I'm voting for Wilt...

What about the fact that there was no goal tending at the time? He could catch a shot from a teammate and dunk it at any point while in flight. What about the lane area? It was only 4 or 6 feet wide (hence, the "top of the key" because the lane was shaped like a key) and he could stand right under the basket without 3 second being called.

 

I'll correct myself--offensive goaltending was stopped in 1958 BECAUSE OF Wilt. But the game was much faster paced (look at the game stats) and the lane issue is still valid (that changed because of Wilt, too).

A three is tougher to hit than a 5-10 footer, however Wilt was getting doubled and tripled every night he didn't play against Russell, so you have to take that into account as well.

 

Very true.

 

Kobe's 81 was very impressive but I will take the 100 point game. Wilt didn't have the 3-point line. Regardless of whether or not he would have used it, he never had the option

 

I think the real question is: How many times would Pete Maravich score 100 if he had a 3-point line?

Very true.

 

Kobe's 81 was very impressive but I will take the 100 point game. Wilt didn't have the 3-point line. Regardless of whether or not he would have used it, he never had the option

 

I think the real question is: How many times would Pete Maravich score 100 if he had a 3-point line?

 

None. His stats would have been amazing but his highest game ever was 69 points (in college) so he would have had to have hit 31 threes in that game.

I'll correct myself--offensive goaltending was stopped in 1958 BECAUSE OF Wilt. But the game was much faster paced (look at the game stats) and the lane issue is still valid (that changed because of Wilt, too).

 

There also was no defensive 3 second or illegal defense call back then. Teams would literally asign two guys to Wilt to keep him from getting position and then double and triple him once he got the ball. We have to take that into consideration when we talk difficulty of the shots they took.

Was the 3 second rule in place during wilts game? I did not think it was...

There also was no defensive 3 second or illegal defense call back then. Teams would literally asign two guys to Wilt to keep him from getting position and then double and triple him once he got the ball. We have to take that into consideration when we talk difficulty of the shots they took.

 

Zone defenses were banned in the late 40's, so they couldn't double him until he got the ball which would be too late most of the time.

My first thought is to go with Kobe. But people who have not seen Wilt play underestimate him drastically.

Was the 3 second rule in place during wilts game? I did not think it was...

 

Had to be in place. Why else would you have the lane widened from 6 to 12 feet and later widened even more? A lot of strange rules were changed in the 40's, 50's, and 60's because of the "big man" dominating.

Zone defenses were banned in the late 40's, so they couldn't double him until he got the ball which would be too late most of the time.

 

Zones were banned. An illegal defense in which the defender covering another player ligered in the lane while Wilt was there was not banned. That was the Illegal Defense call that we no longer see with zone defenses being allowed in the NBA now.

My first thought is to go with Kobe. But people who have not seen Wilt play underestimate him drastically.

 

He's one of the greatest players of all-time and has single-season and single-game stats that will never be broken. He was one of the first big men to dominate and was responsible for many rules in basketball being changed. I don't think very many people underestimate him but his level of competition was lower and they were completely over-matched.

Zones were banned. An illegal defense in which the defender covering another player ligered in the lane while Wilt was there was not banned. That was the Illegal Defense call that we no longer see with zone defenses being allowed in the NBA now.

 

Exactly but you originally made it sound like they would stand two or three guys in the lane around him before he even got the ball--they could not do that.

Exactly but you originally made it sound like they would stand two or three guys in the lane around him before he even got the ball--they could not do that.

 

No, I said they would asign guys to keep him from getting position. They would do that with the illegal defense.

 

But you understand my point, right?

I'm really leaning towards Kobe on this one.

Wilt was an inside player, so he was closer to the basket, so it made it easier to score. They were not as big and strong as they are now. Kobe is a guard so he was hitting 15+ foot jumpers all night. Yes he made some threes, but Wilt was shooting VERY high percent shots, as Kobe was shooting contested, jump shots. I am not saying that Wilt was not contested, but it is easier to make a shot 5 feet from the basket than 15 feet. Kobe was more impressive because of the way the game is played these days.

 

Kobe Bryant's 81.

 

He could go down as the greatest to ever play the game. IMO, He is already better than MJ.

 

First off anyone that say that Kobe is better than MJ is suffering from severe dementia. He's lacking a lot of things, first among them about 3 rings. Outside of that as great as Kobe's accomplishment was there is this to think about. There simply were not that many teams around back then. Yes, the modern players may be bigger, stronger and faster than their predecessors. However, Wilt played against a much better concentration of the best talent that was available. There were no Raptors, Grizzlys, Heat, Hornets, Bobcats--we can go much further back than that. You truly had the best of the best. Take the NBA down to 16 teams and see if Kobe can score 81--ain't happening. Kobe is the best player in the league but he ain't MJ and his 81 ain't 100.