In referencing the current era of NBA basketball, the 90s and early 2000s ballplayers will always stress how much easier the game has become. To them, the best era was their era and modern basketball is nothing more than a softer, more vulnerable shell of what it was.
But this line of thinking seems to emerge for every era of basketball.
Wilt Chamberlain, for instance, when talking about 90s ball, seemed to imply that it would be easier for him to dominate. He went so far as to say he would average “60-70” points per game.
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So could he have actually done it? It’s obviously unlikely, but Wilt definitely could have held his own. Wilt wasn’t just a product of his time — he was a machine. As a 7-1, 275 pound big man, he had superior strength, athleticism, and speed that gave him an insane leg-up over his competition.
No matter the time, those characteristics will always serve as an advantage.
On the other hand, it’s pretty much expected for superstars to display that level of confidence. In fact, Michael Jordan’s agent said something similar about his client on “The Junkies.”
There’s clearly a little bias on the part of Chamberlain. Every star wants to believe they had it the hardest. And hey, someone has got to be right.
Unfortunately, we’ll never truly know for sure.
