3/7/07 Greatest NBA Centers Ever

Greatest NBA Centers ever

Today ESPN had an article and results of a poll of "experts" that picked the best 10 centers of all time in the NBA.

Having recently talked a little about it when discussing the NBA all-star break, I thought I would chime in.

The top 3 could have been in any order and good arguements could be made for any of them to be #1.

Kareem was dominant for so long, the only issue I have is that I never saw him/remember him in is prime. Having seen him huff and puff for oxygen in Boston Garden during one of the finals in the 80's took some of his legacy away for me.

Wilt was Wilt. The video clips tell the whole picture, man vs. children. Physically he was so different then everybody else. The only thing negative I would bring up would be that he should have won more than 2 titles.

Russell was a winner. He wasn't as talented offensively as the other two but in every other part of the game he was dominant. He made his teammates better in the way he played. He complimented other's talent so well. The 11 titles in 13 seasons will never be matched by anybody in professional sports, ever.

I think the next 4 choices could be in a different order. It all comes down to how the question was asked. If it is meant to be on stats and achievements then Walton stays where he is, if he gets a pass for the lost time due to injuries he would move up. The voters evidently did not give him the pass and he fell to 7 behind Shaq, Hakeem and Moses.

The gap between the big 3 and these 4 is so significant that the numbering should have gone 1, 2, 3, 11, 12, ...etc.

To have Shaq come in #4 and presume he was close to Russell, Wilt and Kareem is crazy. This isn't just some old guy complaining about the modern star, the stats, achievements, competition, and impact on the game all point to the big 3 being far ahead of the rest.

Hakeem was a great center, but as dominant as he could be, he could disappear too. He also took a few years to learn the game where as the others all joined the NBA ready to go.

Moses gets mention as one of the best rebounders of all time. All I remember is a tenatious rebounder/scorer that probably averaged 3 or 4 of his 12.3 career rebound average came from his own misses. Having a wide strong body helped him when he missed...

Walton was as talented as any of them, he played the ultimate team game and if he never had a foot problem, might have been in with the top 3 as the top 4. He was that gifted but cursed.

The last 3 of the top 10 were David Robinson, George Mikan and Patrick Ewing. Now I never saw Mikan play but based on the numbers and based on the way he changed the position and game he could easily be a top 6 guy. As for David Robinson, please...As for Ewing, possibly but I wouldn't have put him in there. Willis Reed, Dave Cowens, Bob Lanier and Robert Parrish easily could have been in place of Robinson and Ewing and the same arguements would be made. They all were good/great but on the outside looking in at the best of all time.

The fact that somebody gave Dwight Howard a vote should have eliminated that person and all of their other votes immediately. Probably the same type of person that would put Scottie Pippen on some kind of all-time great team...but that is saved for another day, believe me somebody will suggest it.

So to wrap up, if you had a team of good players and were competing for a championship for one year, would you take Kareem, Wilt or Russell in their prime? One year run, I'd go for Wilt as long as you had supporting cast.

If you were trying to win for the next 10 years, Russell or Kareem would be my pick, probably Russell (so what, I'm from Boston!).

Who would you pick?