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|||About 6'9". The whole 6'6" 220 lb center theory is a complete myth, as the 1960s was chalked full of great big men including Russell, Chamberlain, Bellamy, Reed, Thurmond, and many more. Also keep in mind the NBA was less about promoting players back then, so tools like measuring with shoes and height exaggeration were not commonplace back then, unlike today.
Chamberlain would not be able to put up those numbers today, but it has nothing to do with his ability, just the nature of the game. Were baseball pitchers in the 1900s really that good? Of course not, it was the nature of the game. Teams in the 1960s played at ridiculously up-tempo paces, which resulted in a few things:
1. Skinnier bigs (Andris Biendris would do way better in the 60s then Zach Randolph)
2. Far more shot attempts (so someone like Chamberlain could shoot 30-40 shots and not be a ball hog)
3. Less fouls, which meant more misses. More shots + less fouls= more rebound attempts
This is why Chamberlain put up crazy numbers.
However, you need to understand that Chamberlain is also the greatest individual athlete in the history of sports, in terms of a physical specimen. In his prime, he was 7'1", 275 lb (Dwight Howard but taller basically), could run a 10.7 100 meter, 48 inch vertical (roughly Michael Jordans) and had a 500 lb bench press (more than Shaq). He also was extremely skilled. He had a deadly fadeaway and tons of post moves. He lead the league in assists because he wanted to show people he could.
Chamberlains biggest problem was that he listened to others too much. As a result, he never had a good FT routine (50% FT shooter) and constantly showed off his skills instead of not caring and just dunking on people (which he said was the reason he only won 2 titles). If he had an aggressive motor, it wouldn't have even been fair, not that it was in the first place haha.
Almost all rules that existed in the 60s are still here today. Some say there was no 3 second calls or players could goaltend and all this stuff, but thats simply false. If I had to guess, I'd say prime Chamberlain today would put up 36 ppg, 18 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 blocks.|||People originally thought that guys that tall wouldn't be able to learn the skills or have the agility to play professional basketball. George Mikan changed that perception in the 50s and by the 60s there were players like Wilt, Russell and Nate Thurmond who were all big dominant centers.
It is harder nowadays for a center to dominate like Wilt did because Wilt was so insanely good that they consistently changed and tinkered with the rules to prevent his dominance. His numbers are true though and if he played in this era he would still be a dominant center and hall of fame player.|||AROUND 6'9 ONLY BILL RUSSELL HELD WILT TO THE LOWEST POINTS|||6`90|||6'10.
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