On changing the game for a player..... picco is 100% correct .... the league changed the rules so that Wilt could not dominate - and he did anyways. The only other time I remember that happening was in college when they banned the dunk for the one most feared individual entering college and that was Lew Alcindor. Kareem has said many times that college officials did him a favor by banning the dunk because it forced him to develop other shots which made him an all around force within 12 feet of the basket.
I also think that the NBA made some serious changes to accomodate Jordan and others. One would be how they allow that quick first step without putting the ball on the floor. That used to be travelling and you caused a turnover. But then they allowed it and the game has never been the same. Also the way players carry the ball constantly. It used to be that your hand had to be on top of the ball and you could not palm it to suspend the ball for even a mili-second. Then they allowed the hand to the side of the ball and now its carried all the time without a whistle. The result of both of these things was the clear out - where one player stood on one side of the court while the other four pretended he had the flu. When you allow that first step plus carrying the ball you give a tremendous advantage to the big gaurds like Jordan.
Bannister - Dawkins was just not very good. He was 320 pounds and was a force of nature but his skills were terrible. He simply never developed into anything but a brute. Great advertisement for going to college and learning how to properly play the game. He was funny and a character and when Philly rotated three centers for a few years with Harvey Catchings, Caldwell Jones and Dawkins, it gave them 17 fouls to give.
Occulum has a great point about different eras being hard to compare. I agree with that 100%. But you then have to look at the rule changes to help explain that. The truly great players like Wilt, Russell, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Kareem, Bird, Jordan, Magic, could play at any time against anyone because they were smart people who could have adjusted their game. The so called "pure athlete" who depends more on quickness and jumping ability is a creation of todays game and probably would be no big deal in the NBA of the Fifties or the Sixties because it was a very fundamental league. Pure shooters could have played at any time - especially years ago where it was easy to get off a jumpshot.
I always thought that the absolute pinnacle of the game was in the late 1970's through the early 90's. The Dream Team years. Reason: Basketball started as a very fundamental team game for white guys. Three of four basic plays like the give and go, the pick and roll, and a few others were the entire game. ( Look at the two best coahces in that era - Wooden in college and Red Auerbach in the pros. John Wooden in college, both did not call plays or do much in the way of modern coaching. They simply had a handful of very basic plays and taught them in practice then let the players play the game. Wooden said almost nothing in a game and Auerbach used most of his energy working the refs to gain and extra point or two. )
The game changed for the better when the African American players became dominant and brought a new style, a new approach and new skill sets with them. But many people forget than people like Oscar Robertson and Julius Erving and Connie Hawkins were coached by very fundamentalists and were themselves excellent fundamental players. They combined both worlds. You could say that Larry Bird and Pete Maravich did the opposite in that they stole from the Black game to go with their fundamentals.... (although Maravich was not as fundamentally as strong as Bird).
In the Dream Team era you had a perfect blending of both worlds - the white fundamental game and the black freelance ballet. It was beauty to behold.
You hardly see than combination anymore except on rare nights where Phoenix plays Dallas.
Shaq only has Hall of Fame numbers because the League made a decision to showcase him early on and allow him to use his massive body in close to the basket. Watch old films of Wilt and compare what they allowed him to do as opposed to what they allow Shaq. Its a damn joke. Wilt could have scored 100 on most night with the Shaq rules. By the way- when he came into the league Shaq got murdered by double teams and he had no idea what to do with the ball. They hired Bill Walton to be his private tutor in training camp and he mastered the handling of the double team hitting the open man. Walton was the best passing center who played with his back to the basket that I have ever seen. Its a shame what happened with his feet. The only college center I ever saw that was any better was Alcindor --- and look how far he went.
. The Hershey company should have signed him to a lifetime endorsment contract just for that event happening in their company town.
