Here's why it's George Mikan. I feel the only fair way to compare players of different eras is to look at how they rated against the other players of their day. The gap between Mikan and the 2nd best and other players of his era was much wider than the gap between any other "best" player (Michael included) and the 2nd best and other players of their era.
It was because of Mikan that the NBA put in the goaltending rule and widened the lane - not Wilt. His nickname was "Unstoppable". To make a comparison of how much better he was than anyone else who played then, you would have to compare Michael's talent to that of a reserve guard on a .500 ballclub. We all know there are better players than that that have played over the past decade.
Besides - the marquee at Madison Square Garden that read "Knicks vs. George Mikan Tonight" says it all.
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Yom HaShoah
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