Who's the best big man in the NBA?
One respondent asked that his identity remain a secret, so he's labeled below as "Anonymous Writer."
Here are our thoughts...
Michael Whittenberg
I have to go with Tim Duncan. We all know about the four championships, but what I like most about Duncan is that he's all work and no play.
You'll never see him on highlight reels for an amazing play, but the numbers speak for themselves.
He does everything, from scoring to rebounding to defending.
He's also got great fundamentals, knows the game very well, is the master of boxing out, and is a silent killer.
A big man of Duncan's caliber comes along, if you're lucky, maybe once a decade. We've yet to see what Greg Oden can do, and David Robinson was drafted a decade before Duncan.
Duncan's four championship rings are the only thing keeping me from saying Karl Malone is the league's all-time best Power Forward.
But forget about PFs—Duncan is one of the league's greatest players, period. He may look bored sometimes out there on the court, but you have to respect him. In fact, he might not be all that exciting to watch until playoff time. That's when he really turns it on.
I could go on all day about TD, because he is indeed one of the league's classiest players.
Erick Blasco
My pick for best big man in the NBA goes to Tim Duncan, for three reasons.
1) His genius-level basketball IQ
2) His sheer talent
3) His completeness as a player
Duncan will dominate weaker defenders in the post, will shoot over defenders who try to take away his post up or face up game, and will punish double teams by knowing exactly what the defense is trying to do and where his teammates are cutting or spotting up to.
And he makes the right decisions all the time.
Duncan is so good he simply can't be defended one-on-one. Even elite post defenders like Kurt Thomas are overmatched by Duncan's athleticism, length, and toughness.
And Duncan is a complete player. On offense, he can hit hooks with either hand, his banked jumpers are automatic, and he'll hit layups even while absorbing tremendous contact.
He can use either hand, has range out to 20 feet, and has perfect footwork to set up his offensive moves while getting his defender off balance. Plus, he's probably the best passing big man who's ever played.
Duncan's an excellent position defender, a perfect help defender, a tenacious rebounder, an earth-shaking screen-setter, a nonstop hustler, incredibly coachable, remarkably adaptive, and most importantly of all, incredibly clutch/
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He'll always make winning plays in crunch time.
His only flaws are his sometimes subpar free-throw shooting and the fact that he isn't a perfect one-on-one defender, as opponents with length can shoot over him, and he'll give up too much room to athletic forwards like Carlos Boozer and occasionally Dirk Nowitzki.
Still, Duncan's the consummate winner. Not only is he the best big man, but he's the best player in the NBA.
Dave Finocchio
Here's my list of the top 10 big men:
1. Tim Duncan
2. Kevin Garnett
3. Dwight Howard
4. Yao Ming
5. Carlos Boozer
6. Amare Stoudemire
7. Al Jefferson
8. Marcus Camby
9. Chris Kaman
10. Tyson Chandler
Duncan wins in a landslide. He's a game-changer in all aspects of the game on both sides of the court. He does whatever his team needs him to do to win, nothing less and nothing more.
I'd go to war with him over any of these other guys 100 percent of the time.
Trey Bradley
To me, it's a no brainer: Tim Duncan.
First, he has all of the credentials. To be considered the "Best Anything" in the Association, you have to have won league MVP honors (don't tell Kobe). Duncan's done it twice. You have to have won a NBA Championship (don't tell Karl Malone). Duncan has four rings. And you have to have figured prominently in a title run. Duncan has been the Finals MVP in three of those four championships.
Secondly, and especially in the case of Big Men, I'm looking for offensive/defensive balance. Duncan? Nine times All-NBA First Team; seven times All-Defensive First team.
Finally, I love his intangibles. The fact that he's been with the Spurs throughout his entire career, I like. I expect him to retire in San Antonio. I like that he was able to win with and without David Robinson. I give him a ton of credit for dominating a Western Conference that has, in my estimation, been as good or better than any conference in NBA history.
If there's a knock for me, it would have to be a lack of international success. Duncan has not won a gold medal with Team USA, and was part of the 2004 debacle in Athens.
Anonymous Writer
The best big man, to me, is Kevin Garnett
He may not have any championships, or any experience in the Finals at that, but KG brings the intensity every night.
The pounding of the chest, the yelling, and the baby powder pregame ritual that LeBron James eventually stole from him are some of the things I like about him.
If he wanted to, he could easily average a triple-double. He scores, rebounds, blocks shots, and dishes out assists.
The assists are down this year, but that's only because he finally has some reliable scorers on his team.
He is one of the rare big men in the NBA that can make his teammates better.
Scott Serles
Dwight Howard is currently the NBA's best big man.
His explosiveness and power make him nearly impossible to stop around the rim. He has been consistently one of the NBA's top rebounders, and has also been among the league-leaders in blocks. He has played in 82 games three consecutive seasons.
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8 months ago
I really dig the piece Michael, sorry I wasn't able to go into more detail and defend my opinion more convincingly. I am, once again opening myself up to great deal of scrutiny, which seems to have become my forte here on the bleacherreport.com.
I remain in the minority in regards to my opinion on the NBA's top big men playing today. I believe in three years, you can look back at this piece and be able to unequivocally conclude that Howard is the best.
I also believe that this piece shows how starved the NBA is for truly great big men. The gap between the top three mentioned and the rest who can be considered in the conversation is monumental.
If we were to compose a list of greatest big men ever, I would have to put Moses Malone, of the famed Fo' Fo' Fo' Sixers at the top of the list. (Yes, over even Karl Malone and Shaq)
from 8 months ago
Don't sweat it, your opinion was good enough and it made sense.
8 months ago
Dwight Howard, to me, is about a year away from being the best big man in the NBA. He might be the best now. He's an absolute monster.
I think KG brings a better skillset to the table than Tim Duncan, he just hasn't had a real chance to show it until now.
We'll see when they play against each other...
8 months ago
This was a really cool piece and I'm glad to have been a part of it. I have no problems with most of the people listing Garnett as 2 but I still disagree a bit about Howard being the best in the near future. He's a bad defender and his offensive moves are still really limited. He might be the best rebounder in the NBA already but he still has a lot of work to do on his overall game.
That being said, the guy is 22. 22! In terms of true centers, the only guy I can list as being flat-out better than him is Yao, though Andrew Bynum is extremely impressive in LA. It will be fun watching their careers develop.
8 months ago
All of you guys failed to mention Amare.He is the best big man in the NBA right now.
from 8 months ago
I like Amare Stoudemire, but he's not in Garnett or Duncan's league....
from 8 months ago
Amare is arguably the most talented offensive big man, but did anyone ever teach him defense?
from 8 months ago
Amare's numbers would plummet if Steve Nash were taken away from that team. Stoudamire gets nearly all his points on dive cuts and mid range jumpers. He can't really create his own offense except when matched up against the slowest big men in the league.
from 8 months ago
I have to agree with Sean, David, and Erick here. Amare is a very solid offseason basketball player, but he's nowhere close to the best big man in the league.
Let us not forget that he plays on a team that focuses primarily on offense, and alongside perhaps the best ball distributor of our generation. This naturally inflates his statistics, which are admittedly impressive.
When you can't play defense as a big man, you better be able to create your own shot, and dominate down low—Amare falls short of being "great" in that regard.
Think of the all time greatest big men: Russell, Wilt, Kareem, Shaq, Hakeem.
Every single one of those guys had either a) dominating defensive skills, b) the ability to create their own shot or dominate inside, or c) both.
Unfortunately for Amare, he's only marginal in both of these capacities. This combined with his weak defensive skills suggest that while he is in fact a great basketball player, he's surely not the best big man in the league.
8 months ago
Glad to see people giving TD props. His team-first attitude, superb defensive skills and ability to score both inside and outside the paint (more inside the past few seasons) make him unquestionably the best of the big guys in my mind.
Garnett's skill set may appear better to the naked eye—he's more athletic and has better range—but in my opinion I've never thought that he did the little things (box out, set screens, etc.) as well as Duncan does. While Sean makes a good point about KG not getting the same chance as TD, it's not as if Garnett never played with good players.
After all: while Terrell Brandon and Sam Cassell may not have been Tony Parker and Manu Ginobelli, it's not as if they weren't great teammates for Garnett which allowed him to fully showcase his abilities.
If the Celtics get to the finals this year, I think the KG/TD debate will become more accepted.
from 8 months ago
When Garnett had people with him in Minnesota he was pretty good. Remember his 2003-04 season?
24.2 points, 13.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.2 blocks and 1.5 steals per game
That's pretty impressive....if every point guard on their roster hadn't gotten injured they probably win the NBA championship that year.
from 8 months ago
I agree with you Zander. Don't forget that Parker and Ginobili weren't exactly top picks when they were drafted either. They were unknowns mostly except in international play which may as well be NBDL as far as some NBA fans go. They have gone from late second roung picks to becoming all stars and top tier players BECAUSE of Duncan's ability to make other players around him better. Every GM and NBA Analyst has said that by playing alongside Tim Duncan, players become better in every facet of their game. Popovich deserves some of that credit as well. Garnet is a great player but has never done anything remotely close to what Duncan has accomplished, nor has he ever made Troy Hudson, Wally Szerbiak or countless others better players than they were when they arrived in Minnesota. Only now, paired with two other major All-Star caliber players that were stars in the own right, has he gone anywhere and lets not forget that he hasn't won anything yet.
If anybody has learned that a regular season record doesn't mean much more than seeding, its' the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns. TD is the best hands down and people that say otherwise just don't make a lot of sense to me. Ask the pros who have played the game like Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley, Greg Anthony, Steve Kerr, David Robinson or coaches like Pat Riley, Mario Elie, Hubie Brown, Larry Brown, George Karl to name a few. All of them have publicly declared Duncan as the perrenniel big man of the league.
from 8 months ago
I'd take it one step further Sean: when Garnett had people with him in Minnesota, he wasn't pretty good—he was great. That Twolves team was a force to be reckoned with indeed...I wanted them to win in the worst way (stupid Lakers...)
KG is without a doubt one of the greatest all around players I've ever watched. He has the athletisim of a guard and he's seven frickin' feet tall. That said, he has to show that he can play at that "next level" when it really counts before we put him in the same league as a guy like Duncan, who has proven that he is a winner in the truest sense.
8 months ago
Thanks to all the guys--Erick, Trey, Dave, Scott, Mike, and Anonymous LOL!. I definitely plan on doing more articles like this.
8 months ago
I am taking Dave's list is based on current performance and not as much based on history, because Elton Brand should be on that list. Also a strong argument can be made for Pau Gasol and even Ilgalsuks, eventhough not as much in terms of top 10 big men.
from 8 months ago
Yeah it is based on current performance this season, and that's why Brand is not on the list.
8 months ago
No love for Alonzo Mourning?
from 8 months ago
I'm assuming that was a joke. Mourning is one of the all-time best big men, but he's not among the elite anymore. It was almost hard watching him the last few years, considering I grew a huge fan of Zo. I wished he never left the Queen City, but him and Larry Johnson couldn't get along.
from 8 months ago
Where do you guys think Mourning belongs on an all-time Centers list?
I don't think he quite cracks the top 10, but maybe top 15?
1) Russell
2) Wilt
3) Shaq
4) Kareem
5) Hakeem
6) Moses Malone
7) David Robinson
8) Bob McAdoo
9) George Mikan
10) Patrick Ewing
11) Bill Walton
12) Willis Reed
13) Robert Parrish
14) Artis Gillmore
15) Zo Mourning
Thoughts?
from 8 months ago
I think your list is pretty accurate. No disrespect towards the old timer Mikan, but I would put Zo over him. At 6'10, Mikan always played against smaller and weaker guys. Robert Parish in my opinion, was better than David Robinson and Bill Walton. Bill Russell might have 11 rings, but Kareem is the best center of all-time. Shaq is the most dominant, and Hakeem is my favorite big man of all-time.
from 8 months ago
It was a very bad joke.
8 months ago
It's clearly Duncan. I agree 100% with Erick about Amare. All his points come off of perfect passes from Nash. The guy is very replaceable since he plays no defense. He's all kinds of athletic, but without Nash he'd just be another big man.
8 months ago
RIGHT NOW the best big man in the NBA is KG, followed by Howard and Duncan. If the question was who has been the best big man the past decade or so then it would be Duncan due to his four championships, but that is not what the question is. Duncan is having his worst season — statistically speaking — of his career, averaging 18 and 10 a night. Yes, KG also doesn't have the his usual numbers (19 and 10), but he is having an MVP-caliber year and he is showing what he can do with talent around him leading the Celtics to a 28-3 record. This may be a biased opinion but put KG with the teams Duncan has won with and I believe KG wins as much if not more than Duncan did. The one season KG had some talent around him — Sprewell and Cassell — the T'Wolves almost managed an upset over the Lakers in the 2nd round. KG is one of the greatest of all time and it's great to see him with some talent around him.
from 8 months ago
You're right about his stats, but I promise you they will sky rocket in the playoffs. Everyone knows the Spurs are bored during the regular season.
8 months ago
If I were giving my order:
1. Tim Duncan
2. Carlos Boozer
3. Dwight Howard
4. Yao Ming
5. KG
Garnett is 5th because his low post game is severely lacking. His points come from jumpers. When he gets the ball in the low post he takes a turnaround instead of taking it to the hoop like #s 1-4 do. They are far more dominant than KG. Garnett is still a great ball handler for his size, an above average shooter, a solid leader, and a good defender. But if we're looking for dominance, he doesn't cut it.
8 months ago
Fair points Jordan, but I will give Garnett credit for the fact that his turnaround jumper is incredibly accurate, and that the other parts of his game are very polished. Boozer takes a lot of jump shots too and is a worse passer than Garnett is. Garnett's as good a passer as Dwight Howard is a rebounder and he's a far better rebounder than Howard is a passer. Plus, Garnett's offensive game is infinitely better than Howard's and KG is a far better defender. Yao isn't as well rounded as KG is.
8 months ago
True. There are definite faults with all their games. That said I'd take any of those 5 on my team. I just dont like 7 footers that are primarily jump shooters. Yes, it's deadly accurate though.
5 months ago
D.Howard
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