[Hoot Gibson]

LOL, OMG - You have watched basketball from the 60's and you can honestly say the skill level is comparable to today's game. LOL - What a Hoot! I guess if you can sit there and honestly believe that, then there is absolutely no where else I can take this.

Shaq had as many great years as Wilt - Do you know hoe many years Wilt played? Put Shaq in that timeframe, you get EXACTLY the same dominance! Put any of todays Centers in that era for 10 years and you get that!

Yes, I have watched basketball from the 60s, a period where US college players dominated world competition in the Olympics. I have also watched enough "modern" basketball to see polished international teams humiliate much more athletic NBA star-studded teams. Basketball is a team sport and what NBA teams of the 60s and 70s (Chamberlain did play against Kareem and he still led the league in rebounding several seasons) lacked in athleticism they made up for in fundamentals and teamwork.

Chamberlain played 14 seasons and he was the NBA MVP four times. In his rookie season, he was the Rookie of the Year, the league MVP, and the All-Star game MVP. You can compare Shaq and Wilt anyway that you want, but the fact is that Shaq had only one MVP season and to suggest that he ever dominated play the way that Wilt did is ridiculous.

Wilt was still one of the NBA's dominant players when he retired, averaging 18.6 rebounds per game. Shaq averaged 9.2 rpg during his 14th NBA season. As a rebounder, Shaq peaked during his rookie season with an average of 13.9 rpg. In Chamberlains rookie season, he shattered the NBA single season scoring record with an average of 37.6 ppg and 27.0 rpg.

It is crazy to argue that Wilt Chamberlain was not the most dominant NBA player of all time. While you want to focus on Wilt's early career and the dearth of quality big men that he faced, Chamberlain more than held his own late in his career despite the entrance into the NBA of quality centers like Kareem, Willis Reed, Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes, Dave Cowens, Nate Thurmond, Bob Lanier, and others.

You are trying to paint Chamberlain's career as one where he only faced one quality center and a host of slow, clumsy pygmy centers, but that is not an accurate picture.