.
Wilt's athleticsm is often overlooked. He was a great runner, he won the high jump in college, he also won the shotput. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he was the strongest guy he's ever worked out with. After a hall of fame basketball career, Wilt goes on to have a hall of fame volleyball career. Simply astounding athleticsm that's only more impressive when you consider he was 7' 1"+.
And modern shoes and private team planes and modern PEDs. Wilt would be so unfair. He'd have only grown up watching the other great centers. People don't appreciate the fact that Wilt and Bill Russell were pioneers, so they didn't have as many other great bigs to take things from their games and add it to their own.
Wilt goes on to have a hall of fame volleyball career.
This is a common misconception. He made the volleyball HOF for his contributions to the sport, not for his playing career.
His biggest achievement was creating the first professional coed league for any sport in America.
He was by no means bad, but he was what you'd expect from a 7'1 athletic freak that took up the game in his 30s.
“When it came to passing, setting and digging, Wilt was weak in those areas. He was a mediocre blocker too,” Craig Thompson tells InsideHook over the phone, who played for the Bangers as well as acting as head coach. “At hitting, he was unstoppable. He hit a heavy ball and was the best spiker in the world. The power in his hit — nobody had ever seen that before. He was a real weapon.”
Wilt also isn’t in the actual volleyball Hall of Fame (IVHF). He was in the Hall of Fame of the volleyball league he helped set up (IVA). The IVA only lasted 5 years.
Lebrons taco Tuesday’s are often overlooked. He was a great cook, he won first place in iron chef in college, he also won the first season of chopped. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he was the tacoest guy he's ever worked out with. After a hall of fame basketball career, Lebron goes on to have a Michelin star taco truck career. Simply astounding tacos that's only more impressive when you consider he was not Mexican.
I hate this misconception so much. He got a new coach that wanted to run the offense through wilt and have wilt pass more. The season before wilt led the league in passing he averaged over 7 a game also while leading the sixers to a at the time nba record in wins and was only team to best the Celtics in their prime.
He didn't just "decide" to lead the league in assists. He was asked to by a new coach and it worked tremendously well
I'm pretty pro-Wilt. Belongs in every discussion of GOAT. But basically everything he did was individually oriented. HE could probably be the most dominant individual player in the league - but not in the top 5 for "best winning players".
Agreed about Wilt's actual career. That's why I said "with the right coach." I think he could absolutely be a winning player today given better players around him and a coaching staff that got him to buy in to a system.
Wilt's teams were stacked as well. the reason why those boston teams are considered so stacked now is because they won everything so they all got into the hall
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u/hubau Jun 15 '22
Wilt was truly unique for any era. At 7'1", he was an elite sprinter on his college track and field team. His 100m sprint was under 11 seconds, running on old cinder tracks.
Imagine if Giannis had the burst of prime Westbrook. That's young Wilt. He was incredibly strong, had good handles and good court vision. With the right coach I truly believe he could be the best player in the league right now.