CardsSunsDbacks said:
I just have a hard time taking Wilt’s numbers seriously. He put up his biggest numbers early in his career when the talent wasn’t all that deep. In the early 60s the style of play was also non stop running and it was normal for your best players to play the entire game. His numbers are inflated due to these things.
Yes I am saying that all of the numbers from players in the 50s to early 60s are inflated.
I believe you're focusing on an aspect or two that supports your conclusion and ignoring a few other facts. First off, his drop-off in numbers had nothing to do with the talent in the league. Some of this is speculation (but it's from that time, not after the fact) that Wilt started caring more about numbers than rings because he knew that he'd never be able to match the Celtics numbers.
He was still putting up huge numbers when the Warriors moved to San Francisco but the fans didn't take to him like they had in Philadelphia. When they still couldn't get past the Celtics the local fans turned against him. The more they booed him it seemed the more selfish he became. Eventually the owner sold him back to a Philadelphia franchise and Wilt's interest began to wane.
The Head Coach (and GM Jack Ramsay) talked him into playing team ball for a season or two and they actually win a championship his 2nd or 3rd year back in Philly. His scoring numbers were down (especially attempts which were 25 fewer than his peak) but his efficiency went way up and he was still a dominant rebounder. But for the most part, with the ring on his hand, Wilt's life by this time was about anything other than basketball.
As for the talent level, when Wilt came into the league there were only 8 teams. Maybe by 68 or so when they expanded to 14 teams the talent pool was stretched a little thin but he was well past his big numbers days by that point.
Also, maybe the actual pace was higher than average, I'm not sure, but certainly scoring was higher. But it just wasn't what you're describing, they didn't run all the time. The higher scoring was more about bad shooting, turnovers and offensive rebounds allowing for significantly more attempts. That still allows for padded stat sheets but not demonstrably so yet the difference between Wilt's prime numbers and anyone else's are impressive.