[Raef LaFrentzParticipant]

He definitely deserves to get mentioned when talking about the top ten centers of all time. The General was a beast on both ends of the floor, and really was the definition of consistency. Didn’t he get a qudruple-double once too? I think the only other player to do that in the modern basketball era was Shaq. Pretty impressive.

[goneParticipant]

Doesn’t get talked about when we do our greatest of all time or top 10 all time post. Just curious where he ranks all time as a player and a center…

Rookie Year 24 pts 4 blks 12 rbs 53% fg

Career Avg 21 pts 3 blks 11 rbs 51%

All Star 1990-2001

NBA Champion 99 and 03

NBA MVP 94-95

DPOY 91-92

All NBA 1st 89-92, 94-96

Just a list off the top        

1. Kareem
2. Russell
3. Wilt
4. Hakeem
5. Malone
6. Shaq
7. Robinson
8. Ewing
9. Mikan
10. Walton

 

 

[mosdefParticipant]

no Wes Unseld?

[mookieParticipant]

Robinson was one of the greatest but unfortunately what most people remember about him is what Hakeem did to him lol.  Daymmmmn I’m having flashbacks!

[dede21]

 Alvin Roberton and Nate Thurmond got quadruple doubles, and Hakeem did it twice Shaq never did

[CameronParticipant]

Not be petty darkooo but he is the Admiral.  And yes, he’s definitely one of the top 10 at the center position.

[Bmore_DCParticipant]

 My favorite player of all time! thanks for giving him the rep he deserves!

[UNCbasketballbumParticipant]

David Robinson was a monster.  He was one of the most athletic centers of all-time and had arms like tree trunks.  He served our country, is a great humanitarian of the game and is probably one of the nicest guys to ever play in the NBA.  David Robinson has always had my utmost respect.

[aamir543Participant]

Thanks for giving the Admiral some long overdue credit, and your list is perfect except for one thing, and while trying to be unbiased in this situation, I believe Shaq and Moses should be switched, I know Moses was a beast all around but Shaq was unstopable, a monster, so good for so long, I don’t have a problem with having Hakeem in front of Shaq but I do think Shaq deserves to be ahead of Moses.

[druneave3Participant]

1. Wilt

2. Kareem

3. Hakeem

4. Shaq

5. Robinson

6. Walton (if)

7. Russell

8. Ewing

9. Malone

10. Mikan

*Arvydas Sabonis (possibly Top 3 if he would have played in the League from the start) 7’3" and could do it all. Could MOVE run and jump, crazy athletic when he was young.

** Dwight Howard should never be metioned anywhere near this list. Especially when the best centers he is going against are Tyson Chandler, Andrew Bynum, and Al Horford

 

[Wahoo757Participant]

George Mikan aka Mr. Basketball should be way higher than 9th. He was so dominant that they widened the foul lane just so opposing teams could have a shot against him. Regardless, I agree with your original premise that David Robinson is underrated, he is seldom talked about but he was really good and for a long period of time.

[patty-mills]

No way Bill Waltons knees should be ranked that high, its not about if, its about how much he produced in the nba Mikan should definetly be ahead of him, Russell too.

Otherwise very good list.

[Bill Walton’s KneesParticipant]

 Shaq never had a quad-double-that was Hakeem.  Hakeem and Admiral are the only two players in the modern era to have done that.  Kirelenko (sp) and Hakeem are the only to players in history to have a 5×5 and 5×6 games as well.

As much as I love the Admiral, he gets put out of the to 5 because a. Hakeen was better and b. Shaq was better. Him and Timmy D had a nice deoderant commercial awhile back too.

 

1. Kareem

2. Russell

3. Wilt

4.Hakeem

5. Shaq

6. Admiral

7. Walton

8. Ewing

9. Malone

10. Duncan*

*If we count Malone as a Center, we have to put in Duncan as well.  He’s played Center on some of the Spurs squads recently.  He’s the best PF of all time though, bar none.

[HitsterParticipant]

The guy has to easily be one of the top 10 Centres ever and most likely within top 7 or 8. Any list is subjective as players were from different eras and whilst we can judge Robinson against Shaq and Hakeem we cannot judge him against a lot of other players.

Don’t forget he was 24 before he came to the NBA due to his Navy service, so he lost a couple of years there which could have boosted his career stats even more.

But he was a legend on court, class guy off it and retired as an NBA Champion, thats a pretty good resume.

[dede21]

 Walton he is talking about Moses Malone you fukkin hamburger 

[druneave3Participant]

@billwaltonsknees ever heard of Moses Malone?

[dede21]

 And Tim Duncan is a top 9 player and you have him ranked 10 among centers which he isn’t lol

[Bill Walton’s KneesParticipant]

ah yes a failure on bill walton’s knees’s part….not the first time

[ThornburyParticipant]

 Just wanted to say thanks for giving the big Admiral the props he deserves. My favorite player of all time and SHOULD rank higher then most centres of all time as an all around player. Shaquille, Moses, even Hakeem… I’d put him behind Wilt and Bill Russell all time and best from the modern era. Those Spurs teams that he took to conference finals, without him would have been… Right, bad enough to draft Tim Duncan first overall. Shaquille, Moses and Hakeem all had much better teams around them.

 

[For_Never_EverParticipant]

 Do you guys think Yao Ming would be in the top 10, if he didn’t have injuries derailed his career ?

[dede21]

 No Ming might of been a top 10 scorer at the position but the other guys were more well rounded than him

[thparadoxParticipant]

I think Robinson is criminally underrated. It’s true that he collapsed against Hakeem that one year, and that cannot be ignored.

He was never surrounded with teammates capable of winning a championship until Duncan arrived. I think it’s similar to KG’s years in Minnesota.

Overall, I have to put Russell first because he was so dominant defensively and I don’t think it can be quantified properly. Olajuwon is close to Robinson, but I think Robinson was far more dominant and efficient on offense.

Russell
Kareem
Wilt
Shaq
Robinson
Olajuwon
Moses Malone
Walton
Ewing
Parish

[mosdefParticipant]

everyone is not giving Wes Unseld any credit. In the NBA, if Walton and Parrish are making list then Wes has to be in the top 10. He played with Elvin Hayes and went to the title game twice winning once. Look at the stats

[ItsVictorOladipoParticipant]

everyone is not giving Wes Unseld any credit. In the NBA, if Walton and Parrish are making list then Wes has to be in the top 10. He played with Elvin Hayes and went to the title game twice winning once. Look at the stats

———————————————————————————————————————-

 

I have alot of respect for Unseld as a player but "Look at the stats"? You’ve got to be kidding, his stats pale in comparison to other guys out there. Like Artis Gilmore and Walt Bellamy. Unseld was a great player who did alot of little things that don’t always get noticed, but a stats guy he most certainly was not.

[ItsVictorOladipoParticipant]

Yep Robinson was a great player. I’d put him at #7 among centers all time. My list:

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

2. Wilt Chamberlain

3. Bill Russell

4. Shaquille O’Neal

5. Hakeem Olajuwon

6. Moses Malone

7. David Robinson

8. Patrick Ewing

9. George Mikan (Impossible to compare him to centers of different eras but he was dominant in his own time)

10. Willis Reed/Dave Cowens (almost impossible for me to differentiate between the two, they both played at about the same time, made 7 All-Star teams, won 2 championships, have an ROY award, NBA MVP and an All-Star Game MVP each and have almost identical career stats).

Most peoples list seem to be about the same, I think the first five are practically interchangable. The biggest wildcard seems to be that #10 spot. I considered several others for that spot as well.

One person mentioned Yao Ming and asked if he would be considered if he didn’t suffer through injuries and I often ask the same question about my favourite player; Alonzo Mourning. While he was still in the prime of his career he lost a kidney and still went on to play and contribute until he was 36 years. In 2007 at the age of 36 he averaged 2.3 BPG and 4.5 RPG in 20 MPG. With healthy kidneys I think he would’ve gone down as a top 10 center all-time no question.

 

[PulseGlazerParticipant]

I refuse to rate Mikan, Wilt, or Russell.  I’ve seen very few full games of theirs, we don’t have full numbers, and it was a different game.  I have no way to fairly evaluate them, so I’d rather just not guess. My top 10:

1. Kareem – He had everything you’d want but the power game… and his power game was good enough to dominate Wilt. 

2. Dream – He had no weaknesses and won with nothing, beating top competition.

3. Shaq – Arguably more dominant, but played less in each season and always had top teammates.

4. Moses – A slightly lesser defender with numbers that stack up better than anyone but Kareems.  Dominated absolutely everyone.  Imagine if the twin towers were Moses and Hakeem.  It’d be insta-dynasty.

5. Robinson – Arguably the most talented big ever.  He stayed fully healthy for longer than  Ewing, who’s knees betrayed him and probably cost NY a title.

6. Ewing – I wish he’d played with just 1 other star, ever.  It would make him so much easier to evaluate.  Still, he held his own against everyone. The lack of mobility hurt his defense a bit, and I HATED watching him try and pass out of a double.  The passing is what really takes him down a peg.

7. Walton – When healthy, he just abused other centers. He’s crazily skilled.  If you can find tape of his Portland team, watch it. 

8. Cowens- A warrior who won.  What more do you want?

9. Reed- See Cowens.  I’m fine flip-flopping these two, but I never felt Reed was quite the focal point Cowens was.

10. Unseld- I hated those Washington teams and he’s really here because someone has to be.  If Dwight doesn’t take at least this spot eventually, it’ll be a travesty.

Prime of life, healthy Walton is #5, but he just doesn’t have the career thanks to the injuries.  Sampson would likely be Top 5 as well, and you can make a case for Sabonis, as well, though since we didn’t see enough of him in Russia, it’s rough to do him justice.  Duncan as a Center would be my #2.  His second Spurs title team was atrocious around him. 

[HitsterParticipant]

 When you consider the consensus lists and then add on the guys maybe just below then like Ben Wallace, Mutombo, Mourning if he had not had health issues, Sabonis if he had played in the NBA more then you can see how hard it would have been for Yao to make the top ten unless he had played at his 2002 to 2009 level for at least another 4 or 5 years.

Dwight Howard likewise although he has now played 8 NBA seasons does not have the resume that a lot of the guys on the list have stats or titles wise.

I agree that Ralph Sampson could have been something special if he had not had issues and injuries.

[Author]

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