intro Scoop immediately launched into a series of “best evers”:Best coach of all time – Chuck Daly
Best team of all time – 1983 Philadelphia 76ers
Best player of all time – Julius Erving
Now I don’t agree with any of those choices. And that’s fine. In general those are topics you could debate without ever being satisfied. But as the clip went on Scoop started to spout off some statements that could not go unchallenged. First he mentioned a column he was working on about whether or not Wilt Chamberlain could dominate in 2005. Based upon the following quote one has to assume Scoop did not think he would,
“The thing that to me and this is my argument about Wilt was so much physically bigger than ev than most of the people he played against and that’s what made his numbers so high.” – Scoop
Unfortunately I could not find the finished article on line. And granted this is another one of those topics people love to debate despite the fact that it only exists in the realm of the hypothetical. But I strongly disagree with Scoop. Wilt was 7-1, 275 pounds and an amazing athlete. I won’t go into all of his numbers and records as Scoop dismisses those based on the competition. However, as the preceding link noted,
“Although his feats were often credited to his tremendous size, Chamberlain was a true natural who possessed exceptional speed, agility, stamina and strength.”Look at centers on the current All Star ballot:
West - Blount, Camby, Dampier, Elson, Kaman, Magloire, Mihm, Miller, Okur, Stoudemire, Ming
East - Bogut, Brezec, Curry, Dalembert, Howard, Ilgauskas, Krstic, Mohammed, Mourning, O’Neal, Pachulia, Wallace
Yeah Wilt would be a stiff against that competition. However, the real reason for my rant stems from another Scoop quote,
“Best center of all time Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Wilt Chamberlain wouldn’t have done it because he didn’t play against anybody.”
Although I guess he’s right. I can’t think of any dominant centers from Wilt's time. No one from that era captured 11 championships while winning 4 MVP awards, making 12 All Star games and averaging 22.5 rebounds a game. Hopefully the sarcasm is coming through because I'm laying it on pretty thick.
I'll leave you with this. Often times people ask Bill Russell how he would fare against Shaq. NBA TV took a similar approach last June. It's a phenomenon that annoys Russell who, despite his respect for Shaq, wants people to realize the Big Aristotle would be facing a tall task,
"First of all, how would Shaq defend me? There are two ends of the court. I would never let him just have to worry about the offense. I love him. I really do. He is one of my favorite people." - Bill Russell.
Cue awesome video.
5 comments:
Good post, Scoop Jackson is a fucking idiot.
What have you got against Kareem?
2 Things. 1. pnh91 - How about you take a few plays off? 2. On to Kareem. I've got nothing against Kareem. He's one of the best centers of all time. And his signature move was unstoppable. In fact I always thought he got robbed when Billy Crystal ejected him on his farewell tour. Wow a Forget Paris reference. In fact I wouldn't have a problem with someone saying Kareem was a better player than Wilt (look at the rings). 6-2 in favor of Kareem. But a big reason Wilt had less was Bill Russell. My whole point was you can't rule out Bill Russell. He's one of the best players ever. It took Red 7 seasons to win a title with the C's and Russell was instrumental in that franchise making the leap. Long story short I don't hate Kareem but I still think it goes Russell, Wilt, Kareem.
I think the order has to be Kareem, Russell, Wilt. My reasons go far beyond the unstoppable hook, and the fact that Kareem usually practiced with his team. I give Kareem the nod on the basis of his acting career. Forget Paris, Forget Airplane. The reason Kareem is the best center of all time is his work in the movie Church Ball. Here is a review, that sums it up better than I can.
Church Ball (2006)
Genre: Comedy
Starring: Ed Bernard, Kala Alexander, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bagby, Sina Amedson
Director: Kurt Hale
Release Date: March 17, 2006
:::Synopsis
Dennis Buckstead has the hardest calling in his church. Not only has he been asked to coach a group of non-basketball players in his church but the bishop has demanded that he lead the team to the Basketball Championship. Word from the top is that this is the last season of church ball and Bishop Linderman isn't about to have his team lose for the 20th year in a row in the last season of church ball history! What was supposed to strengthen the body, invigorate the mind and cultivate brotherly love seems to bring out the worst in these church-going ball players. Dennis must find a way to bring his team together and build unity along the way to win the championship or go down in church ball history as the worst team that ever played.
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