Shout out to Paul Jones. I know former NBA players in their early 40s that can't dunk anymore. So to see a guy, standing at just 6'3, dunking at the age of 50, is pretty damn impressive. Granted his dunk wasn't anything "special" -- like the dunks we are used to seeing by the guy who filmed this video, dunk legend Brandon "Werm" Lacue -- but if we are going to get excited about seeing the greatest dunker of all-time, 6'6 40-year old Vince Carter, do a breakaway dunk or when the other greatest dunker of all-time, 6'6 Michael Jordan, dunks by a little kid at the age of 50...

Then we should give some props to Mr. Jones, who supposedly is basketball legend in the FT Lauderdale area.

Speaking of old guys dunking and legends, this give me an excuse to post about the legend of legends, Julius Erving aka Dr J, who threw down a dunk at the young age of 63 a few years ago.

The legendary Wilt Chamberlain died at the age of 63 but I'm pretty sure he was dunking the day before and working on #32,437 in another category. Just take a look at this crazy video of him at the age of 50!

If you are wondering who was the oldest player to ever dunk in a game. The unofficial record goes to the Chief, Robert Parish, for this 1997 buzzer-beating dunk during his 21st season in the NBA.

This post also gives me an excuse to shamelessly plug our annual Ballislife All-American game by mentioning the time Cliff Alexander's 40-year old Dad threw down a 360 dunk -- without stretching and on his first attempt -- at our All-American game practice a few years back.

Yes, that's Stanley Johnson and Kelly Oubre in disbelief.

And of course, we can't talk about old guys without bringing up our favorite uncle, Uncle Drew. If you have been wondering if they are ever going to make another one of these commercials, they are actually making a movie based off this character and it will star Kyrie Irving, Reggie Miller, Draymond Green and Shaq.

BONUS VIDEO: YOUNG WERM DUNKING

What's up Rachel (:40 second mark)!

The post The 50-Year Old Dunker & The Old Man Dunk Club appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

Wilt Chamberlain tried shooting underhand for a few games but then quit because he said "I felt like a sissy." Shaq once said he rather shoot 0% than shoot under hand free throws like the great Rick Barry. ?Dwight Howard also rejected the thought when Rick Barry personally approached him and asked if he wanted to be trained to make them underhanded.

"I've got good form and I have confidence in my shot," Dwight replied. "I don't need to shoot underhanded free throws."

It doesn't matter that Barry made 60 in a row and shot .947 during his best season with the underhand form, no player is going to shoot them that way because they feel they are too cool for it.

The exception is Louisville's Chinanu Onuaku, who recently showed he's not too cool to do it at the FIBA U19 World Championship. He only made 2 of 4 with the granny style shot but considering he was a 46.7 percent free throw shooter last season, it's a slight improvement.

Good luck Onuaku - although Hack-a-Onuaku has a nice ring to it.

The post Finally, A Bad Free Throw Shooter Who Isn't Too Cool To Shoot Underhand Free Throws appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

On February 2nd of 1968, Wilt Chamberlain had an insane 22/21 game. If you are familiar with Wilt's unbelievable stats then you are probably wondering what's so insane about a 22/21 game. It's insane because the second 20 was 21 assists for the dominant center. Yes, Wilt Chamberlain had a 20/20 game with assists during his 1967-68 MVP season.

Now that those numbers have registered in your head, I'll let you know that Wilt also had 25 rebounds in that game.

Now that those numbers have registered in your head, I'll let you know he also had unofficially 12 blocks! I'm saying unofficially because the NBA didn't officially count blocks back then.

So if you count the blocks that Wilt said he had during that game, his final stat line looks like this: 22 points, 25 rebounds, 21 assists, 12 blocks!

More unbelievable than those numbers is the fact that Wilt led the league in total assists that season! He did occasionally have big scoring games that season too, like in December, when he went on a three-game tear with 68, 47 and 53 points. But, for the majority of the season, he was scoring less than 20 points a game to go with his league-best...8.6 assists.

The post Wilt Chamberlain's Passing Skills appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

UPDATE: The original video has been removed from YouTube. The above video is a replacement.
The following is from Wilt Chamberlain's Archive's description for this video.

Many have only seen Wilt in the Laker uniform, older slower, heavier, and well past his prime. Here's Wilt in a different light - young, and developing into his prime. Basketball fans from around the world, please tweet, email, blog, and discuss the content of this video on your message boards. Keep Wilt Chamberlain in the GOAT discussions as he is perhaps the greatest athlete that has ever played the game of basketball.

Compare Wilt with these NBA draft measurements - his size alone is amazing.

Height:

• 6'11.5" "*I'm exactly 6'11.5 In my stocking feet" when pressured to reveal his true height in interview 1953 (At just 16 years old!).
• 7'1.06" first written accounts of Wilt as 7'1 1/6th inches appears in 1959 before the start of his rookie season. Confirmed by his doctor.
• 7'3" Est. list height in (modern) shoes.

Wingspan:

• 7'8" Confirmed on film measured wingspan 1967. Note he was wearing a tailored suit jacket while being measured. Muhammad Ali (also wearing a suit) was measured on this same program by the same people and their measurement came to be 2" less than he typically measured on other occasions.
• 8'4" Alleged wingspan spread out against a wall according to Kansas University - 1956

Flat-footed Standing Reach:

• 9'6" Official KU measurement 1956 - Wilt was not done growing, and this was taken in Chuck Taylors (which have only about a 1/4" heal).
• ~9'7.5" Est. standing reach in modern shoes.

Hand Size:

• 11.5" wide hands x 9.5" long - measured in 1956 while at KU

Playing Weight:

• Much like players today, his actual weight was dynamic and his listed weights are not accurate. I have listed information that was printed during his playing years that indicated his actual weights.
• 220lbs - 1954, Overbook High School weight
• 240lbs teammates and peers allude that this was Wilt's approximate size at Kansas.
• 258lbs - August 20th 1959, recorded weight during the off-season months just before the start of his rookie season.
• 320lbs - September 1963, checking into Warriors training camp (heaviest he ever came into a training camp, claims he prefered to play around 275lbs in later seasons)
• 315lbs - September 1963, losing lbs during Warriors training camp
• 300lbs - October 1963, lost 20lbs in the two weeks of the Warriors pre-season running drills
• 292lbs - March 1964 (his later-season weigh-in that same 1963-64 season)
• 275lbs-290lbs - playing weight consistently fell within this range until knee surgery 1970.
• 300-315lbs - playing weight after knee surgery until retirement 1971-1973
• 327lbs - 1984 (age 48) weight in during filming of Conan the Destroyer, and he still looked very fit.

The post Young Wilt Chamberlain would DESTROY today's NBA appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

Wilton Norman Chamberlain is rarely ever picked as the best basketball player of all-time. Even in discussions of most dominant, Shaquille O'Neal usually gets the nod. Most people will use the excuse: "Wilt played in a weak era."

I think it's because his stats and records are so ridiculous and unattainable by every NBA player after him, we end up just putting an asterisk next to his name and putting him in his own category.

Everything Wilt accomplished sounds like it belongs in either the Guinness Book of World Records or Ripley's Believe It or Not books: From his off the court lifestyle (20,000 women?!) to his accomplishments in track & volleyball (reportedly ran the 100 yard dash in 10.9 secs, 40 in 4.6 and is in the Volleyball hall of fame) and of course on the basketball court, where every NBA legend has a Wilt the Stilt story, such as the time he used his 48-inch vert (?!?) to block Gus Johnson's dunk so hard it dislocated Johnson's shoulders.

I'm going to list a bunch of The Big Dippers stats, records, trivia and then show you his game log from his 1962 season when he scored the never-to-be-matched 100 points. When you are done reading everything, you will probably agree that the center who has never fouled out of a game and almost fought Muhammad Ali (Google the story) is the most exceptional player, if not athlete, of all-time.

• 71-point game as a sophomore in High School
• Scored 74, 78 & 90 points in 3 consecutive games in High School
• 42 PTS and 29 REB in his college debut
• Wilt Left college early & sold the story named "Why I am Leaving College" to Look magazine for $10K which was about $1K more than what many NBA players were making
• Made $50k playing for the Harlem Globetrotters out of college (NBA didn't accept underclassmen)
• Signed the biggest NBA contract ever at $30K.  Bob Cousy made $25K
• Won rookie of the year after averaging 38 PTS, 27 REB and breaking 8 NBA records
• Was MVP of the All-star game as a rookie with 23 PTS and 25 REB
• 2nd season averaged 38 PTS and 27 REB and became the 1st player to pass 3,000 points and 2,000 rebounds
• Set the NBA record for most rebounds in a game (55) in his 2nd season
• In his 3rd season, he averaged 50 PTS and 26 REB which included a 100 point outburst
• Averaged 48.53 minutes a game in 1962.  A regulation game is 48 minutes
• Set NBA All-Star game record with 42 PTS and 24 REB
• Averaged 50 PTS against Bill Russell and the Celtics in 62 Playoffs
• Won MVP in 1966 after leading the league in rebounding and third in assist (8 AST). His scoring average was at a career-low of 24 PTS (on 68% FG)
• Unofficial quadruple-double in GM2 of 1967 playoffs against the Celtics w/ 24 PTS, 32 REB, 13 AST, 12 BLK (blocks were not officially counted back then)
• Grabbed 41 rebounds in the next game (3) & had a triple-double in gm5 w/ 29 PTS, 36 REB, 13 AST
• In 1967 he became the first center to lead the league in assist beating out Lenny Wilkens.  He also won the MVP that year
• Signed w/ the Lakers for $250K which was $150K more than Jerry West
• Won Finals MVP & helped Lakers win their 1st championship in 1972.  He had 24 PTS, 29 REB, 8 AST, 8 BLK in Game 5
• Signed with the San Diego Conquistadors for $600k as a player/coach but was not allowed to play because of a lawsuit from the Lakers
• Was offered a contract by the Cavs in 1980 when he was 45 and the Nets even offered him a contract when he was 50

The post Wilt Chamberlain 1962 - The Most Amazing Statistical Season ever! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

The only thing you really need to know about Bill Russell when it comes to his contribution to the Boston Celtics and place in NBA history is he has more championship rings than fingers and probably?your two or three favorite players combined. And I'm not even including his two NCAA championship rings.

As for skills on the court, you know him as the rebound and defensive king, who could pull down 50 boards and get 20 blocks (unofficially since the stat was officially recorded throughout his career) in a single game. What many don't know is he had the skills and athleticism to be a force on the offensive end.

Don't believe me?

Check out the following videos and the video above, showing a freakishly athletic Russell grabbing a rebound, dribbling down court and pulling off a?Lipton layup from almost the free throw line.

BILL VS WILT

As a bonus, I was researching big men battles of yesterday and came across these head-2-head stat lines of Russell and Wilt Chamberlain during the seven-game 1965 EDF series (remember Havlicek stole the ball?). ?All I can say in my worst Boston accent is, "so how do you like them apples?"

Game 1 - 04.04.1965 - Boston win

Chamberlain 48 min 33 points (13-22 FG and 7/12 FT) 31 rebs, 3 assists
Russell 48 min 11 points (5-13 FG and 1/5 FT) 32 rebounds, 6 assists

Game 2 - 06.04.1965 - Phila win

Chamberlain 48 min 30 points (12-19 FG and 6/9 FT) 39 rebs, 8 assists, 8 blocks
Russell 48 min 12 points (5-12 FG and 2/3 FT) 16 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 blocks

Game 3 - 08.04.1965 - Boston win

Chamberlain 48 min 24 points (7-21 FG and 10/15 FT) 37 rebs, 1 assist, 1 steal
Russell 48 min 19 points (9-17 FG and 1/4 FT) 26 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals

Game 4 - 09.04.1965 - Phila win

Chamberlain 53 min 34 points (11-24 FG and 12/20 FT) 34 rebs, 3 assists
Russell 52 min 18 points (8-19 FG and 2/7 FT) 25 rebounds

Game 5 - 11.04.1965 - Boston win

Chamberlain 30 points (13-23 FG and 4/8 FT) 21 rebs, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Russell 12 points (4-7 FG and 4/5 FT) 28 rebounds, 7 assists, 12 blocks, 3 steals

Game 6 - 13.04.1965 - Phila win

Chamberlain 48 min 30 points (13-22 FG and 4/8 FT) 26 rebs, 4 assists, 6 blocks *at least
Russell 22 points (8-19 FG and 6/10 FT) 21 rebounds, 5 assists

Game 7 - 15.04.1965 - Boston win

Chamberlain 48 min 30 points (12-15 FG and 6/13 FT) 32 rebs, 2 assists, 1 block
Russell 15 points (7-16 FG and 1/2 FT) 29 rebounds, 8 assists, 6 blocks

The series averages:
W. Chamberlain - 30.1 ppg, 31.4 rpg, 3.3 apg 55.48 FG % and 58.33 FT%
B. Russell - 15.6 ppg, 25.3 rpg, 6.5* apg 44.67 FG % and 47.22 FT %

Thanks to Julizaver for the h2h stats

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