Where Does Joakim Noah Rank in List of Top Centers in NBA?

All the offseason talks for the Bulls has been surrounded around a replacement for Carlos Boozer or finding a SG to replace Keith Bogans. We haven't appreciated what we have already have though. I'm talking about none other than Joakim Noah. 

I wanted to see how he stacked up against the league's top centers and I did just that. I put Noah against arguably the best the league has to offer at the center spot. So where does Joakim Noah rank?

Let's find out...

Centers Who Can't Compete with Noah

For obvious reasons, I don't want to go through every center in the NBA and put him against Noah nor do I want to insult Noah's game by comparing him against lesser centers. So, here are those centers that didn't make the cut.

Kendrick Perkins 

Robin Lopez

Roy Hibbert

Anderson Varejao

Brendan Haywood

Tyson Chandler

JaVale McGee

Emeka Okafor

Samuel Dalembert

Andreis Biedrins

Ben Wallace

Kwame Brown

Darko Milicic

Joel Anthony

Joakim Noah vs. Brook Lopez

Brook Lopez is the worst rebounding center in the NBA. 

He averaged an embarrassing six boards a game. For the record, Dwyane Wade and Rudy Gay averaged more rebounds that the Nets' seven footer. That's simply inexcusable. Added to that is the fact that Lopez isn't that great of a defender. His block numbers are solid at 1.5 swats a night but they don't tell the whole story about Lopez's defensive abilities. 

He's a better scorer than Noah, but really what else is there that Noah can't do? He's a far and away better rebounder than Lopez, a better passer, much better defender and shot-blocker. A non-rebouding center just won't do it for me.

Winner: Noah  

Joakim Noah vs. Andrea Bargnani

If Brook Lopez was the worst rebounding center in the NBA last season, then Andrea Bargnani was the worst rebouding big man in the league (he played both PF and C; Reggie Evans was the Raptors' starting C).

I just don't know how Bargnani can average only 5.2 rebounds a game. I mean, there's at-least five other guards that average more rebounds than that. You add to the fact that Bargnani can't play defense and you've got a recipe for disaster as your number one option.

Sure he averaged 21.4 points per game last season, but that was expected being that Bargnani was a former number one overall pick, and needed to start playing like one. Still, he's never been recognized as one of the league's top centers, and for good reason. He's a great scorer but that's about it. There's more to basketball than just scoring.

Winner: Noah 

Joakim Noah vs. Andrew Bogut

Bogut and Noah are both notoriously good defenders who have posted good defensive numbers ever since their enterance into the league. 

However, you would think that offensively Bogut is on another level. Well, how wrong you would be. Last season, Bogut averaged a pathetic 12.8 points per game, even though he was on floor longer than Noah and had more attempts. 

Noah did fairly well for someone who's considered an offensive liability, as he averaged 11.7 points a game. Noah also shot the ball better than Bogut at 52.5 percent compared to Bogut's 49.5. 

Rebouding wise, they're fairly close as Noah averaged 10.4 to Bogut's 11.1 rebs a night. Noah was second in the league in rebouding only behind Kevin Love prior to his injury, which caused his averages and overall numbers to fall. 

Still, considering how much better Bogut is supposed to be, Noah isn't that far off. Noah was able to score just as well with fewer attempts, rebounding as much with another top 10 rebouder on his team with Boozer, and match Bogut in almost every stat with less of role on his team that Bogut. 

Which can only mean one thing, Bogut is somewhat overrated. 

Winner: Noah

Joakim Noah vs. Andrew Bynum

Injuries seem to be a nagging trend here, as it gets touch to compare overall numbers without having to keep in mind the missed amount of games. 

Bynum is another player who's constantly being overhyped, by being put in the same class as Dwight Howard which is simply blasphemy. Bynum took a major step back last year and averaged just 11.3 points a night. He was supposed to "break out" this season, but that didn't happen for many reasons, a few being lack of touches, injuries, etc. 

Noah's scoring is toe-to-toe with Bynum showing that Noah is also capable of putting points on the board. Rebouding is where Noah separates himself from Bynum. He finished the season averaging 10.4 a night, but was averaging near 14 rebounds a game prior to his thumb injury in early december. 

Bynum's rebounding average is at 9.4, but he's also next to a top 10 rebounder in Pau Gasol, so I can understand why his numbers aren't a little higher. Defensively, Noah is a bit better even though Bynum averaged more blocks a night. Noah alters more shots, causes more steals and is a better post defender. Still, Bynum's offensive ability is hard to ignore.

Winner: Andrew Bynum

Joakim Noah vs. Chris Kaman

Noah and Kaman are two opposites in terms of their skill-sets. 

Kaman is a much more potent offensive player, with a nice range on his jump shot. However, he's also a complete black hole on offense and was forced to take as many shots as he did for the Clippers the past two seasons. Last year, he was injured for a good portion of the season and so it's much more amicable for me to look at his stats for two seasons ago.

He's never been a great defender, and isn't going to become one anytime soon. His rebouding is also behind Noah's. In terms of passing, I suggest you look at the "black hole on offense" comment above. Kaman averaged a selfish 1.2 assists a game.

So Noah is a better rebounder, defender, passer and just as good of a free-throw shooter. Give Noah as many attempts as Kaman, and he'll match him in scoring as well. Or come close.

Winner: Noah 

Joakim Noah vs. Al Jefferson

Big Al is a interesting case. 

He's always flown under the radar and for a while, I thought he was highly underrated...until I saw him play. 

Sure, he's got a few nice moves down on the block, but he's as lazy as can be. A vastly overrated defender, Jefferson would much rather outscore you than to D you up. He's always put up big numbers but they have been on terrible teams such as the pre-Kevin Garnett Celtics, post-Kevin Garnett Timberwovles and the post-Deron Williams Jazz.

Put Noah on a lottery team and make him the number one big man option, and I can guarentee you that he'll find a way to match Big Al's numbers. Simply put, Al Jefferson is overrated. He's just a stat filler on bad teams, and will continue being labeled as such until he proves me wrong.

Winner: Noah 

Joakim Noah vs. Al Horford

Former teammates, now rivals in the NBA. Noah and Horford have routinely been compared against each other after entering the league at the same time in the 2007 NBA Draft. 

Horford was, and is the more polished offensive player, while is the defensive juggernaut. They're games are both polar opposites of each other. 

Horford is a solid center, who's got a nice touch from mid-range. He averaged 15.3 points a night, while competing for shots with Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. He's clearly a better scorer and shooter than Noah. Rebouding wise, not so much. He averaged a respectable 9.3 a game but clearly isn't an elite rebounder like Noah. 

Defensively, he's sound and solid but not spectacular. He lets his teammate Josh Smith take care of most of Atlanta's defensive matters, while is the heart and soul of the Bulls defense. Still, it all boils down to that fact that Horford is a two time All-Star, and Noah...is not. 

Winner: Al Horford

Joakim Noah vs. Marc Gasol

Marc Gasol is starting to gain a lot of hype, and for good reason. He's a solid young center. 

However, we need to know where to cross our boundaries. For one, he's no where near the level of his brother Pau, no matter what Memphis fans try to say. He's still the third or fourth option on offense, and is a second tier center at best. 

He's isn't a terrible post scorer, outside of a few occasional moves down on the block (Z-Bo handles the scoring load down low for the Grizz). He's got a nice touch for 8-10 feet but rarely utilizes it. For those wanting to claim that he's a great rebounder, the argument is flawed. He averaged a paltry seven rebounds a game last season. Passing-wise, he's impressive as he's averaged 2.5 dimes a night. Overall though, he's solid but not on Noah's level.

Noah averaged just as many points, more rebounds, about as many assists, more blocks and more steals. 

Winner: Noah

Joakim Noah vs. Nene

You know it's a weak free-agent class when Nene is considered the top big man Nene. 

The brazilian native is a solid center and has been for some time now, but he's never really broken out. I should, as I had him on my fantasy team last season. I would always look for Nene to break out and have a string out good games, but it would never happen. Rarely did Nene impress me, and rarely did he have a double digit rebounding night. 

Don't believe me? Look at his rebound average last season - a terrible 7.6 per night. Keep in mind that he doesn't have to fight for boards with any other top rebounding big man like Noah had to do with Boozer most of the season. Kenyon Martin was injured for a good part of the year and Nene didn't even step up. 

He's the epitome of what I can an above-average center. Solid at everything but not great at any one aspect. Noah is the better choice here.  

Winner: Noah

Joakim Noah vs. Dwight Howard

There isn't much reason to argue here. Howard is the league's best center, far and away. 

Noah doesn't have enough going for him to change that argument. Howard is better than him in nearly all facets of the game. A more dominate defensive force, a better offensive skill-set, a little bit better rebounder and a much much better shot blocker. Noah may be a better passer and certainly a better free-throw shooter, but that's about it.

Howard isn't just the top center in the league, but arguable one of the top five best players in the game right now. This one's not even close.

Winner: Dwight Howard  

So Where Does Noah Rank?

1. Dwight Howard

2. Al Horford

3. Andrew Bynum

4. Joakim Noah

5. Andrew Bogut

6. Chris Kaman

7. Al Jefferson

8. Brook Lopez 

9. Nene

10. Andrea Bargnani

So, yes in fact Joakim Noah is a top five center in the league. He would have made the All-Star team last season had he not gotten injured and forced to miss a good portion of the season. There really wasn't a center outside of Howard who was playing better than Noah last season. So, while Horford, Bynum and Bogut are all ranked ahead of him, Joakim Noah has the potential to be the second or third best center in the league.

If Derrick Rose is the building block to the Bulls franchise, then Joakim Noah is the cornerstone.