Ranking Top 10 Best Centers in the NBA History

“The Big Man,” or more formally referred to as the center, is the anchor of the team in more ways than the new generation of positionless basketball players would know. The center, or number 5 of any squad, is primarily responsible for getting boards, also known as rebounds. These can be collected from missed shot attempts by players on both the offensive end of the court and the defensive end. Although the defense has become a necessity for every position from 1 to 5 in today's league, the bigs were and still are undeniably the best shot blockers of any team as well, as they can use their height in most cases and swat the opposition's scoring attempts into the stands making for a thrilling phenomenon in the sport of basketball that gets even the nonfollowers pumped, this is known as "rim protection".

The centre's role can be divided into two subdivisions, namely the offensive and defensive ends. On the offensive end, their role consists of, but is not limited to, scoring in the paint as centers are usually expected to be as efficient as possible inside the paint, using post moves, dunks, and layups. Rebounding, their height gives them a significant advantage in grabbing rebounds. Screensetting, centers often set screens for other players, creating space for them to drive to the basket or pull up from deep. Post-Up Moves, centers are expected to be able to post up defenders and create scoring opportunities. Their defensive duties consist of rim protection, where they are the backbone of the team, to prevent the opponent from getting second-chance points. Defensive-Rebounding, Post Defense means they must be able to defend against opposing centres in the post, preventing them from scoring easily.

Best NBA Centers Ever

Throughout the league's history, we have observed several centers and their way of dominating the game with their unique individual traits, whether its the triple double modern day machine in the “Joker” Nikola Jokic, the swift and elegant post moves of Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon or the most physically dominant player to ever exist in Shaq, here's a list breaking down and ranking these freak athletes.

All Time Best NBA Centers

Who's the “GOAT” or best NBA center of all time, is a debate that gets any basketball fan going, no matter what the category, whether it's the goat of basketball in general, or the best point guard ever, or in this case, the best big man in the history Let's take a look

#10 George Mikan

On our list of best centers in the NBA stands George Mikan at number 10. Mikan, also known as “Mr Basketball,” is the first truly dominant NBA center. He had 5 NBA championships, six All-NBA 1st Team selections, and four All-Star selections. There’s a reason the Mikan Drill is still used to this day. The Mikan drill, a basketball drill named after George Mikan, is a layup drill designed to improve rhythm, timing, and scoring in the paint, particularly for centers and forwards, by emphasizing quick footwork and alternating hand layups.

#9 Patrick Ewing

Patrick Ewing was one of New York's legendary big men who could intimidate almost anyone with their size while also managing to balance that out with the smoothest shooting stroke inside the paint. “Big Pat” had the elegance while dominating the league and managed to bag seven All-NBA selections, 11 All-Stars, three All-Defensive 2nd Team selections, two Olympic gold medals, 7th in blocks, 25th in rebounds, 26th in scoring, and 120th in steals.

#8 Nikola Jokic

This Slovenian Superstar has been climbing every statistics leaderboard there is in basketball recently, and although his career is still yet to be concluded, he has already managed to earn a spot in a lot of analysts' lists of the top 10 big NBA centers of all time. He has one of the highest in-game IQs ever and can predict possessions and plays that will take place before they do. “The Joker” is an absolute machine of triple-doubles. The best passing big man of all time (yes, it’s already beyond safe to proclaim that), Nikola Jokic, continues to add to his legacy in a major way year after year. The Serbian superstar became only the ninth player to win three NBA MVPs. Then carried Serbia to a bronze medal in Paris as the first man ever to lead the Olympic tournament in scoring, rebounds, and assists.

#7 David Robinson

The Admiral, aka David Robinson, was collecting boards in San Antonio Spurs just like he claimed his valor in the army. Robinson was an absolute unit inside the paint and a nightmare for every center of his time. Two NBA titles, one MVP, 10 All-NBA selections, 10 All-Stars, one Defensive Player of the Year award, eight All-Defensive selections, two Olympic gold medals, and one World Cup gold medal. 6th in blocks, 35th in rebounds, 45th in scoring, and 66th in steals, nothing said about his accolades can be enough, and to top it all off, his physique in his prime looked like it was made of clay.

#6 Moses Malone

On our list of best centers in the NBA next stands Moses Malone at number 6. R Perhaps the most underappreciated superstar ever, Moses Malone was as dominant as it gets at the center spot with physical toughness as a rebounder, leading the league in nightly boards an astounding six times, including once at 17.6 rebounds per game. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2001. Eventhough, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest, His lone title came in 1983, on a Sixers squad that had its fair share of both grit and swagger. And Malon, who also happened to win his third MVP that season.

#5 Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem Olajuwon was one of the greatest big men ever, and he competed and produced at an elite level on both ends of the floor with outstanding low-post moves and defensive skills to match. Olajuwon established himself as an unusually skilled offensive player for a big man, perfecting a set of fakes and spin moves that became known as his trademark Dream Shake. Executed with uncanny speed and power, they are still regarded as the pinnacle of "big man" footwork. Shaquille O'Neal once stated: "Hakeem has five moves, then four countermoves – that gives him 20 moves." Olajuwon's accolades include two NBA championships, two NBA Finals MVP awards, one NBA MVP, 12 NBA All-Star selections, six All-NBA First Team selections, two Defensive Player of the Year awards, and being the NBA's all-time leader in blocks.

#4 Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal or commonly known as Shaq, was one of the most dominant physical athletes to ever step on a basketball court. During the Los Angeles Lakers star's peak years teams were making moves with the sole intention of containing the big man. The fact that the ‘Big Aristotle’ won only one MVP was kind of ridiculous in hindsight, as there were various seasons he was the most dominant player in the league. But he won four NBA titles, three Finals MVPs, one MVP, eight All-NBA 1st Team selections, 15 All-Stars, three All-Defensive 2nd Team selections, one Olympic gold medal, one World Cup gold medal, and was ranked NBA 8th in blocks, 9th in scoring, 15th in rebounds, 228th in assists.

#3 Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain is the only player who has ever scored 100 points in one game in the NBA. “The Goliath”. The record books are indeed heavy with Chamberlain’s accomplishments. He was the only NBA player to score 4,000 points in a season. He set the NBA's most consecutive field goals, 18, and the most rebounds, 55. Perhaps his most mind-boggling stat was the 50.4 points per game he averaged during the 1961-62 season, and if not that, then perhaps the 48.5 minutes per game he averaged that same year.

#2 Bill Russell

On our list of best centers in the NBA next stands Bill Russell at number 3. Russell could very easily have never taken up basketball, much less gone on to become one of the sport’s immortals. Bill Russell’s record for most NBA titles will never be beaten, as no one has come, or will come close to his 11 career championships. Since blocks weren’t recorded as a stat in his career, there’s no way to know how many blocks Russell had for his career. There’s a chance he would be at the top of the block's standings, along with the player coming up next on our ranking.

#1 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The GOAT debate is considered a two-horse race in the NBA, but if there is a strong third candidate, it’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who dominated for almost two decades thanks to his skyhook shot and overall greatness as a scorer, rebounder, and shot-blocker. Furthermore, with six NBA titles, two Finals MVPs, six MVPs, 10 All-NBA 1st Team selections, 19 All-Stars, five All-Defensive 1st Team, Jabbar takes our best centers in the NBA spot.