Rumors

In the same mold as other dominant centers such as Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O'Neal, he was a terrible free throw shooter (career 57%). He committed twice as many turnovers as assists. He was an inefficient scorer in the post, despite often demanding the ball down low: We don't have good tracking data from Howard's prime, but since 2013-14, he ranks 62nd out of 65 players with at least 1,000 post-ups in points per play, according to GeniusIQ. But Howard's historical underrating seems more a reflection of how his career played out. Contrast Howard with Robert Parish, a paragon of longevity. The two Hall of Fame centers have similar counting stats and a similar career wins above replacement total, per Basketball-Reference. But they reached those ultimate outcomes via different paths: Howard peaked and fell quickly, while Parish took the slow-and-steady approach.

ESPN

Cedi Osman, Omer Yurtseven, Shane Larkin, Onuralp Bitim, Kenan Sipahi, Furkan Korkmaz, and Trevonte Williams all spoke to Meridian Sport searching for the answer to who they’d bring in to “defend” against Jokic’s brilliance. Cedi Osman: “You caught me off guard. Very tough question… Right now no one can guard him, that’s for sure. But maybe I’d pick Dikembe Mutombo.” He added that Jokic will always get his numbers, so the goal is only to make it harder for him. Trevonte Williams, after asking Shane Larkin for help: Larkin said, “Dwight Howard! But from his younger days—when he was at his peak.” Williams agreed: “Not a bad choice. Maybe Howard, maybe Shaquille O’Neal, maybe Mutombo? Honestly, I don’t even know if anyone could guard him at all. Best hope is he gets sick the day of the game—that’s the only defense.” Furkan Korkmaz: “Very tough question… Dennis Rodman! That would be a real battle between the two.” Omer Yurtseven (without hearing Korkmaz’s answer): “I’d look for someone smaller but strong, so I’d say Rodman. He could play aggressive, get in front of him… If they lob over him, he’s fast enough to recover. He could take rebounds too. His only job on the team would be guarding Jokic.” Onuralp Bitim: “Not sure… I’d probably pick Wilt Chamberlain.” Kenan Sipahi wrapped it up: “Who can guard Jokic? Honestly, no one. I’ve thought about it a lot. Maybe Arvydas Sabonis senior, but honestly, it’s hard to imagine anyone.”

Meridian Sports

Pablo Torre: Not even the Basketball Hall of Fame has the tape of Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, by the way, as their historian explained to us. They've never even had an official exhibit devoted to Wilt. But this show now has two independently sourced recordings of the pivotal fourth quarter, plus a third entirely different box of tapes that I need to tell you about because this is a box of tapes that contains Gary's interviews.

YouTube

Dino Smiley: “Somebody asked (Kobe Bryant), ‘Who’s the top player of all time?’ That’s when he counted on his fingers. He said, ‘Wilt [Chamberlain], me and then Mike [Jordan].’ The crowd was talking and lighting him up. There was some good light-hearted interaction with that. I was right there. It was near the scorer’s table. At that time, I thought he was probably right. He still had a few more years left in the league.”

Responsible Gaming

Miami Heat star Tyler Herro said he “doesn’t believe in history” before 1950 and some events after — including the moon landing and NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game. Herro, 25, was livestreaming with popular Twitch streamers Adin Ross and N3on last week when, about halfway through, a fan asked the 2019 first-round pick if he believed “Wilt [Chamberlain] would be top five in today’s league?” “I don’t even know what Wilt looked like, played like,” Herro admitted.

New York Post

Ross then asked Herro if he thought Chamberlain “dropped 100” while playing for the Philadelphia Warriors in a game against the New York Knicks in March 1962. “Yeah,” the Kentucky alumni muttered, before questioning the popular streamer if he believed in history. “You think history is a real thing?” Herro asked, to which Ross replied with a confident “yeah.” “Nah, I don’t believe in history,” the NBA star said, shaking his head and leaning back in his chair. “No, I’m deadass.”

New York Post

However, O'Neal drew the line on Chamberlain's statement that he slept with 20,000 women in his lifetime, calling it an impossible act. "Nope, that's impossible. Because first of all, he didn't have no cell phone. So how you meeting 20 women a day?" O'Neal argued on his podcast. "If he would've said like 7,000, like 'I got it documented,' maybe. Like 19,400 letters or something. But he just went straight to 20?" Shaq continued. "No. Ain't nobody busting seven times a day out here. Hell no. No, they not. They don't have no way. A day, every day? Doing it seven times a day?"

Yahoo! Sports

During the height of his NBA career, Wilt was nothing short of a legend — a towering figure admired by countless fans and celebrated as a sports icon. But despite his fame, Shaq doubts anyone can know that many people in a single lifetime. "I did the math one day. I like to simplify it — 1,000 women a year for 20 years. That's what the f**k he did?" the 2000 league MVP shared. "Who the f**k knows 20,000 people? Nobody. Hell no. I probably only know 200 people. 200 people that I know. And then, like, I probably know another 700 associates that I've seen before. Ain't doing 1,000 women a year for 20 years. Get the f**k outta here. Hell no."

Yahoo! Sports

Netflix: Shaq reveals his top 10 greatest NBA players of all time 👀 Watch one of the all-time greats make his next play on Power Moves with Shaquille O'Neal premieres June 4.

Twitter

Promoting a documentary series streaming on Netflix, Power Moves with Shaquille O’Neal, Shaquille O’Neal went into revealing his all-time Top 10 list. Sharing his opinion on the best-ever NBA players, 53-year-old Shaq initially listed himself in tenth place, but quickly moved on to present his ten favorites. The turned-basketball analyst reserved first place for Michael Jordan. In addition, he did not name his partner in the brand new Netflix series, Allen Iverson. Shaq’s all-time Top 10: 1. Michael Jordan 2. Kobe Bryant 3. LeBron James 4. Magic Johnson 5. Bill Russell 6. Wilt Chamberlain 7. Larry Bird 8. Hakeem Olajuwon 9. Tim Duncan 10. Julius Erving

EuroHoops.net

ESI: Where do you stand in the Michael Jordan vs. LeBron debate? Dominique Wilkins: “I don’t believe in the GOAT and all that stuff. How can you say a guy is the greatest of all-time when they haven’t played against some of the guys that were the greatest of their era? Like a Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell.  “But I will say this: Michael Jordan made six Finals and won six championships with the same team. And he won three championships after retiring to play another sport. Nothing like that has ever been done before. MJ did some things that no one will ever do. So if I’m going with the best player to ever play, that’s where my mindset sits. I’m going with Michael. That’s no disrespect to anybody, but I’m looking at what he accomplished in a short period of time.”

esportsinsider.com

Josh Lewenberg: Players to win MVP and an NBA championship in the same season: Steph, LeBron (x2), Duncan, Shaq, Jordan (x4), Hakeem, Magic, Bird (x2), Moses Malone, Kareem (x2), Willis Reed, Wilt, Bill Russell (x4), Bob Cousy Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is 4 wins away from joining that group.

x.com

Jorge Sierra: Most counting stats on NBA championship teams. Hakeem Olajuwon at No. 3 and No. 9 even though he won his titles in a low-pace, low-scoring era.

Twitter

While attempting to break the ice with Barkley, Howard asked a question that caught everyone off guard. “I got a problem with you, Dwight,” Barkley said near the end of the show. “Ernie, guess what he asked me in the back? This dude asked me about Wilt Chamberlain. I said, ‘dude, how old do you think I am?’”

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