This is one of the possibilities, because with everything we know, Bitcoin was not created in one year or a shorter period, but apparently it was created over several years, using as a base all those earlier projects that tried something similar. Those projects failed because they had their flaws, but they or whoever designed BTC obviously got the best out of each of those projects and that's where the idea for BTC was born.

These people are without any doubt above average intelligence and they knew that they had to come up with a plan to get such a project online and at the same time remain anonymous. Therefore, I think that if one of them does not one day admit and prove without a doubt who the people behind that project are, the real truth will never be known - which is probably the best.