Thing is though, from what I've read, Wilt didn't dominate statistical categories because that is what was asked of him, but rather because he would get obsessed with certain stats. Like passing the ball in an effort to rack up assists at the end of close games instead of scoring himself. I don't even think it's because he had some unhealthy obsession with stats, I just don't think he took the game too seriously in the early part of his career. Didn't he even join the globetrotters early on because he thought playing pro was too much of a hassle? And West apparently said what he said because he didn't think Wilt had that winner gene in him. He did what he was asked to do, but gave up at the most crucial moments. In fact, the giving up part is what made Russell lose respect for Wilt and why they didn't talk for years. I'll give you that people didn't respect him partially due to his flamboyance and celebrity status, but you can't ignore the fact that while no one ever denied his immense talent, many of his own team mates and coaches had negative things to say about him as a team mate.
I also wonder how much credit you're really giving Russell for his play making ability. He was known to make several plays down the stretch that would start from him playing excellent defense and follow it up by creating scoring opportunities on the offensive end as well. Wasn't he also known to be a fast break machine?
Not sure what playing defense has to do with blocks in that context btw. Wilt was a freak, so he blocked everything. Doesn't mean he was a better defender by any means, though I'm not sure if you were really saying that anyway.
I also think I could've made my statement more carefully. We were talking about Russel's mind games etc., and I thought it was pretty well known that he did the same to Wilt in big games. Wilt was always going to get his numbers, all you had to do was make sure he keeps calling for the ball, allowing you to shut out everyone else on the team. It's what Thibs always does to the Magic and Howard. Russel was famous for talking Wilt up before games, knowing full well that Wilt immensely respected him so he would try to dominate games by himself from the boost of confidence he'd get from Bill. So yeah he was a bit of a **** in that regard, and Wilt eventually thought of him as two faced because of these tactics, but he'd do it because he knew it would ensure his team a victory.
So yeah, like I said, my point was never that Wilt was a worse player than Russell, I've admitted several times in the last couple of pages that he was a freak of nature, I just think Russell was a much superior bball mind and he used that to make his team better and win more than anybody else, ever.
