Top 10 Best Basketball Centers of All Time
Wilton Norman "Wilt" Chamberlain was an American basketball player. He was born on August 21, 1936 in Philadelphia and died on October 12, 1999 in Los Angeles due to heart failure.Wilt Chamberlain set the books by scoring the most points scored in a single game (100), most rebounds in a game (55), and most consecutive field goals (18).
He played for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Los Angeles Lakers. His biggest rival was former Boston Celtics center Bill Russell, but they are also good friends. He won 2 NBA Titles, 1 with the 76ers and one with the Lakers. ...read more.
Take him in his prime, and put him one-on-one against any other player in their prime (James, Jordan, O'Neal, Bryant, and even Bill Russell) and Wilt comes out on top.
The most unstoppable force in basketball history. Would have won more championships but Boston always had a deeper team.
That 40/40 game is known as a "Double-Quadruple", and Wilt's best of those was an incredible 78 point/43 rebound effort in a single game!
Only player to ever have a 40-40 game, which is known as a "Quadruple-Double"; 40 points/40 rebounds.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is an American retired professional basketball player who played 20 seasons in the National Basketball Association for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. There are some incredible players on here and no one dominated the game like Wilt but he played against inferior talent compared to Kareem. Russel has more rings but I think his teammates had at least as much to do with that than he did. Most points, unstoppable sky hook, rebounded, played defense, great team player. When John Wooden says you're the best he's ever seen, you're the best.
William Felton "Bill" Russell was an American retired professional basketball player. Russell played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association from 1956 to 1969.
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal, nicknamed Shaq, is a retired American professional basketball player who is currently an analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. He is known for his fun, friendly personality, and is one of the most beloved athletes of all time.
Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon, formerly known as Akeem Olajuwon, is a Nigerian-American retired professional basketball player.
David Maurice Robinson is an American former professional basketball player, who played center for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association for his entire career.
Moses Eugene Malone was an American basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association and the National Basketball Association from 1974 through 1995. The center was named the NBA Most Valuable Player three times and was a 12-time NBA All-Star and an eight-time All-NBA selection. Played the game in a very "Joe Lunchbucket" style, but got it done better than almost anybody. Check the lifetime scoring and rebounding lists to see just how good Moses was.
George Lawrence Mikan Jr., nicknamed Mr. Basketball, was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League and the Minneapolis Lakers of the NBL, the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball Association.
Patrick Aloysius Ewing (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American retired Hall of Fame basketball player and current head coach of the Georgetown University men's basketball team.
Spent his prime years in the USSR, and unseen by western basketball fans. We could have seen just how good he was in the 1980 Olympics, but the USA did not participate that year.
Scouts said that he was the second best center in the world that year, only behind Kareem.
Finally came into the NBA as an old man, nearly crippled, but his great basketball IQ and immense size still allowed him to be a decent NBA player.
The Cold War meant that US fans did not get to see the young and prime Sabonis; by the time the Soviet Union fell and he got to the NBA, he was old and nearly crippled. At his best, he was rated the second best center in the world at the time [behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar].
He was the second-best college player of all time behind only Kareem, but his body just fell apart under the grueling NBA schedule. During the very few years he held together, he was brilliant.
Yao Ming is a Chinese basketball executive and retired professional basketball player who played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association.
Dwight David Howard is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association.
Ben Camey Wallace is an American retired professional basketball player. A native of Alabama, Wallace attended Cuyahoga Community College and Virginia Union University and signed with the Washington Bullets as an undrafted free agent in 1996. In his NBA career, Wallace played with the Washington Bullets/Wizards, ...read more.
Nikola Jokić is a Serbian professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association.A truly great big man who was unfortunate to have his career right during the ABA/NBA rivalry and then merger, and playing his prime years in the ABA, not getting to the NBA until he was older.
He was slightly overshadowed by old Wilt and then young Kareem, but was far better than any center in the NBA today.
Nathaniel Thurmond was an American basketball player who spent the majority of his 14-year career in the National Basketball Association with the Golden State Warriors. He played the center and power forward positions. Much better than any center in the NBA today.
Alfred Joel Horford Reynoso is a Dominican professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association.
DeMarcus Amir Cousins is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association.
Karl-Anthony Towns Jr. is a Dominican-American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats.
Hyland DeAndre Jordan, Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association.