Best All Time NBA Centers | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Best All Time NBA Centers

In order-

Kareem
Wilt
Russell
Hakeem
Shaq
Moses
Robinson
Ewing
Willis Reed
Bill Walton

Honorable mention-
Alonzo Mourning
Bob Lanier

Duncan, Elvin Hayes, and Bob McAdoo not included because I think of them more as power forwards

What could have been- Bill Walton one of the few best ever without the injuries, Sabonis one of the best ever without the injuries and had he come over here a decade earlier, Yao possibly sneak into top 10 without injuries.
 
superjohn said:
In order-

Kareem
Wilt
Russell
Hakeem
Shaq
Moses
Robinson
Ewing
Willis Reed
Bill Walton

Honorable mention-
Alonzo Mourning
Bob Lanier

Duncan, Elvin Hayes, and Bob McAdoo not included because I think of them more as power forwards

What could have been- Bill Walton one of the few best ever without the injuries, Sabonis one of the best ever without the injuries and had he come over here a decade earlier, Yao possibly sneak into top 10 without injuries.
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Dwight Howard?
 
businesslawyer said:
If you combine longevity, and playing at a high level for a long time, you're close but Tim Duncan is ahead of Olajuwon.

It's very hard to compare basketball players through different eras because the changes in the game are so rapid. My pick is Kareem, but if you want to argue Wilt, Russell or Shaq, I have no problems.
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I always had Duncan as a PF and he is #1 all-time on PF list.
 
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Kareem was one of those players opponents would marvel during the layup lines. Leading NBA scorer as a Center, think about that. Whether he's the best or not if I had to pick one Center in their prime, it's Jabbar.
 
Wilt, Russell and Jabbar after that there is everyone else
Those 3 did everything and everything at a zenith no one else comes close
Wilt and Russell would completely dominate today
 
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A bit off topic but when I was a kid I went to a Russell vs Wilt game in the old Boston Garden. I am talking maybe 1962 and Wilt I believe was on the Philadelphia Warriors. Celtics were way behind but came back to win. Things I remember the best was we sat near the top row and could barely see the court because of all the cigarette smoke, that's right they allowed smoking in the arena and that Russell played really hard and Wilt barely broke a sweat.
 
gtcam said:
Wilt, Russell and Jabbar after that there is everyone else
Those 3 did everything and everything at a zenith no one else comes close
Wilt and Russell would completely dominate today
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I agree about Russell and Wilt dominating today
 
Would Alcindor/Jabbar still developed his sky hook if the dunk had not been banned? In my opinion players had better skills from 2-10 feet from the basket in the era where the dunk was banned.
 
Improviser said:
For the stints that he was healthy, and excluding his later years as a role player for the Celtics, Bill Walton was great offensively and defensively and dominated a game. Yao Ming was also dominant. If you judge by pure results of team wins, then you have a strong case for Bill Russell as the best ever.
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Bill Walton, when healthy was great. He could score, Great rebounder and defender and the best passing big man I saw at the time. His career was greatly shortened by injuries. Considering the injuries, I would not place him among the top centers in NBA history.
 
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Russell.
Jabbar
Wilt
Shaq
Hakeem
Whole bunch of Old timers like Reed, Unseld, Cowens, Walt Bellamy who are somewhere on the all time list.
Ewing, Parrish were more than servicable.
I am only talking pros here because college is a whole nother story.
Bob Lanier...BIG fast.
 
ucp990411 said:
A bit off topic but when I was a kid I went to a Russell vs Wilt game in the old Boston Garden. I am talking maybe 1962 and Wilt I believe was on the Philadelphia Warriors. Celtics were way behind but came back to win. Things I remember the best was we sat near the top row and could barely see the court because of all the cigarette smoke, that's right they allowed smoking in the arena and that Russell played really hard and Wilt barely broke a sweat.
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Not sure of the year, but a similar experience... and had to lie across the seats to see the whole floor. Can't believe they got money for those seats. It was as bad as the poles in Fenway.
 
No order- bunch all 5 together- all pretty close;

- Russell
- Jabbar
- Chamberlain
- Olajuwon
- O’Neal

It’s very hard to argue to have another center in the top 5. I would love for someone to even try to make that argument.

I never like discussing players that I didn’t see on a daily basis, with that said, Olajuwon & O’Neal are the two best centers I have seen play. After them the drop off is pretty severe- Robinson, Ewing, Parish, Mourning, Howard, Mutombo, Ming, Jokic, etc.
 
EBonz30 said:
No order- bunch all 5 together- all pretty close;

- Russell
- Jabbar
- Chamberlain
- Olajuwon
- O’Neal

It’s very hard to argue to have another center in the top 5. I would love for someone to even try to make that argument.

I never like discussing players that I didn’t see on a daily basis, with that said, Olajuwon & O’Neal are the two best centers I have seen play. After them the drop off is pretty severe- Robinson, Ewing, Parish, Mourning, Howard, Mutombo, Ming, Jokic, etc.
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Agree with everything here. Same for me. I’ve never seen any better than Shaq and Hakeem, so I can’t compare the older guys, but no question they’re the 5 best ever.
 
I think that Chamberlain is not only the best center in the history of the NBA but it's greatest player as well. The proof is that he the NBA had to change the rules to stop him from dominating and he still dominated. The only comparison is the PGA "Tiger-proofing" golf courses. Even Augusta National had to be reworked to stop Tiger and he sill dominated. These two players changed their sports.

Russel was the greatest winner of all time. It should be noted he played with 14 Hall of Famers and other all-stars. This does not diminish his individual talent or basketball intelligence, both of which were off the charts. He average an insane 22 rebounds a game almost as many as Wilt

Then I go with Jabbar and Moses.

And down a peg Shaq and Duncan.
 
I would go with Kareem - when you factor in individual dominance, longevity, and winning, he checks more boxes than anyone else. But I think you can make a strong argument for Shaq or Russell, too.

Wilt is certainly top 5 but there’s really no argument for him here. Hakeem belongs in the top 5 as well.
 
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Palatine said:
I think that Chamberlain is not only the best center in the history of the NBA but it's greatest player as well. The proof is that he the NBA had to change the rules to stop him from dominating and he still dominated. The only comparison is the PGA "Tiger-proofing" golf courses. Even Augusta National had to be reworked to stop Tiger and he sill dominated. These two players changed their sports.

Russel was the greatest winner of all time. It should be noted he played with 14 Hall of Famers and other all-stars. This does not diminish his individual talent or basketball intelligence, both of which were off the charts. He average an insane 22 rebounds a game almost as many as Wilt

Then I go with Jabbar and Moses.

And down a peg Shaq and Duncan.
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A lot of that you would imagine was because centers were almost 2 inches smaller on average in the 1960’s compared to centers in the 1990’s or the 2000’s- guy was playing against players 4 inches smaller than him.

Average center in the last 30 years is over 6 foot 11.

If we discuss weight it’s even more of an absurdity- centers were on average 229 pounds & now they are over 250+ pounds.

So you take Wilt’s height at 7’1’’and weight at 275 pounds it made it a lot easier for him to dominate players at 6’9’’ & 229 pounds. You would imagine there wouldn’t be as much dominance if he was facing on a nightly basis a player who is over 6’11’’ & 250+ pounds.
 
EBonz30 said:
A lot of that you would imagine was because centers were almost 2 inches smaller on average in the 1960’s compared to centers in the 1990’s or the 2000’s- guy was playing against players 4 inches smaller than him.

Average center in the last 30 years is over 6 foot 11.

If we discuss weight it’s even more of an absurdity- centers were on average 229 pounds & now they are over 250+ pounds.

So you take Wilt’s height at 7’1’’and weight at 275 pounds it made it a lot easier for him to dominate players at 6’9’’ & 229 pounds. You would imagine there wouldn’t be as much dominance if he was facing on a nightly basis a player who is over 6’11’’ & 250+ pounds.
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The incredible thing about Wilt was he wasn't just raw size and power. He was an elite middle yard sprinter and high jumper and dabbled in shot put and long jump and triple jump. You can google it yourself because many of the articles are anecdotal. He did compete for track and field at Kansas and even his toned down verifiable numbers show a very elite track athlete. You could make the argument Wilt would just as easily beat bigger players with his speed and wear them down.
 
Chin Diesel said:
The incredible thing about Wilt was he wasn't just raw size and power. He was an elite middle yard sprinter and high jumper and dabbled in shot put and long jump and triple jump. You can google it yourself because many of the articles are anecdotal. He did compete for track and field at Kansas and even his toned down verifiable numbers show a very elite track athlete. You could make the argument Wilt would just as easily beat bigger players with his speed and wear them down.
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I agree to an extent, with that said though to say he would average 50 points a game in any era over the last 30 years I believe is a stretch.
 
EBonz30 said:
I agree to an extent, with that said though to say he would average 50 points a game in any era over the last 30 years I believe is a stretch.
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I'll go yes and no on the 50 ppg. I believe there have been several players whom if the coach and teammates decided they were going to average 50 ppg, they could have done it.

In today's game with rules and shooting ability from the 3? No way Wilt averages 50 ppg.
 
I always default to Kareem, who by any measure you apply, meets the standard. Olajuwon had the best back to the basket game I have seen in my lifetime, and is the best defender I have ever seen at his position. I believe he is still top ten in steals, which is simply amazing to me.
 
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