Some will call me a homer, others will tell me that I'm downright crazy. So I'll say it again, Andrew Bynum is the most promising young center in the NBA.
I will even go further—he might be the most complete center we have in the NBA today.
"What about Yao, Dwight Howard, Greg Oden, Amare Stoudemire or Tyson Chandler?" one might ask. And I'll answer them this: "Each of these guys have some type of weakness!"
1. Dwight Howard: He's like a young David Robinson without the jumper. He's a freak of nature with an unparalleled athleticism for a big man. And that's all he is when you think about it. He's not a great passer—although he plays with his back to basket, it's rare to see him consistently hit a hook shot. His most lethal weapon is his raw power and incredible footwork.
That still doesn't take away from him being the best young center in the league but soon he'll be overtaken by none other than Andrew Bynum.
2. Amare Stoudemire: He's made the most successful comeback from micro-fracture surgery to date. He seems more concerned with offense then defense. And he's one of the worst post defenders out there.
It says a lot when one can say that Kwame "bust" Brown is a better defender than you. But as far as scoring goes, He's at the top of the list when it comes to post players.
3. Greg Oden: Forgive me for this, but I don't think too highly of this guy. I see him as a more injury-prone Marcus Camby. Don't get me wrong, anybody that gets compared to Marcus Camby should feel honored since the guy he's the reigning defensive player of the year. But I don't seem him being a great center.
Making matters worse, is the amount of injuries this guy has sustained throughout his basketball career or health alarms raised: broken wrist, buldging disk in his back, his hip alignment is off, one leg is longer than the other, knees which had microscopic surgery performed on. There was also an unrelated rumor—which did not show up in the Orlando physical—that another team expressed concern about the long-term health of Oden's knees (according to SI.com). Second coming of Sam Bowie anyone?
4. Yao Ming: Yao is more a face up center than a post up one. He is more comfortable shooting the 10-15 ft jumper. Or sometimes he goes for the turnaround J. The most glaring weakness of this guy, is that he is too soft for his size. Any 7'5 center who gets blocked by 5'9 Nate Robinson, then knocked down to the floor, is soft. I don't care what you say, Yao Ming is soft!!
But what's hurting this guy the most is China, who's practically running his pro career to the ground. They force him to play every single basketball tournament the country is in, even the regional ones where the teams don't really pose a threat to China sans Yao.
14 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
Mike Owens about 1 year ago
I'd say he's one of the best young centers, but I don't know if he's THE best. His offensive game is still raw. He does play with his back to the basket, that's very true. However, most of his points come off dunks and putbacks. He does have a hook shot, but it's definitely still developing, and he doesn't really have a go-to move in the post yet. So, he's good, no doubt about it, but I'll still Dwight, Yao and Amare over him at this point. However, if he gets to his full potential, watch out NBA.
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Ralph isaac about 1 year ago
I did say he was the most promising, not the best. I said Dwight Howard was. But if he continues to improve his game, he will be the best. He has it all man: defense, post moves, good footwork, sick wingspan, 7' feet tall, and he handles pressure.
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Chad Ridgeway about 1 year ago
No, you said, "Andrew Bynum is the best young center in the NBA." That's crazy.
And he handles pressure? How the heck do you know? What pressure situation has he been in?!
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
bynum has the speed, strenght,he has it all to become a great player and he is defiently not soft at all.
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penjohn smith 10 months ago
are u freking kidding me?? "What pressure situation has he been in?!" wow dude u must be really blind or something
hmmm lets see...
1. Kobe Bryant the greatest player of all time calls u out in front of everyone, lamenting the fact that the lakers didnt trade him for kidd
2. The media basically started taking kobe's side and pressed for his trade
3. laker fans (and not to mention the front office) heaped great expectations on him to deliver and prove kobe wrong
the whole situation reeked of pressure and the kid stood up to it- he exceled even kobe's wildest expectations. Even phil jackson said that the kid had to face the most pressure out of all the players he coached!
Andrew Bynum = Hybrid Cross between KG & Shaq
Projected Stats (08'-09'): 21.5ppg; 13.7 rpg; 2.8 apg; 64% FG
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Lisa Jackson about 1 year ago
Your title said he was the "most promising" but your first first paragraph in fact says, "he is the best center in the NBA' which is just too much of a stretch. He hasn't had enough time to even prove himself and his best season, this year, is done until playoffs so you can't exactly say he's got good numbers to use to draw such a conclusion. I'd also like to point out that Amare is not a natural center nor does he even play at Center except as a sub now. Give Bynum a few years but he is NOT the best center in the NBA right now.
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Lisa Jackson about 1 year ago
Bynum Stats:
PPG 13.1
RPG 10.2
APG 1.7
SPG 0.3
BPG 2.1
FG% 0.636
FT% 0.695
3P% 0.000
MPG 28.8
Amare Stats:
PPG 24.0
RPG 9.3
APG 1.3
SPG 0.8
BPG 2.2
FG% 0.583
FT% 0.795
3P% 0.192
MPG 33.4%
Howard Stats:
PPG 21.8
RPG 14.5
APG 1.3
SPG 1.0
BPG 2.3
FG% 0.603
FT% 0.598
3P% 0.000
MPG 38.6
Yao Stats
PPG 22.0
RPG 10.8
APG 2.3
SPG 0.4
BPG 2.0
FG% 0.507
FT% 0.850
3P% 0.000
MPG 37.2
Bynum has fewer points than all other players on the list, fewer rebounds than 2, fewer blocks than 2 and actually, the only thing he has going for him is the FG% but he seems to take far fewer shots than the others.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Your smokin' crack with your analysis...
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David Leney about 1 year ago
Bynum played 35 games this season at a high level, but to say he is the most complete Center in the NBA is way to premature. You noted the weaknesses of the other top centers, but you fail to consider that with Bynum only playing 35 quality games it is much harder to evaluate what his strengths and weaknesses are.
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Sean Stancill about 1 year ago
You failed to include Tyson Chandler in this article.
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Lisa Jackson about 1 year ago
Ooh, Tyson Chandler, he is good!
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Mike Owens about 1 year ago
Tyson Chandler is a product of Chris Paul. He's a great rebounder and decent defensive player, but his offensive game is a complete product of playing with Chris Paul.
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YAOwnage11 about 1 year ago
Yao Ming isnt soft... just because got his shot blocked form a 5 foot 9 nate robinson doesnt mean he's soft... he might not look "aggressive" because he doesnt scream and glare at the other opponents, but that doesnt mean hes not aggressive... its just that yao ming somtimes is in the wrong place at the wrong time...
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REY ENRIQUEZ about 1 year ago
wow you yaownage11 u for real yeao is soefter then a babys ass he is a definiton of a BITCH!!!!!!!!1
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