Best centers all time nba

Big men have defined basketball since its inception. These are the NBA's 25 best centers who ever graced a court with their supreme skill. The center position is arguably the most important position in the game of basketball.

Click here for our 5-on-5 debate. Then our ESPN expert panel voted on thousands of head-to-head matchups, with voting based on both peak performance and career value. The result is our all-time NBA Top The Top will begin to roll out Wednesday. Meanwhile, we are presenting the top 10 by position. Check out our lists of the greatest power forwards , small forwards , shooting guards and point guards. We'll unveil one player every half-hour starting at 10 a.

Best centers all time nba

The center position has historically featured some of the most productive, tall , and talented players in basketball history, making it central to the success of many NBA teams. Defensively, the best NBA centers of all time have been responsible for protecting the rim and rebounding. From the seven-footers like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain that towered over their peers and dominated, to the smaller fives like Dave Cowens and Wes Unseld that used their speed and quickness to make an impact, centers comes in all shapes and sizes. A few players such as Pau Gasol and Tim Duncan were considered but left off of this list due to their time playing primarily outside of the center position. Both played center for huge portions of the latter stages of their careers, but at their peak, they were power forwards. Join us as we take a look at the greatest centers of all time, ranked. He played for the Rockets for his entire NBA career, which lasted from to Unfortunately, Yao Ming's career was plagued by injury problems, particularly to his feet and ankles. These injuries ultimately led to his retirement from professional basketball in Johnston led the NBA in scoring for three consecutive seasons , and also led the association in rebounding during the campaign. A six-time All-Star, Johnston won a championship in with the Warriors, averaging One of the greatest rebounders of all time, Nate Thurmond had his jersey number retired by both the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers.

The position has seen quite an evolution over the years, with centers being asked to do more than ever nowadays, so unsurprisingly, many of the best players are big men who can take control of games. A real-life Superman who's previously unheard of combination of size, best centers all time nba, skill and athleticism took the world by storm.

By HoopsHype staff October 20, We have taken our HoopsHype 77 list and split it into five positions: point guards , shooting guards , small forwards , power forwards and centers. NBA rank: 2nd in scoring, 3rd in rebounds and blocks, 49th in assists, th in steals. If anything, the longevity argument may still be with Abdul-Jabbar, as the all-time big man won his two Finals MVP awards 14 years apart, first in and then again in Russell may not have had the longest career, but boy, was that run successful. The most dominant big man offensively in NBA history, though that partially had to do with the level of competition Wilt Chamberlain faced in his era. Still, when you dominate at the level Chamberlain did, who cares who he did it against?

Of the five positions, none is more difficult to rank one through four than center. Michael Jordan is the greatest shooting guard in history, period, end. With center, though, the discussion isn't such a black-and-white matter. The "Diesel" rated fourth here undeniably dominated the position and the sport, in general, unlike anybody before him, and one could easily make the argument that he should rest atop the mountain as the greatest center of all time. How does one adequately compare the man with the most rings to the center who holds a record MVP awards and who scored more points than anybody before or since he last played a meaningful second in the NBA? No one list will end this debate. Can anybody currently in the league make the leap into the top five? The physical center who often bent, and broke, certain on-the-court rules while winning a pair of rings with the "Bad Boys" Detroit Pistons was a four-time All-Star who was an underrated shooter from beyond the arc. He drained three-pointers over his career during an era when big men didn't drop back as often as they do today.

Best centers all time nba

The center position has historically featured some of the most productive, tall , and talented players in basketball history, making it central to the success of many NBA teams. Defensively, the best NBA centers of all time have been responsible for protecting the rim and rebounding. From the seven-footers like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain that towered over their peers and dominated, to the smaller fives like Dave Cowens and Wes Unseld that used their speed and quickness to make an impact, centers comes in all shapes and sizes. A few players such as Pau Gasol and Tim Duncan were considered but left off of this list due to their time playing primarily outside of the center position. Both played center for huge portions of the latter stages of their careers, but at their peak, they were power forwards. Join us as we take a look at the greatest centers of all time, ranked. He played for the Rockets for his entire NBA career, which lasted from to Unfortunately, Yao Ming's career was plagued by injury problems, particularly to his feet and ankles. These injuries ultimately led to his retirement from professional basketball in Johnston led the NBA in scoring for three consecutive seasons , and also led the association in rebounding during the campaign.

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Willis Reed. For context, Jordan is at The first truly dominant NBA big man, George Mikan used his massive size to his advantage along with the unusually soft touch he had for a player of his era. We have taken our HoopsHype 77 list and split it into five positions: point guards , shooting guards , small forwards , power forwards and centers. When not consuming sports or sports media, Noam is an avid gamer, a topic he has also spent a fair amount of time writing about as well. For three straight seasons he averaged a point double-double, tacking on over two blocks per game in each year as well. Email Print. Moses Malone. Sure, much of the conversation around Chris Bosh will be related to his health troubles shortening his career, but despite that, he'll always be an all-time great. Russell's career is impossible to refute at the most fundamental level of sports: winning. Mutombo dominated in college and went on to be one of the greatest shot blockers of all-time. He has a shooting drill named after him. Howard was also a huge playoff performer, coming up big both when he was a star with the Magic he impressively led them to the Finals in and as a role player with the Lakers, finally winning a title in Chamberlain did come a little short in the team success department as he was usually better in the regular season than in the playoffs, something that many believe had to do with an unwillingness to get fouled late in close games due to his unreliable free throw. Dave Cowens.

Click here for our 5-on-5 debate. Then our ESPN expert panel voted on thousands of head-to-head matchups, with voting based on both peak performance and career value.

Plus he has the second-best scoring average behind only Jordan. No one before or since has stuffed box scores quite like Chamberlain did. Russell was beyond clutch, leading his teams to a record in elimination games throughout his career. Philadelphia 76ers. Live stream: Bulls , Pelicans Hawks' Young finger to miss at least 4 weeks. The all-time leading scorer 23, points for the Knicks franchise, Ewing, also holds the crown for franchise highs in games played, minutes, rebounds, and blocks. The king of lunch-bucket basketball, he was an incomparable force on the offensive glass and teamed with Dr. He once grabbed 18 rebounds in a single quarter , and he averaged over 20 point rebound stat line across an entire season, while also coming extremely close to reaching that feat in two more seasons. Bill Russell. For context, Jordan is at He was the Wilt Chamberlain of the modern game. These injuries ultimately led to his retirement from professional basketball in The first of Houston's two back-to-back championships was particularly memorable, because Hakeem was essentially the Rockets' lone star, surrounded by a clutch of quality role players.