Who Would Win?

[Stuhoo]

56 minutes ago, AH1971 said:

Wilt Chamberlain’s size and athleticism was so underutilized (and appreciated) due to the way the game was played. He’d be the best player in the NBA today.

Not if Wilt was the version of himself from his prime. If he had modern training and development? Sure; maybe.

Bur Wemby is taller, shoots it much much better, and has a much better handle.

[ebridges24]

On 5/30/2026 at 5:29 PM, Stuhoo said:

Wilt is a 7’2” Olympic track athlete level basketball player.

I’m glad this thread got started-not as obvious as it might initially seem.

Don't forget volleyball. Wilt loved volleyball and he was good at it.

[HoosierHoopster]

1 hour ago, Stuhoo said:

Not if Wilt was the version of himself from his prime. If he had modern training and development? Sure; maybe.

Bur Wemby is taller, shoots it much much better, and has a much better handle.

Wemby’s in just his 3d year in the League (much of one year spent injured), and he’s either the best player or top 3 in the League depending on your viewpoint (mine - best except Jokic would be but for Wemby’s advantages in body type - agility). 
Better, there’s never been a player remotely like him, truly an alien, to play like a guard at 7’4 is just nuts, add high level outside shooting to the handle and movement / agility to go with inside dominance, just unreal. Wilt was amazing but I’d take Wemby hands down, Wilt never faced anyone like Wemby or for that matter Joker- and Wemby has outplayed Joker multiple times 

 

 

 

[RaceToTheTop]

In 1964, the Boston Celtics won their sixth title in seven years.

and they shot 41% from the floor.

[str8baller]

12 hours ago, Stuhoo said:

Not if Wilt was the version of himself from his prime. If he had modern training and development? Sure; maybe.

Bur Wemby is taller, shoots it much much better, and has a much better handle.

Wilt would stuff Wemby into a trash can. lol Wemby can’t go inside versus today’s undersized centers. If you time-machined ‘64 Wilt into today he’d still be faster and stronger than Wemby but 2” shorter. Which is fine I guess since Wemby prefers to hoist jumpers from the arc.  
 

The supporting cast is a better argument. But the ‘64 team would’ve been bigger than IU at almost every position. 
 

[AH1971]

13 hours ago, ebridges24 said:

Don't forget volleyball. Wilt loved volleyball and he was good at it.

And women

 

[AH1971]

13 hours ago, Stuhoo said:

Not if Wilt was the version of himself from his prime. If he had modern training and development? Sure; maybe.

Bur Wemby is taller, shoots it much much better, and has a much better handle.

Well sure, I'm basing this off Wilt growing up in this era of basketball. But Wemby doesn't have Wilt's combination of size, strength, and athleticism. Wilt is probably the closest thing to a real life superhuman, he would absolutely fold Wemby.

[Stuhoo]

1 hour ago, str8baller said:

Wilt would stuff Wemby into a trash can. lol Wemby can’t go inside versus today’s undersized centers. If you time-machined ‘64 Wilt into today he’d still be faster and stronger than Wemby but 2” shorter. Which is fine I guess since Wemby prefers to hoist jumpers from the arc.  
 

The supporting cast is a better argument. But the ‘64 team would’ve been bigger than IU at almost every position. 
 

Wilt was at 7'1", 250; Wemby at 7'4", 235. Not all that different, especially in light of modern player seeing a weight room far more often.

As per an AI search that sourced Basketball Reference and the official IU Sports website:

1963-1964 Boston Celtics

Average height of 6'4"and weight 212 pounds. 

2025-2026 Indiana Hoosiers

Average height 6'5" and weight 215

[AH1971]

3 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

Wilt was at 7'1", 250; Wemby at 7'4", 235. Not all that different, especially in light of modern player seeing a weight room far more often.

Wilt would ragdoll Wemby. And that's not an indictment on Wemby either, just praise for Wilt's God-given strength. Wilt with a modern day strength program would have been locked up, studied, and preserved. 

[Stuhoo]

10 minutes ago, AH1971 said:

Wilt would ragdoll Wemby. And that's not an indictment on Wemby either, just praise for Wilt's God-given strength. Wilt with a modern day strength program would have been locked up, studied, and preserved. 

My comparable was of Wilt as he was back then (no strength or diet program) to Wemby as he is.

Btw; throughout his playing career, 1964 Celtics starting power forward Tommy Heinshon smoked over a pack a day. A completely different era - I'm thinking he would have had a difficult time keeping up with Tucker Devries.

And talk about the game evolving? The NBA was only 15 years old when the 1964 Celtics faced the Warriors in the Finals. Over 75% of NBA players had full-time off-season jobs in the early 1960's.

[jermhoosierfan]

43 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

My comparable was of Wilt as he was back then (no strength or diet program) to Wemby as he is.

Btw; throughout his playing career, 1964 Celtics starting power forward Tommy Heinshon smoked over a pack a day. A completely different era - I'm thinking he would have had a difficult time keeping up with Tucker Devries.

And talk about the game evolving? The NBA was only 15 years old when the 1964 Celtics faced the Warriors in the Finals. Over 75% of NBA players had full-time off-season jobs in the early 1960's.

Very little off season training or workouts were taking place till the 80s, and if Wilt would do that with the nutrition of today, he would be a beast down low.  I say he would still find time for his "extra curricular activities" on the town that he was known for.  The dude was a freak of nature back then.

[HoosierHoopster]

Any time people try to compare players of past generations it's always next to impossible, in fairness, and the older guys almost always say the greats of back when were better or would manhandle today's greats, it's just human nature and predictable. 

The idea that Wemby would "ragdoll" Wemby is funny. Shows a complete lack of knowledge and appreciation of Wemby's game and doesn't factor in Wemby's not even in his prime yet. The dude is unreal, literally no one can stop him one on one in today's game, and he's still a kid. I'm old enough (59) to have watched many of the greats over the years and have followed the NBA (and the ABA) my whole life. There's never been anyone like Wemby, he's a complete freak of nature and exceptionally skilled on ball. Can never match guys up from what, 50 plus years ago, but the idea past greats who played in an entirely different league with different rules and most players being no where near the athletes of today's game would "ragdoll" today's greats is just off. MJ is one who most would say would, but he struggled in his early years against I Thomas (who eliminated MJ from the playoffs in 3 straight years) and Bird -- older more experienced and never could see a matchup in their primes. MJ in his prime against Kobe in his prime? Would be a fantastic matchup. Could go on and on, Magic, Shaq, etc. Wemby is different than all of them, physically if he stays healthy, just thinking of him in a couple years of further development and growth? Could run a dynasty like MJ's Bulls.

[Hoosierfan2017]

Definitely the 1964 Celtics because basketball is the only sport that hasn’t improved over the last 60+ years. 

[AH1971]

1 hour ago, HoosierHoopster said:

Any time people try to compare players of past generations it's always next to impossible, in fairness, and the older guys almost always say the greats of back when were better or would manhandle today's greats, it's just human nature and predictable. 

The idea that Wemby would "ragdoll" Wemby is funny. Shows a complete lack of knowledge and appreciation of Wemby's game and doesn't factor in Wemby's not even in his prime yet. The dude is unreal, literally no one can stop him one on one in today's game, and he's still a kid. I'm old enough (59) to have watched many of the greats over the years and have followed the NBA (and the ABA) my whole life. There's never been anyone like Wemby, he's a complete freak of nature and exceptionally skilled on ball. Can never match guys up from what, 50 plus years ago, but the idea past greats who played in an entirely different league with different rules and most players being no where near the athletes of today's game would "ragdoll" today's greats is just off. MJ is one who most would say would, but he struggled in his early years against I Thomas (who eliminated MJ from the playoffs in 3 straight years) and Bird -- older more experienced and never could see a matchup in their primes. MJ in his prime against Kobe in his prime? Would be a fantastic matchup. Could go on and on, Magic, Shaq, etc. Wemby is different than all of them, physically if he stays healthy, just thinking of him in a couple years of further development and growth? Could run a dynasty like MJ's Bulls.

Wemby is more skilled than Wilt, who said otherwise? From an athletic/strength comparison however, it isn't close. Assuming Wilt grew up in this era with modern weight and strength programs on top of advanced basketball skillsets that simply didn't exist in the 60's, he'd be the best player in today's game. I grew up watching Wilt and even got to see him live in an exhibition as a teenager. Got the chance to see Wemby play in Phoenix in the fall, probably the worst game he played all year but the talent level was unreal. But from a physical perspective, he doesn't compare to Wilt. Nobody has or will.

 

Put Wilt on the floor with actual spacing (that didn't exist in the 60's due to the rules/structure of the game) and there isn't a player in today's game that is stopping him one on one. The closest thing many on this board have seen to Wilt is mid-90's Shaq, except Wilt was twice as athletic. As an old geezer, I'm the first to admit that the level of basketball from the 60's and 70's isn't comparable to today. The average player is bigger, faster, stronger to a wide degree. But there are some players who are transcendental across eras and Wilt is certainly one of them. He'd benefit more playing today's game as would guys like Bird, Magic, etc. 

 

People who never saw Wilt play in person simply cannot appreciate him to the fullest extent. He was an Olympic caliber track and field athlete with a 45+ inch vertical all at 7'1 playing at close to 300 lbs. And he never broke a sweat. 

[Pagoda]

35 minutes ago, AH1971 said:

Wemby is more skilled than Wilt, who said otherwise? From an athletic/strength comparison however, it isn't close. Assuming Wilt grew up in this era with modern weight and strength programs on top of advanced basketball skillsets that simply didn't exist in the 60's, he'd be the best player in today's game. I grew up watching Wilt and even got to see him live in an exhibition as a teenager. Got the chance to see Wemby play in Phoenix in the fall, probably the worst game he played all year but the talent level was unreal. But from a physical perspective, he doesn't compare to Wilt. Nobody has or will.

 

Put Wilt on the floor with actual spacing (that didn't exist in the 60's due to the rules/structure of the game) and there isn't a player in today's game that is stopping him one on one. The closest thing many on this board have seen to Wilt is mid-90's Shaq, except Wilt was twice as athletic. As an old geezer, I'm the first to admit that the level of basketball from the 60's and 70's isn't comparable to today. The average player is bigger, faster, stronger to a wide degree. But there are some players who are transcendental across eras and Wilt is certainly one of them. He'd benefit more playing today's game as would guys like Bird, Magic, etc. 

People who never saw Wilt play in person simply cannot appreciate him to the fullest extent. He was an Olympic caliber track and field athlete with a 45+ inch vertical all at 7'1 playing at close to 300 lbs. And he never broke a sweat. 

I get he was great and with modern training and whatever he would be something else.

But some of these stats turn into tall tales.  For example, a 45” vert means he could get his whole head above the rim.  There is no video of him ever doing that.  And 2x more athletic than 90’s Shaq?  That’s a wild exaggeration.

Again, he’s an amazing legend of a player, but some of this stuff is overboard.

[Stuhoo]

If WIlt had the modern training and development from early ages he would have been dominant in any era. But the whole point of this exercise is to opine on what would happen if the past year's IU team played against the 1964 version of the Celtics or San Fran Warriors.

 

[HoosierHoopster]

7 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

If WIlt had the modern training and development from early ages he would have been dominant in any era. But the whole point of this exercise is to opine on what would happen if the past year's IU team played against the 1964 version of the Celtics or San Fran Warriors.

 

They’d get smoked lol

[AH1971]

17 minutes ago, Pagoda said:

I get he was great and with modern training and whatever he would be something else.

But some of these stats turn into tall tales.  For example, a 45” vert means he could get his whole head above the rim.  There is no video of him ever doing that.  And 2x more athletic than 90’s Shaq?  That’s wild exaggeration.

There are players alive to this day who have played against him that have all said that, they aren't tall tales. Dunking was vilified in that era and even outright banned for some time. Offensive rules worked strongly against guys like Wilt in that era as well. Guys would foul out accumulating offensive fouls alone back in those days. 

Joel Embiid is probably the closest active comp to Wilt. Wilt was bigger, faster, stronger than Embiid and way more athletic. And don't get me started on stamina. Wilt for 40 minutes a game would rebound, outlet, sprint and beat everyone else down the court every single time. Embiid averaged 36 and 12 in 39 games during his MVP season. With today's rules that benefit offensive players on top of modern spacing, no reason to think Wilt wouldn't be a 40 and 15 guy. 

[HoosierHoopster]

47 minutes ago, AH1971 said:

Wemby is more skilled than Wilt, who said otherwise? From an athletic/strength comparison however, it isn't close. Assuming Wilt grew up in this era with modern weight and strength programs on top of advanced basketball skillsets that simply didn't exist in the 60's, he'd be the best player in today's game. I grew up watching Wilt and even got to see him live in an exhibition as a teenager. Got the chance to see Wemby play in Phoenix in the fall, probably the worst game he played all year but the talent level was unreal. But from a physical perspective, he doesn't compare to Wilt. Nobody has or will.

 

Put Wilt on the floor with actual spacing (that didn't exist in the 60's due to the rules/structure of the game) and there isn't a player in today's game that is stopping him one on one. The closest thing many on this board have seen to Wilt is mid-90's Shaq, except Wilt was twice as athletic. As an old geezer, I'm the first to admit that the level of basketball from the 60's and 70's isn't comparable to today. The average player is bigger, faster, stronger to a wide degree. But there are some players who are transcendental across eras and Wilt is certainly one of them. He'd benefit more playing today's game as would guys like Bird, Magic, etc. 

 

People who never saw Wilt play in person simply cannot appreciate him to the fullest extent. He was an Olympic caliber track and field athlete with a 45+ inch vertical all at 7'1 playing at close to 300 lbs. And he never broke a sweat. 

I appreciate the difference of opinion and there really is no way to know so end of the day just my opinion. Don’t think you’re comparing the two at the same level of development though, Wemby’s still just a kid. Take the same comparison of MJ in his first couple complete seasons against other greats and he loses - but in his prime? Hard to say anyone stands equal to him (though Kobe seriously has a good argument) that’s more to my point. No one in today’s game can stop Wemby, still a kid, where will he be in his prime? And really a lot of stats on Wilt such as the vert are questionable. Respect your opinion, but disagree if comparing apples to apples. Wemby is a freak of nature 

[Home Jersey]

IMO would mostly depend on if last year's IU team is hitting 3s or not.