How did Wilt Chamberlain achieve such dominance during his time?
For four reasons:
The NBA played at a considerably faster tempo in the past, therefore the statistics amassed during that time are a little deceptive. Wilt had an absurd average of 50 points and 25 rebounds per game in the 1961–62 campaign. In contrast to the current NBA, which averages roughly 97 possessions per game, the average team that season had 125. Based on basic mathematical calculations, Wilt would have averaged 39 points and 19 rebounds per game if he had played at the slower pace of today. While both of those figures are excellent (definitely surpassing current records), they are not as impressive as they would appear in isolation.
Wilt possessed the stamina of a marathon runner, which helps to explain why his stats appear impressive. In the much-discussed 1961–62 season, he played 48.5 minutes per contest on average. That’s not a criticism of him; having your great player stay on the floor all the time is a significant advantage. His pace-adjusted stats would drop to 29 points and 14 rebounds per game if he played 36 minutes per game, which is a lot in today’s game. This is almost equal to Anthony Davis’s performance thus far in the 2018–19 NBA season. He was, in essence, the league’s best big man, only with greater stamina, able to play entire games without taking a break. Not quite as superhuman as his 50 and 25, but still amazing.
His strengths were designed into the NBA in the 1960s. Back then, there was no three-point line. The most crucial skills to possess were the following: making your own shots close to the hoop, blocking shots from other players close to the hoop, grabbing rebounds (which were more common back then because misses were more frequent and shots were taken closer to the rim), and most importantly, grabbing offensive rebounds because they result in high-percentage shots under or at the rim. In every single one of those categories (except from blocks, where Russell was perhaps superior on a qualitative level), Wilt was the greatest in the league. Wilt’s inability to hit anything farther than five feet with.
When compared to players of his period, Wilt was extraordinarily athletic and large. Professional athletes have become wealthier throughout time (the typical NBA player in the 1960s made roughly $100k in today’s dollars, which is nice but not outstanding), and word of their accomplishments has spread throughout society. This indicates that as time has passed, an increasing number of individuals with the capacity to pursue careers in professional sports have done so, raising the average caliber of players in the process. Because of this, the difference between the best and ordinary players in any sport is wider the further back you go. Wilt stood almost seven feet tall and had unusual physical features.
With a height of almost seven feet and a wingspan of eight feet, Wilt was a physical anomaly who possessed extraordinary strength and endurance. He also played in a league where several teams had no players six-ten or older, and there were only two other 7-footers (none of whom were very good). Wilt didn’t have much technique, but he didn’t need it because he was bigger and stronger than everyone he faced. Imagine, essentially, that Shaquille O’Neal spent his whole career in the NCAA. Physically speaking, Wilt was several decades ahead of his time.
In summary Two reasons Wilt was so successful in the 1960s were 1) his skill set was ideal for the time, and 2) he was a physical freak who could outperform opponents in ways that would be hard for anybody else to do.
