Top 5 Best Centers of All Time!

Coming in at number five is Bill Russle. Bill Russle is no debate, the greatest defensive player ever, but he had a subpar offense. His career average for points per game was 15.1 which is obviously not a lot of an all time great in any position. But let’s not focus on his weaknesses, let’s focus on his strengths. One of the many reasons he was such a fantastic defensive player was because of his rebounding skills. Yes, he was rebounding against 5’9” 40 year old men when he was 6’9” and 25 years old, but none the less the stats speak for itself. He averaged 22.5 rebounds for his entire, 13 year career which is absurd. And ofcourse, I cannot talk about Bill Russle without talking about his 11 rings. Bill Russle is truly the greatest winner ever in basketball, and the fifth best center of all time.

Coming in at number 4 is Hakeem Olajuwon. Hakeem was a tremendous defensive player and a fantastic offensive threat. The dream was an MVP, two time finals MVP, and a two time defensive player of the year. During his time on the Rockets, Hakeem was essentially the Rockets only star player, basically carrying them to the finals. The reason Hakeem was such an offensive threat was his footwork. NBA defenders had never seen anything like Hakeems foot work before, so they didnt know how to guard him, which is why he had a career average of 21.8 points per game. Even better than his offense was his defense. Hakeem was the best defender in the league at the time, and the second best defender ever only to Bill Rusell.

Coming in at number three is the diesel, Shaq. What has Shaq not done, he is a rookie of the year, MVP, three time finals MVP, 4 time NBA championship winner, and most importantly he was once better than Kobe. Everywhere Shaq went, the team would win. Drafted in Orlando, went to the finals in Orlando. Signed with the Lakers, won three rings with the Lakers, traded to Miami, and won a championship with Miami. Not only did Shaq win everywhere he went, he had fantastic stats. In his prime, Shaq averaged 29 points and 13 rebounds which are absurd numbers. Shaq by far is the best center to touch the 2000’s and the third best center of all time.

Coming in at number two is statistically the goat, Wilt Chamberlin. Wilt’s stats are unfathinible and statistically he is the best player in any sport, no debate. He scored 100 points in one game, averaged 50 points in a season, and averaged 22.9 rebounds for his entire career among other stats. The few clips of Wilt Chamberlin playing that are on Youtube truly show his crazy athleticism. I found at least three clips of him going up to block a shot and nearly touching the top of the backboard, which is 13 feet up in the air. You might be wondering how is he not the best NBA player ever, let alone center? Well he has the same problem as Bill Russel; his stats are heavily inflated. He was not being guarded by normal NBA level defense, but more like college level defense if that.

Coming in as the best center of all time, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kareem is a six time MVP, two time finals MVP, 19 time all star, 15 time All NBA selections, 10 time all defense selections, rookie of the year, and hall of fame inductee. Kareem would make super star NBA players look like bench players. His skyhook was literally unguardble, meaning he could easily score against the best and tallest defenders. 

What did you think of my list? What are your top five best centers of all time?