Who Is The Greatest Center Of All Time?

Throughout NBA history, there have been some dominant big men. During the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. The big guys were the best players in the league. They were always carrying teams with their scoring and defense. But after the turn of the century, the center position became ancient. The new modern NBA play-style was more centered around 3-point shooting and guards. So the once graceful and dominant position became a thing of the past. Today I will be trying to find the greatest center in NBA history.

Candidates:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Bill Russell
Hakeem Olajuwon
Shaquille O’Neal
Wilt Chamberlain

And, my pick for the greatest center to all time is… Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Now let’s dive into why Kareem is the greatest center of all time.

Play-Style

Kareem was one of the most unique centers of all-time. He was not one of the biggest guys, instead he was tall and lanky. Early in his career Kareem had every single move in the book with his various post moves. He of course had his “Skyhook,” which was unguardable. He was quick and great on defense. As he got older he got slower and less agile, so he actually had to be more creative as he got older as he used more fakes to score. But he was still great for most of his career.

Kareem was never like Shaq where he just dunked over people and bullied them, he just outsmarted them and used his size and skill to his advantage. There will not be a center like Kareem ever again. Kareem combined smarts as well as talent down low to form a talent that we have never seen before.

Statistics

Kareem was one of the greatest statistical centers of all time. From the day that he got in the league, he was dominant. In his rookie season, Kareem averaged:
28.8 points and 14.5 rebounds while shooting 52% from the field.

From the 1969-70 season to the 1985-86 season, Kareem averaged:
26.4 points and 12.1 rebounds with 2.9 blocks. He was shooting 56.2% from the field.

Those were the prime years of Kareem, but over his entire career, he averaged:
24.6 points and 11.2 rebounds with 2.6 blocks. He shot 55.9% from the field.

Incredible. Kareem also had some of the greatest single seasons in NBA history. In the 1970-71 season, he averaged;
31.7 points and 16.0 rebounds while shooting 57.7% from the field.

In the 1971-72 season he averaged:
34.8 points and 16.6 rebounds while shooting 57.4% from the field.

So, yeah. Kareem was a beast. Other than Wilt Chamberlain, not many players can maintain this level of high play for that long. Not many players can keep that level of dominance for a long period of time. But Kareem was able to.

Accolades/Winning

Almost none can rival Kareem in terms of accolades. Over the course of his career, Abdul Jabbar was a:

6x NBA Champion
2x Finals MVP
6x MVP
19x All-Star
10x All-NBA First Team Member
5x All-Defensive First Team Member
1970 Rookie of the Year
2x NBA Scoring Champion
4x NBA Blocks Leader
No. 33 retired by both the Milwaukee Bucks and the LA Lakers
All-Time Scoring Leader in NBA History
3x NCAA Champion
3x NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player
Hall of Famer in 1995
College Hall of Famer in 2006

Yeah, that’s pretty impressive. Kareem played against guys like Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, Wilt Chamberlain, Ralph Sampson and Robert Parish. Even with playing against some of the greatest centers of all-time, Kareem was one of the greatest players in terms of play-style, statistics and accolades.

What do you think? Is Kareem the greatest center ever? If not, who is? Leave all of your comments down below.

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