Valuable Information about Wilt Chamberlain

I know a lot of people like to say "Wilt Chamberlain was only good because he was 4 inches taller and 50 lbs heavier than everyone else." And while Wilt did benefit from the era he played in, that can't be held against him.

I know mixes can be misleading, but this guy had incredible post moves. Look at some of the hooks he made, and his bankshot was automatic. There's even one clip of Wilt handling the ball on a break and making a no look pass to finish it off. So the myth that Wilt had no skill and just used his size to dominate is completely wrong... ask anyone who has seen him play or better yet - watch him for yourself - and they will tell you that while Wilt is definitely one of the strongest players ever to play in the NBA, he played much more of a finesse game and relied on his skills rather than his sheer size, which was arguably his biggest weakness. Wilt was obssesed with being portrayed as a nice guy and didn't want to overpower/injure his opponents. Although he was a terrible free throw shooter, he was a very skilled player and all videos will show this.

Now, everybody's favourite "Wilt wasn't as dominant as guys like Shaq, he had such a massive weight advantage" is a bigger lie than Santa Claus. These are some facts that another guy pointed out to me arguing against Wilt Chamberlain -

Wilt was 7-1 and 275 pounds...let's keep this in mind for a moment, while I talk about what the NBA had at center.

There were a total of 18 centers in the league in 1961-62.  Only five of them (including Wilt) averaged over 30 MPG.

• 
  
  • Bill Russell was 6-9 and 215 pounds (-4 inches and -60 pounds)
  • Walt Bellamy was 6-11 and 225 pounds (-2 inches and -50 pounds)
  • Wayne Embry was 6-8 and 240 pounds (-5 inches and -35 pounds)
  • Red Kerr was 6-9 and 230 pounds (-4 inches and -45 pounds)
  Only one of those four had the height to defend Wilt, and played longer than 30 minutes per game, and that was a 225-pound Bellamy that gave up 50 pounds to Wilt.

What about the rest?

• Clyde Lovellette: 6-9, 234 lbs. (only played 40 games, also)
• Phil Jordon: 6-10, 205 lbs. (a stick)
• Jim Krebs: 6-8, 230 lbs.
• Walter Dukes: 7-0, 220 lbs. (JaVale McGee, only 17 pounds LIGHTER)
• Bob Ferry: 6-8, 230 lbs.
• Charlie Tyra: 6-8, 230 lbs.
• Larry Foust: 6-9, 215 lbs.
• Darrall Imhoff: 6-10, 220 lbs. (19.8 MPG bench player behind Phil Jordon - mentioned above - in NY)
• Ray Felix: 6-11, 220 lbs. (18.5 MPG bench player behind a much smaller Jim Krebs - mentioned above - in LA)
• Hub Reed: 6-9, 215 lbs. (18.1 MPG bench player behind a smaller Wayne Embry - mentioned above - in CIN)
• Swede Halbrook: 7-3, 235 lbs. (played just 14.2 MPG behind Red Kerr, who was much smaller, and he lasted just two seasons in the league)
• Wayne Yates: 6-8, 235 lbs. (7.1 MPG, worthless)
• Bevo Nordmann: 6-10, 225 lbs. (5.9 MPG, worthless)

Wilt was, by far, the heaviest player during that season.  He was also the second tallest out of the three seven-footers (the tallest being a guy that logged just 14 minutes off the bench).  The other seven-footer gave up 50 pounds to Wilt.

Fantastic. Wilt Chamberlain was bigger and stronger than all his opponents. However, I would like to share you some research I did on Shaquille O'Neal. Now - if you mentioned Shaquille O'Neal, people will be quick to tell you how he was so big and strong and dominant. But what they never do is say "Shaq played against weak competition." That seems like a crazy thing to say right? Not so crazy once you have a look at the numbers of the centers Shaq faced in the playoffs during his MVP season. Keep in mind Shaq was 7"1 and 325 lbs:

• Vlade Divac was 7"1 and 243 lbs (-0 inches and -82 lbs)
• Luc Longley was 7"2 and 265 lbs (+1 inches and -60 lbs)
• Arvydas Sabadonis was 7"3 and 279 lbs (+2 inches and -46 lbs)
• Rik Smits was 7"4 and 250 lbs (+3 inches and -75 lbs)

So they while Shaq was up against taller opponents, he was much stronger than his opponents. Yet Wilt Chamberlain was only dominant because of his era, while Shaq gets tons upon tons upon tons upon tons upon tons of credit for being sooooo much stronger than his opponents. It makes Shaq good and Wilt bad. Well gee, that sure is strange. Maybe I'm looking at it wrong, let's look at some of the elite defensive centers in the NBA at the time.

• Alonzo Mourning was 6"10 and 240 lbs (-3 inches and -85 lbs) - Zo was all DPOY aswell. How the [expletive] was he supposed to match up against Shaq!?
• David Robinson was 7"1 and 235 lbs (-0 inches and -90 lbs)
• Dikembe Mutombo was 7"2 and 245 lbs (+1 inches and -80 lbs)
• Theo Ratliff was 6"10 and 225 lbs (-3 inches and -100 lbs)
• Shawn Bradley was 7"6 and 235 lbs (+5 inches and -90 lbs)

Oh my. That kinda makes you feel bad for those guys... I mean, they had no chance of stopping Shaq. Theo Ratliff was an elite defender, but how are you gonna defend a guy who has 3 inches and 100 pounds on you!?

But, despite all of this, Wilt is criticised for the era he played in, whereas Shaq is often complimented for his strength and dominance. Now, I don't know about you, bit that hardly seems fair to me. So, how come Shaq gets praised heaped upon him for being so dominant, but Wilt gets criticised for being too big and too strong (When Shaq's competition typically gave up more weight)

Top 10 Players Heading Into The 2012 Season

Hello all, I needed a post to open this blog and since the 2011-12 season is just 2 days away I decided to count down who, in my opinion, are the 10 best players heading into next season. Without any further ado, here we go:

10. Amar'e Stoudemire - New York Knicks

 Season Stats: 25.3 PPG - 8.2 RPG - 2.6 APG

Amar'e Stoudemire signed with the Knicks last off season and lead them to their first playoff birth since 2004. The guy proved to everyone he was a legit scorer without the help of Steve Nash and could be depended on to carry a team. He was an early MVP Candidate and made New York relevant in the NBA again. Even when the Knicks made the trade for perennial All Star Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e remained a consistent scorer - who knows what would've happened if he was healthy for the playoffs. Amar'e is extremely athletic, a gifted passer and one of the best shooting bigmen in the league. His weaknesses on defense (which he addressed to an extent last year with 1.9 BPG) and rebounding may be hidden by the addition of All-Defensive Second team honouree Tyson Chandler, and his scoring should remain consistent next year, making Amar'e an obvious player for this list.

9. Derrick Rose - Chicago Bulls

 Season Stats: 24.1 PPG - 4.1 RPG - 7.7 APG

Derrick Rose had a breakout season last year, going from an All Star player to the league MVP. He added a 3 point shot to his already deadly offensive arsenal, stepped his game up on defense, and became an unquestioned top player in the league. He lead Chicago to the best record in the league and to the Conference Finals were he flamed out. The addition of Richard Hamilton and a healthy roster should make it easier on Rose, and if he doesn't have to keep doing everything himself maybe Chicago could make a title run this year. Rose still has stuff to work on though, his decision making was fairly poor last year as we watched him take a few too many 3s, leading to a career low field goal percentage. He also needs to continue working on his defense if he wants to be considered anything more than average. The guy has a lot of potential and I fully expect him to work out these flaws.

8.  Kevin Durant - Oklahoma City Thunder

 Season Stats: 27.7 PPG - 6.8 RPG - 2.7 APG

Kevin Durant is arguably the best scorer in the NBA. He has a deadly shot from pretty much anywhere on the court, he has a good post-up game, he can get to the rim and finish, he can create his own shot, he's adept at coming off screens, he can do it in the clutch, and he's still very young. Unfortunately, there's not much else he can do. His defense is still far from desirable, his rebounding is average, his leadership is average, his playmaking skills are average. Durant has a lot of potential, is surrounded by a good young team and could go bright places, but until he addresses these flaws I can't place him any higher than some of the more complete guys above him.

7. Chris Paul - Los Angeles Clippers

Season Stats: 15.9 PPG - 4.1 RPG - 9.8 APG 

Chris Paul was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers during the offseason and it remains to be seen how well he fill hit in there. However, if the pre-season is any indication, he's going to do good things with that team. Chris Paul is a decent defender, fantastic rebounding Point Guard, elite shooter, passer and can score when needed - he has very few holes in his game. However, he definitely doesn't look as good as he did a few years ago and has been bothered by knee troubles in recent years. Maybe all Chris Paul needed to get back on track was a change of scenery, or maybe that was the exact opposite of what he needed. However, this team is arguably his most talented yet and I'd put my money on him having another monster season next year.

6. Deron Williams - New Jersey Nets

 Season Stats: 20.1 PPG - 4.0 RPG - 10.3 APG

Deron Williams holds the honour of being the only player in the NBA to average 20 PPG and 10 APG last season. A lot of people won't like me having him above Chris Paul, but Deron Williams can do everything Chris Paul does and some other things too. Williams was unexpectedly traded to the Nets midway through last season and struggled with a wrist injury, but his passing, rebounding and defense remained elite throughout the injury. The talent in New Jersey is a massive step down from what Deron is used to playing with in Utah, so we will see how well he can perform playing a whole season with this roster, and how it will effect his scoring and assist numbers.

5. Dirk Nowitzki - Dallas Mavericks

Season Stats: 23.0 PPG - 7.0 RPG - 2.6 APG

 Dirk Nowitzki finally lead his 'choker' lable last year as he played one of the greatest post-seasons of all time and lead the Mavericks to the NBA title. Dirk is probably the greatest shooting bigman of all time, and one of the greatest shooting NBA players of all time regardless of position. He's also a fantastic passer. However, his rebounding is pretty average and his defense leaves a lot of room for improvement. For these reasons I can't put him higher than any of the more complete players on this list, but after the great post season he had last year the man is definitely worthy of his position in the top 5.

4. Kobe Bryant - Los Angeles Lakers

 Season Stats: 25.3 PPG - 5.1 RPG - 4.7 APG

Originally I struggled on who to put 4th - Kobe Bryant or Dirk Nowitzki. After a lot of thought I decided to place Kobe over Dirk due to the fact he's a more complete player. Kobe has definitely declined and isn't in his prime anymore, but he's still a great player and one of the best in the NBA. At this point in time he's a pretty average defender and rebounder, but he's still one of the great clutch players in the NBA, has phenomenal footwork and a knack for putting the ball in the basket. He's also still a good playmaker, leading the Lakers with 4.7 assists per game. We don't know how well he will do with Mike Brown, but the offseason knee surgery and extended rest should help him out a lot in the up and coming season. 

  

3. Dwight Howard - Orlando Magic

 Season Stats: 22.9 PPG - 14.1 RPG - 1.4 APG

Dwight Howard exploded in the second half of last year, solidfying his place as a top-5 player in the NBA today. No other center can even compare to him right now, he's one of the top low post players, arguably the best rebounder, 3 time defensive player of the year award winner, and is improving every year. His future remains uncertain and where he ends up will largely effect his stats for next year, but right now his talent level is undeniable and I don't see that changing any time soon. The most dominant center since Shaq still has a lot to improve on though, he's still a terrible free throw shooter, he's not a gret passer, his low post moves and footwork still need more work and he picks up a few too many technical fouls. If he addresses these issues then he could probably be the best player in the NBA.

2. Dwyane Wade - Miami Heat

 Season Stats: 25.5 PPG - 6.4 RPG - 4.6 APG

There were a lot of questions as to how well Dwyane Wade and LeBron James would mesh together last year after the whole off-season fiasco. They meshed together very well and better than pretty much anyone, myself included, could imagine. D.Wade is one of the most clutch players in the NBA, one of the best slashers in the NBA, a lockdown defender, one of the greatest shotblocking guards in NBA History, and just as complete a player as anybody. Despite Miami's shortcomings in the NBA Finals last year, Wade played fantastically and was Miami's clear MVP during the 6 game season.

1. LeBron James -- Miami Heat

Season Stats: 26.7 PPG - 7.5 RPG - 7.0 APG

LeBron averaged 27/8/7 last year despite the fact he was playing with a ball dominant shooting guard. That's a testament to how great this guy really is. LeBron averages 28/7/7 for his career, statistically he's one of the greatest players ever to play the game. Possesing a rare skill set, standing at 6"8 weighing in at about 260, yet still being incredibly quick, having a tremendous vertical leap, elite court vision, being able to play lockdown defense both on the ball and off the ball, LeBron is going down as an all time great in the NBA. The man isn't without his flaws though. His lack of fundamental skills such as a consistent jumpshot and a post game have come back to haunt him at times, and his chokejob in The Finals showcased his lack of mental toughness. If this guy was a little tougher up there he would definitely have an argument for the greatest of all time. Unfortunately, it seems likely that will always be an if.