Question for you HoFers: has anyone had any real success building a team around the hig-scoring Chamberlain of the early 60s? I've always been fascinated with his early years, but they seem way too expensive for what you're getting. I've noticed that when Wilt appears in a WIS league, it's usually a season from 66-67 or later--and even then his team's success seems limited. Any thoughts or opinions?

Use a Jason Kidd type PG, Ray Allen type SG and 2 low usage forwards to start alongside high scoring Wilt and you can do ok.

Not that I'm an hof guy, but I'll try to help anyway. Surround him with low usage guys who pass and play defense. Kidd is pretty much an ideal guard for young Wilt. I once had a pretty good season with a Brent Barry-Kidd-Mason-Russell-Wilt team and Batum as 6th man. I was new to the game then and I could probably do better if I put some thought to it today.

I have never seen a young Wilt win a playoff series and most don't make the playoffs. 66-67 Wilt is way better plus cheaper, and can be the best player on a championship team in an open or theme league.

I made it to the finals with him the one time I used him.

ash, are you speaking of 66-67 Wilt or young Wilt?

the 50ppg one.  I'd say at least 10 of my rings have come from 66-67 one.

My 50ppg Wilt team used a 4 Worm & 3 Kidd rotation.  Ridiculous rebounding, good defense.  Can't remember how many points I got him to score, but it wasn't anything close to colonels' (at the time) record.

Okay, while 66-67 Wilt seems clearly the best value, how do you offset the fact that you only get 18.5% Usg / 2 usage points for all that money? Do you field a starting lineup with less than the usual "recommended" total usage points? I believe you have said that 14 1/2 is the ideal total.

at higher cap the appropriate usage isn't difficult to field but for the very reason you allude to you don't see a lot of that Wilt in open leagues

Ah well, I'll probably let my emotions get the better of me and take a shot with a high-scoring Wilt, just for the fun of it. I did use 67-68 Wilt in one open league and won 55 games, but didn't get far in the playoffs.

I have won 3 or 4 open league championships with 67 Wilt. You still have to make sure you have your 10 usage points on the court at all times so it is a bit difficult finding the right line-up, but it can be done.

Posted by bizzarrd on 10/20/2014 11:55:00 PM (view original):
Okay, while 66-67 Wilt seems clearly the best value, how do you offset the fact that you only get 18.5% Usg / 2 usage points for all that money? Do you field a starting lineup with less than the usual "recommended" total usage points? I believe you have said that 14 1/2 is the ideal total.

You look for value usage elsewhere. 96-97 Jordan, for example, gives you 3100 minutes of 33.7 usage for under $9m.  He also has really, really low tov% which helps with Wilt's high tov%.  My 67 Wilt / 97 Jordan teams have won 6 'ships in 6 tries & averaged 70 wins in the regular season.  And sometimes the possession penalty doesn't kill you.  Sometimes, you get enough of an advantage in the shooting struggle & possession battle that a small hit on the individual possession penalty is okay.  It's a delicate balance of risk & reward.

You should reread the usage thread, by the way.  I updated it several months ago with new findings.

Another option is to use a bunch of partial-season players (get more bang for your buck).  And, as felonius mentioned, higher caps make it easier to obtain.

I have played with the 50ppg Wilt and Jordan. My regular season was not great 55 wins but I did win a Championship with the combo. I like putting Wallace with him. My two cents.