Top 10 Centers of all-time

[Capt. Tuttle]

I'd flip Russell and Wilt and Hakeem and Shaq.

No idea about Mikan.

I love Bill Walton. He gets a LOT of credit for a very short peak in the NBA. Not saying he shouldn't, just saying he gets a lot of benefit. With that said, I love his old highlights.

IF he was healthy , (and I understand that is part of the calculation), Walton would have been top 5, and would have won even more championships. Projecting, I would think he would have wound up behind Jabbar and Wilt. (His offense would put him ahead of Russell, for me.)

 

[dasher]

If you swap Wilt and Russ how many rings do you think Boston gets?

Like everyone else, I don't know. I do know that Russ won two ncaa titles to Wilts zero. And I doubt San Fran. had more talent than Kansas. It's not like Wilt played with average talent. He didn't.

 

[Newhouser]

Like everyone else, I don't know. I do know that Russ won two ncaa titles to Wilts zero. And I doubt San Fran. had more talent than Kansas. It's not like Wilt played with average talent. He didn't.

I think if you put KC Jones on Wilt's Kansas teams they probably snag couple titles but I agree that, in the pros at least, Wilt also played with some quality players.

 

[Briancuse]

Like everyone else, I don't know. I do know that Russ won two ncaa titles to Wilts zero. And I doubt San Fran. had more talent than Kansas. It's not like Wilt played with average talent. He didn't.

Both are immortal players but I look at this way. Russel won titles at usf. Think of what Usf bball has been since. Slight nod to Russel.

 

[MikeSU02]

IF he was healthy , (and I understand that is part of the calculation), Walton would have been top 5, and would have won even more championships. Projecting, I would think he would have wound up behind Jabbar and Wilt. (His offense would put him ahead of Russell, for me.)

Walton being healthy is one of my favorite what ifs at the center position (if not the #1), to go along with what would have happened if Arvydas Sabonis played in the NBA from when he was young and he stayed healthy and what if PHX won the coin toss to get Kareem.

 

[Knicks411]

One of my favorite books is Breaks of the Game. Really, really great book by Halberstam. For anyone that hasn't read it and loves the NBA, can't recommend it highly enough. A lot of stuff with Walton and his injuries in it.

I read it a few years ago, and it was great. One of the small things I took away from it was there were a few comments about the Knicks trying to acquire guys who were only focused on scoring and putting up their own numbers. Pretty funny. Some things never change I guess.

My take on Wilt vs Russell: I've read some pretty compelling stuff from Ben Taylor that plays down Wilts offensive accomplishments a little. Basically, while he put up enormous numbers (especially early in his career) the team was nearly as effective without him on the offensive side. He used up such a huge amount of the possessions, but he actually wasn't super efficient. Will see if I can find the article. Was really interesting

 

[Knicks411]

Walton being healthy is one of my favorite what ifs at the center position (if not the #1), to go along with what would have happened if Arvydas Sabonis played in the NBA from when he was young and he stayed healthy and what if PHX won the coin toss to get Kareem.

Arvydas on the Blazers from like 85-93 is really something i would've loved to see. I think they could've pushed the Lakers a bit in the late 80s.

 

[MikeSU02]

Arvydas on the Blazers from like 85-93 is really something i would've loved to see. I think they could've pushed the Lakers a bit in the late 80s.

Draft MJ. Get Arvydas.

Dynasty.

 

[Eric15]

Draft MJ. Get Arvydas.

Dynasty.

And then take KD instead of Oden.

 

[Vshukla]

I might get blasted for this, but I wouldn’t have any qualms about putting the Dream above Shaq. Shaq was physically dominant, but Dream’s athleticism was off the charts. It’s easy to say he won his 2 rings while Jordan was out, but he absolutely killed Robinson, Ewing and Shaq during that run. He was by far the best player on the court and he led Houston to those two titles when the only other all-star caliber player on his team was a past his prime Drexler.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Walton being healthy is one of my favorite what ifs at the center position (if not the #1), to go along with what would have happened if Arvydas Sabonis played in the NBA from when he was young and he stayed healthy and what if PHX won the coin toss to get Kareem.

What if Drazen Petrovich doesn’t get killed

 

[RandygoCuse]

I think you got the ten right but I have Russell at the top (yes, I'm a Celtics fan) and would flip Hakeem and Shaq. I never know what to do with Mikan (I feel the same way about Bob Pettit and Bob Cousy). As for Walton, as mentioned, he had such a short peak in the NBA. I wish I could have seen him when healthy but I guess his accomplishments at his apex get him on the list.

 

[MikeSU02]

I might get blasted for this, but I wouldn’t have any qualms about putting the Dream above Shaq. Shaq was physically dominant, but Dream’s athleticism was off the charts. It’s easy to say he won his 2 rings while Jordan was out, but he absolutely killed Robinson, Ewing and Shaq during that run. He was by far the best player on the court and he led Houston to those two titles when the only other all-star caliber player on his team was a past his prime Drexler.

I absolutely have Dream over Shaq. Not saying Shaq was bad, of course.

Dream smoked every top competitor he had in their prime. He smoked a young Shaq. Shaq from 00-02 had Duncan, but he was playing PF half the time. Mutombo was basically the best competition during those years and he is no Ewing or Robinson.

 

[Alsacs]

Hakeem or in shape Shaq are the answer.
1999-2000 Shaq most dominant big man of all time.
Bill Simmons books shows how Wilt and Russell really didn’t deal with the depth the league has now. They played against a lot of prehistoric Brian Scalabrine’s.

Russell isn’t number 1 but I would take Russell over Wilt. Anytime Wilt got foul trouble he would play matador defense.

Kareem would be 3rd for me behind Shaq or Hakeem.

Olajuwon had such a good career you can’t get that upset Houston took him over Michael Jordan. Even though Jordan is the GOAT.

 

[Alsacs]

 

[RandygoCuse]

I’m tempted to put Cowens instead of Walton - MVP and two rings- plus he was more durable

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

I think you got the ten right but I have Russell at the top (yes, I'm a Celtics fan) and would flip Hakeem and Shaq. I never know what to do with Mikan (I feel the same way about Bob Pettit and Bob Cousy). As for Walton, as mentioned, he had such a short peak in the NBA. I wish I could have seen him when healthy but I guess his accomplishments at his apex get him on the list.

The thing about Walton is a game that I won’t ever forget: it was for the NC and UCLA was playing Memphis State. Walton was unstoppable 21-22 from the floor. Also 13 rebounds.

50 years ago: Bill Walton's nearly perfect night at the Arena

The NCAA had a no-dunking rule at the time, otherwise it would have been 25-of-26 for Bill Walton and 52 points. But the big red-head had four baskets nullified for

www.stltoday.com

 

[Vshukla]

If the argument for Walton is what he could have accomplished if not for injuries, couldn’t the same be said for Yao Ming?
Another guy who I don’t think gets enough mention is Artis Gilmore. I’m not sure he was better than any of the folks on this top 10 list but you could make an argument he had a better professional (ABA and NBA) career than Walton.

 

[Vshukla]

Gotta go with the NCAA team. Magic, MJ, Bird and Kareem is pretty tough to beat. I can only imagine Larry‘s reply when someone asks him about playing kids just out of high school.

 

[two3zone]

Still one of the best things I’ve ever seen. They rank the all time centers for Shaq

 

[20plus]

Here are their respective stats when playing head-to-head in the Finals. I know Russell won way more, but Wilt clearly was the superior player.

View attachment 204867

Last time a table from that site was used here, a few days later Jb tried to blast me.

 

[sufandu]

I watched the games. Russell wasn't interested in his stats. Just winning. And not for nothing, but Wilt also played on great teams. Did you ever watch either guy play a game? That is the era that I grew up in. Russell also won both years at San Fran. Wilt's Kansas teams also came up short. But I bet he scored a lot of points.

I get what you're saying, and the winning has always been the argument used, but it can't be ignored that Russell also played for the best NBA executive of all time that consistently made sure he had the best group of players around Russell.

If Russell shot a great shooting percentage while shooting way fewer shots, then I'd say we throw out his offensive stats, but I don't think the plan was for him to miss nearly 60% of his shots. And if you look at the foul shots attempted compared to fga, it's clear Wilt was the tougher guy to defend while still being an elite defender himself.

 

[Eric15]

If the argument for Walton is what he could have accomplished if not for injuries, couldn’t the same be said for Yao Ming?

Yao Ming is a player I always forget about. He didn't have much longevity in the league, but he was fantastic during his relatively brief NBA career. 8x All-Star and 5x All-NBA player.

 

[AZOrange]

Yao Ming is a player I always forget about. He didn't have much longevity in the league, but he was fantastic during his relatively brief NBA career. 8x All-Star and 5x All-NBA player.

He was as good as they get

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

I get what you're saying, and the winning has always been the argument used, but it can't be ignored that Russell also played for the best NBA executive of all time that consistently made sure he had the best group of players around Russell.

If Russell shot a great shooting percentage while shooting way fewer shots, then I'd say we throw out his offensive stats, but I don't think the plan was for him to miss nearly 60% of his shots. And if you look at the foul shots attempted compared to fga, it's clear Wilt was the tougher guy to defend while still being an elite defender himself.

Russell’s team was so good, that Russell the coach won 2 titles.