I've even discussed Wilt with Laker fans over on SS & R (LakerBlog), and they even mention Kareem over Wilt in a few cases.
Wilt just never had what I like to call "It"...that intangible that put his teams over the top. But he was in fact maybe the most physically dominant center out there.
For me? I like to call Hakeem the most skilled center ever. But that doesn't mean he was the greatest. I quantify greatness with banners.
You use Roy's example of example of switching Bill and Wilt's personas? I have to agree with Roy here - if such a thing had happened, Wilt would've been known as simply the best, even to this day. Even over Michael, IMO.
I'm not that old or fortunate to have actually seen Wilt and Bill play against one another, and I don't even know if they are on youtube. But from what I've learned from hearsay, Wilt basically dominated Russell nearly every time they played, but not to the point that he could elevate LA.
Anyone correct me if I'm wrong here.
Bill held the fort down, though - just enough for Boston to win all those banners.
If Roy's example of switching happened, we wouldn't even be able to laugh at LA, because they in fact would've won like 20-25 Banners.