Ranking the best centers in NBA history is no easy task. The sheer dominance of the position is almost hard to fathom. Take a walk down memory lane to revisit NBA icons and remember just how important each center was to the game. Relive the greatness with Fubo.
While times have changed and the traditional center doesn’t play as big of a role as it once did, that doesn’t mean that they still do not play a pivotal role. Throughout the decades centers have brought different skill sets to the game and many times has been the difference between teams winning and losing a championship.
Representing Greatness: Ranking the Best Centers in NBA History
10. Bill Walton
He would have been even higher on this list had Walton not been plagued by injury for the majority of his career. However, when he was healthy, he was as dominant a center as their was.
He is generally considered as the greatest passing big man of all-time, and one of the best defensive centers as well. Walton’s passing ability can be seen present day in two-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
He was selected to two All-Star teams and two All-NBA teams, with one of the latter as a member of the first team, as well as two All-NBA defensive first teams. He also won the MVP Award in his only healthy season, 1977-78, with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Walton led the Blazers to their only championship in 1977, winning the Finals MVP Award. He also helped the Celtics win a title in 1986 as a reserve.
9. George Mikan
Mikan was the first true great center. He played for the Minneapolis Lakers for 10 years (1947-1956) and was able to win five championships. However, his greatness is hard to quantify because he was dominant in his era, but his physical advantages dissipated once the league became more athletic.
He had career averages of 22.3 points, 13.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists along with 40.1 percent from the field and a fantastic 78.4 percent from the free throw line. He won three consecutive scoring titles, and back-to-back rebounding titles. He was also selected to the All-Star game four times, winning the All-Star MVP in 1953. He was selected to the All-NBA team six times, with all of the selections as a member of the first team.
Plenty of rules and drills were implemented because of Mikan. Those include the 24-second clock and the league widened the lane because of him. No man had a greater impact on the early NBA than George Mikan.
His honors speak for themselves and are why he is on this Top 10 list. Ewing was a powerhouse throughout the 90s. He was an 11-time All-Star, 7-time All-NBA selection and was apart of the Dream Team in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympics.
While he may not have won a championship in his time with the Knicks, Ewing averaged 21.0 points per game and 9.8 rebounds during his career, making him a Hall of Famer.
His toughness and defensive presence were the foundation of everything New York accomplished in the ’90s. He likely would have won a championship had it not been for Michael Jordan and the Bulls. He also was up against two of the best centers of all-time in David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon.
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7. David Robinson
Robinson was one of the most well rounded centers of all-time. In a 14-year career, he had averages of 21.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.4 steals, and three blocks per game. He also was efficient from the field, shooting at a 51.8 percent clip and 73.6 percent from the free throw line.
Robinson, known as “The Admiral”, was selected to 10 All-Star games, four of which were first team selections. He also won Rookie of the Year in 1990 and the Defensive Player of the Year in 1992. He was selected to the All-NBA Defensive team eight times, with four of the selections as a member of the first team.
Robinson helped lead the Spurs to two championships and won the MVP Award in the 1994-95 season. He was also a member of the 1992 Dream Team.
6. Moses Malone
Moses Malone was one of the most dominant big man of all-time. He had an overpowering presence during his incredible 20-year career. He averaged 20.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.3 blocks in his career. He ranks 10th all-time in total points scored with 27,409. He also won seven rebounding titles, including six straight from the 1980-1981 season through the 1984-1985 season.
He was selected to the All Star team 11 times in his career and was selected to the All-NBA team eight times, with four of those selections as a member of the first team. Malone is also one of only eight players in the history of the league to have won three or more MVP awards. He won three in his career, including back-to-back awards in the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons. He won a championship for the 76ers in that last MVP year.
5. Hakeem Olajuwon
Olajuwon was one of the most-skilled big men of all time at both ends of the floor. Offensively, he averaged 21.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists, shooting 51.2 percent from the field. He also won two rebounding titles in his career, along with three blocked shot titles. He ranks first all-time in career blocked shots with a total of 3,830, and he amazingly is eighth all-time in total steals with 2,162.
He won the Defensive Player of the Year Award in both 1993 and 1994 and he was selected to the All-NBA defensive team nine times, with five of the selections as a member of the first team. He was also selected to the All-Star team 12 times and to the All-NBA team 12 times, with six of those selections as a member of the first team.
He led the Rockets in back-to-back championships (1994 and 1995), winning the Finals MVP award each time.
4. Shaquille O’Neal
For two decades Shaquille O’Neal was the most imposing, dominant player in the game. While Shaq could have just relied on his sheer size to dominate, he did it in different ways. He had a drop step, a turnaround hook shot, and continually repositioned in the post
Over a 10-year statistical peak that spanned from 1993-94 to 2002-03, O’Neal averaged 28.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 blocks. He shot 57.8 percent from the field and won three of his four titles during that stretch.
Over the course of his first seven playoff runs with the Los Angeles Lakers, O’Neal averaged 29.1 points, 13.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.5 blocks. During the Lakers’ three-peat, he averaged 35.9 points, 15.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.9 blocks in 15 Finals games.
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3. Bill Russell
Bill Russell is the most decorated center on this list and in NBA history. He has a record 11 championships, including eight straight with the Celtics.
It didn’t matter that Russell was undersized for a center, especially in today’s game. He won the MVP five times, and while never an elite scorer, he stepped up when it mattered most. During his career he averaged 15.1 points per game and 22.5 rebounds per game. That was truly his bread and buttered.
While everyone knows Wild Chamberlain scored 100 points in a game (without the three-point line), it’s the longevity and his ability to dominate unlike any other on both sides of the ball.
During the 1961-62 campaign, which is when he scored 100 points, Wilt averaged 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds for the season. On top of that he averaged over 40 points per game for six straight year. His exact numbers from 1959-60 to 1964-65 were 40.6 points, 24.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
Just like they do for so many great players, the NBA literally changed the dimensions of the painted area to try and offset his presence on the block.
- Kareem Abdul Jabbar
While so many great centers have come in and out of the NBA, only one is truly the best.
In 20 NBA seasons, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar totaled 19 All-Star appearances, 15 All-NBA selections, 11 All-Defensive selections, six NBA titles, six MVPs (first all-time), four blocks titles, two scoring titles, two Finals MVPs and one rebounding title.
Kareem ruled the NBA over multiple eras. His MVP awards were spread from 1971 to 1980. His first and last Finals MVPs were in 1971 and 1985, well over a decade apart.
Many believe Kareem has the most unstoppable shot in NBA history in the skyhook. That’s what he’ll always be remembered for.
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