The NBA's Top Five Centers

The primary role of an NBA center, in short, is to dominate the paint.

Be it with interior defense, low post offense, or shot blocking prowess, a center has to be able to enforce his will down on the block. Centers are bruisers down low, and are most dangerous when equipped with a short jumper to diversify their game.

It is very popular among rebuilding teams over the years to build their squad around a big man. Big men can range from enforcers in the paint to do-everything superstars. A center, though ordinarily not thought of as very versatile, can either be the final jigsaw to a nearly completed puzzle, or the largest hole in the middle.

*Note: Maybe I should have called this the top six centers in the NBA, because there are two players at the third spot who I think, at this point in their careers, are equally effective, albeit in different ways.


5. Tyson Chandler

Before people start giving me the "Chris Paul is the only reason Tyson Chandler is even productive," let's analyze all the pluses he adds to his team.

Tyson Chandler is a durable and hard-working player who is still improving his game. I don't care which point guard he plays with, averaging twelve and twelve during the '07-08 season is nothing to sneeze at.

Chandler is a good rebounder for his size, but his athleticism and still-peaking abilities show that he has the potential to be the best rebounder in the league.

He is tall and athletic enough that when you throw a lob pass near the rim, more often than not he can stuff it down for you. He is a solid interior defender but needs to work a little more on his shot blocking.

Prior to his NBA days, Tyson was touted as the first seven-footer with point guard handles. Although those dreams were folly, his ball-handling skills are nothing to scoff at. He is a highly-productive center averaging only one-and-a-half turnovers per game over his career.

Tyson Chandler is an efficient and polished player with raw potential that has not yet been realized. Alongside David West and Chris Paul, the Hornets' dynamic trio is still getting better every season—and the sky's the limit.

Career Stats: 8 points, 9 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, 1.6 turnovers


4. Chris Kaman

Chris Kaman is not a flashy player. He doesn't have a signature move, nor much of a mean streak. Kaman is, and will be, a very productive center that does everything a coach wants in a center for a very long time.

He is a instinctual rebounder that grabs boards using his size and girth to muscle the opposition. He is developing in the low post, and should be a respected threat in the paint regardless of who's guarding him.

His solid stat line of sixteen points and thirteen rebounds was the result of a cool down towards the end of the season. The start of the season saw flashes of greatness and proof that if Kaman keeps his focus, he can become a twenty and ten player.

Chris Kaman had a breakout season in every statistical category, blocks not withstanding. He was a top-ten shot blocker, averaging almost three blocks for the season while proving he is a worthy interior defender. Kaman is a prototypical center in that he does everything that defines that position—and he does it very well.

Career Stats: 10 points, 8 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, 2 turnovers


3. Marcus Camby/Rasheed Wallace

First off, I'm going to start with Rasheed Wallace. In my article Rasheed Wallace: What Could Have Been, I outline Rasheed's skills and my opinion on how he utilizes them.

The argument I make for this power forward to be included in this center list is that he played center for the Pistons during the '07-08 season, and should merit inclusion because of that. Plus, I did not include him in my power forward, and I believe he deserves some recognition.

Marcus Camby is in the third spot because he is a defensive terror. Though not an exceptional one-on-one interior defender, he is solid in that area, and is a terrific roamer who plays very good help defense and protects the paint with his exceptional shot blocking.

Even in his thirties, Camby is one of the best rebounders in the game. He has a high basketball IQ on the defensive end, and knows how to position himself to get boards and make outlet passes. He is a low-turnover center as well, though that could be from his lack of offensive touches.

Though he isn't a productive offensive post player, he has a solid midrange jump shot that he can utilize when teams underestimate him. He has All-Star caliber defensive capabilities and his contributions to his team are predominantly on the defensive end.

Marcus Camby Career Stats: 11 points, 10 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 1.5 turnovers

Rasheed Wallace Career Stats: 15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block.

2. Yao Ming

Yao Ming is a finesse center. Not known for his power, Yao has very good hands for a center, and often uses his height and good footwork to compliment his solid offensive arsenal.

Yao is a twenty and ten center and is one of the best scorers in the league. The one knock in his game is his softness, which carries into every aspect of his skill set.

Though twenty and ten is exceptional, and a hallmark of the greatest big men in the league's history, Yao is 7'6"—and barely getting ten rebounds is not going to cut it. He made strides this past season by averaging almost eleven rebounds, but his softness caused him to miss a large chunk of the season due to injury.

I think that Yao Ming's injuries and softness are not entirely his fault. It is hard to carry his large frame up and down the floor every night, year in and year out—even during the summers as he trains with the Chinese National team—and be expected to be as durable as other premier big men.

Coming in from the international game, Yao made a quick transition, averaging over eighty games a season for his first three seasons before the wear and tear of the league caught up with him.

I believe that with a full summer of rest—this summer notwithstanding, as he is most likely re-aggravating his injuries playing in the Olympics—Yao can play a solid amount of games, and prove he is one of the best centers in the league.

Career Stats: 19 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2.6 turnovers

1. Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard has no definable weakness, other than his free-throw shooting, in his game. He is a monster rebounder, and a terror in the paint on both ends of the floor.

One can say that Dwight needs to improve his low-post moves, and that is absolutely true—but if averaging twenty points mostly on dunks and short-range bank shots and hooks is a weakness, I can't wait to see Dwight dominate once he rectifies that.

Howard is a prolific shot blocker, interior defender, and dunk artist. There is no big man in the league that can dominate a game on both ends of the floor as well as he can.

And the scary thing is, Howard is still very raw. His stat-sheet stuffing and emphatic dunks and blocks are the result of pure athleticism. Once he refines his game and polishes his post moves, Dwight Howard could become a more versatile version of Shaq.

Though no center will likely ever be athletic as the Orlando Magic era Shaquille O'Neal, Dwight Howard is right up there, and can potentially be more dangerous than Shaq down the stretch if he develops solid fundamentals in the low post. 

Another knock on his game, though this weakness applies to many other elite players in the league, is his high turnover-per-game statistic—almost three per game for his career.

Howard is the best center in the league, and the margin isn't even close, yet he is still developing his game and has yet to find a true identity on offense.

Once he develops a few dependable moves and continues to dominate both ends of the floor, there's no reason he can't be included in the top-five centers of all time debate by the end of his career.

Career Stats: 16 points, 12 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, 1 steal, 2.93 turnovers

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