[moximusParticipant]

 DH12 is the most dominant center of today and probably for this decade, will he has a chance to go down as top ten centers of alltime?

[I May Be WrongParticipant]

Did the little piggy cry wee wee wee all the way home?

JK, the answer I believe is yes. He’s been getting a lot of those "youngest Player in NBA history to" accomplishments. Youngest to 5000 rebounds, 7000 rebounds, youngest to average double double, etc. etc. The one thing I like about him and his chances as a top 10 center is that he never has missed substantial time due to injuries. He’s only missed 7 games thus far and is in impeccable physical condition. As long as that continues and he finds more ways to score, I like his chances. 

[MJ FOR LIFE 23Participant]

If he keeps improving his post moves and develops a mid-range jumpshot, he’ll be regarded as a top 10 centre. He’s already the best defensive player in the league and is beginning to develop that killer instinct to one day maybe become a champion.

[JaeEvolutionParticipant]

I don’t think he is used enough in the Orlando offense, one thing I liked about when Phil Jackson coached the Lakers he always knew that Shaq was his #1 option he would never shy from going right to him at any point of the game. Stan needs to do the same, Dwight could average 27 and 14 if they would make him a true first option.

[chevilicousParticipant]

the dude is one of the most athletic and chisled specimens to ever play the game, let alone the center position. I think he will definately crack the top 10 without a championship, and with one as he improves could definately be considered top 5-7, without a polished offensive game he is one of the biggest game changers on the defensive end as we have ever seen. Keep in mind he will also probably end his career with the most dpoy honors than anyone in the history of the award as well.

[JoeWolf1]

 I think so, I think his offense is going to continue to improve and I think he is capable, and will get for at least one season, a 25 ppg 15 rpg 3 bpg, which is insane, and remember he’s only 25.

[GrandmamaParticipant]

Yes he has a chance, but he has to deal with a long list of great centers.  He will probably have to win a ring or at least reach a few finals to be considered.  There have been many great centers… my top 10, no particular order….Wilt, Kareem, Russell, Shaq, Hakeem, Ewing, Robinson, Mikan, Moses Malone, and Arvydas Sabonis and although he came to the NBA later in his career, he is still considered one of the greatest centers ever.  If you don’t think Sabonis should be included, I will put Bill Walton in his place.

 

Having listed my greatest centers ever, I will say Dwight has zero chance at overtaking Wilt, Kareem, Russell, Shaq, Hakeem, Robinson, or Moses Malone.  That leaves Ewing, Mikan, and Sabonis.  Can he overtake those three?  Yes.  Do I think he will?  Not sure.  He has tons of talent and is the most dominant big man in the league today.  He still seems to be developing and getting better each and every year.  His post moves are still improving and he averaged his highest ppg total of his career last year.  If he continues to improve and has has 7-8 more dominant years, yes he will be considered.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Probably. I mean, he’s the most dominant big man we have today. He’s an absoulte thug on the glass and protecting the rim. Dwight just being on your team gets you in the top ten defensively. He makes average defenders look good due to having the uncany ability to cover everyone else’s ass.

Offensively, he’s still a work in progress, but the man has always put up good numbers with a high FG perecentage. I thought his improvement as an offensive player was remarkable last season.

The only beef I have with Howard is he’s basically competed against cupcake centers. He caught Shaq at the end of his career and a Yao that couldn’t stay healthy. That’s not really his fault though.

[JNixonParticipant]

He definitely has a chance. He has gone against a weak C core, and when Yao was healthy he REALLY gave Howard big problems and outplayed him basically routinely. Still, he has a legit shot.

He is the best rim protector in the NBA, and the most dominant big in terms of finishing and being a defensive presence. He’s the best rebounder in the game. And for as much flack as he gets for his post game, he developed a consistent jump hook last year and was even more efficient. We all know his strength is CRAZY, and that his shoulders allow him to carve out space and his explosiveness makes him capable of damn near throwing the ball AND the man guarding him in the basket. I think he should cut down on fouls, but sometimes he can’t help it. He’s so strong that contact with him sends guys flying, and he gets the same kind of defensive treatment Joshua Smith of UCLA gets by getting fouls due to his size (although, Smith’s reason is because he’s fat, and not because he’s bulky). Still, if he manages to cut down on fouls slightly there will be little stopping him from the top 10 at the C spot.

[Chilbert arenasParticipant]

 The center position is a dying breed so it isn’t hard to see him being top 10 of all time.  Don’t get me wrong I love Dwight but I wish he had someone to challenge him for the best center in the game today.  I thought Oden or Bynum would push Dwight to get better but clearly that never happened.  

[Scottoant93Participant]

You remember when they said he was a man amongst boys when he was in high school…..

well that hasn’t changed in the NBA, no big man will stand in his way now that Yoa is gone, Centers are a dying breed, he has no rival center since all possible ones are always injured or just busts. He will be a top center but He needs a few rings he truely deserves to be one(has to have some sort of challenge in his career) imo

[rileymcshea3Participant]

 I dont think that Yao has anything to do with Dwight(even if Yao was healthy and playing) since he only plays the Rockets like twice a year and the other 80 games are against weak centers

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

I say yes right now he’s on Par with those guys Defensively..But What Separates Dwight from the Top Tier Centers of All Time is the fact that, most of those guys were Great Post players and had a Go To Moves..Dwight has yet to perfect that…But he’s still young and continues to add to is game every year..

Most everyone would agree that these are the guys currently Occupying the Top 10 Centers of All-Time

1.Kareem

2.Wilt

3.Bill Russell

4.Shaq

5.Olajuwon

6.Moses Malone

7.David Robinson

8.Pat Ewing

9.Bill Walton

10.George Mikan

Dwight would have a hard time Replacing anyone of those guys in the top 8..But he would have a great case to replace Walton or Mikan..Walton was great,but his career was injury plaqued… And Mikan played in an era when players werent so athletic and he played against guys that were only 6’8 or 6’9..

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

 Hmmm, top ten. There are some greats on that list, Rudeboy, and I like the order except that Russell should go first. I think Dwight will either need to become a slightly better scorer or win a championship to get on that list. An MVP award would help as well. But consider that Dwight is only 25! So possibly not even in his physical prime (I know that seems unlikely considering what a specimen he already is but lots of guys continue to get stronger into their late 20s without losing any speed). Then there is also the fact that he has had so few injuries. He really might put up silly career stats. Frankly, I think he kicks Ewing off that list because Ewing doesn’t have a ring and Dwight’s career numbers are going to be better. 

Mikan just depends on how you want to rate players. Of course Dwight is better at playing basketball than Mikan, the game just wasn’t played that well in the 40s and 50s. But Dwight has never had a season as dominate as Mikan. Mikan only had a six season career but he lead his league in scoring three times and then followed that up by leading the league in rebounding. If you rank by domination of the game, then Mikan gets on the list and Dwight needs to win championships to knock him off. 

[Andrew1984Participant]

I’m not old enough to have seen Moses Malone in his prime, but wasn’t he more of a four than a traditional five? 

Also, Dwight Howard has already been better than Bill Walton. Walton only played in 468 games in his entire career, only averaged double-digit rebounds for a season four times, and only averaged more than 15 points per game for a season three times. Howard has already played in 567 games, averaged double-digit rebounds in all seven of his seasons (and more than 12 rpg in six of the seven), and averaged more than 15 points in six of the seven, including 18 or better in four seasons. It’s no comparison.

[Jlv2011]

he gets out of Orlando as soon as possible.

[Malik-UniversalParticipant]

 if dwight gets more polish in the post and can add a 12-15 footer 

he will be unguardble

 

[Malik-UniversalParticipant]

already in a sense hes kinda unguardlbe now…

but just imagine how good he can be in 3-4 yrs

scary

[yellowdunkerParticipant]

 He’s damn near there with 3 Consecutive Defensive POYs.

[Bmore_DCParticipant]

he will prob end up being on that list…everyone says he needs an offensive game but i think even if he doesnt develop one, he will still pile up the rebounds and blocks enough to be a HOF (assuming he stays healthy)…an offensive game would just help boost him into the upper echelon of greats…

[HitsterParticipant]

A lot depends on who people will put at say numbers 7 to 10 as the top 6 or 7 tends to be the same players perhaps in slightly different orders depending on personal opinion. Dwight is still only 25 years old so could maybe have another decade or so a top player depending on wear and tear etc. So I could see him getting into the lower reaches of the top 10 certainly but to get much above 7 or so would need him to win titles or have scoring at 23 ppg plus on a regular basis.

Last season was the first time he had ever gone over 21 ppg in the regular season and he challenged to get into the top 10 of ppg and total points. I’ve always been a huge Dwight fan but to see him challenge the likes of Bill Russell, Hakeem, Shaq, Wilt and Kareem is perhaps a step too far.

But if we look at Dwight’s progress so far and say double his career stats then you could see just how far up the all time lists he would be and there could well be more beyond that.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

Dwight needs a ring.  Guys to the lower part of that list have rings (David Robinson and Bill Walton) as do some guys just behind the top ten list (Willis Reed, Dave Cowens, even Bob McAdoo if you consider him to be a center).  You also have to consider the ringless Patrick Ewing and Nate Thurmond to be ahead of Dwight Howard, but if Howard keeps it up he will be up there.  To be top ten though I want to see Dwight Howard get a ring since the other guys do.

[RafterParticipant]

No doubt he could get into the top ten, different era’s aside, Dwight could hold his own against any of those top centers IMO, you can’t really blame Dwight for the era he’s currently in. That position has almost died out, Yao was his biggest threat, as mentioned in this thread, Yao outplayed Dwight almost everytime, that’s an indicator of how good Yao was when healthy.

Dwight is Mr. Endurance, he’s never played less then 78 games in one season, considering how much he spends in the air, that’s pretty impressive. He’s only 25 and he has achieved so much individually, 3x DPOY is what stands out though, to have three already is staggering, also, he’s the youngest to win that award and the only player to win 3 DPOY’s consecutively. Who knows how much more of those he will win.Things like that get you considered for the top ten.

Dwight is improving his post moves, but he still needs to improve there, his athletic ability won’t last forever, so to have some insurance with a reliable post move would be a very wise step. He also needs a ring to make him a safe bet in there, people tend to use the ring as the make or break of the list.

I’d be amazed if he isn’t considered one of the top ten greatest centers to ever play the game when he retires.

[ItsVictorOladipoParticipant]

I sure do. Obviously he has many things left to accomplish but what he’s acheived by the age of 25 is remarkable. Most of the greatest centers in NBA history didn’t hit their peak until their late 20’s so if that is any indication Dwight can get even better.

As far as most people’s top 10 lists go Rudeboy’s list is a pretty good general ranking and Dwight could certainly surpass both Mikan and Walton within a few years, all he really needs is one championship and maybe an MVP trophy.

He might never be a Shaq, Kareem, or David Robinson in terms of scoring but I could see him hitting the 24 or 25 PPG range in the near future (especially considering he averaged 22.9 PPG last year on just 13.4 FGA per game). An impressive plateau which only 11 centers in NBA history have ever accomplished (and one of them Yao Ming acheived while playing in just 48 of a possible 82 games). Combine that with his defensive ability, extraordinary rebounding and efficiency from the field and you have a great All-Time player so long as he manages to stay relatively injury free.

The only question for me is how high can he ultimately end up? I think he will have a next to impossible time surpassing the big 5 (Chamberlain, Kareem, Shaq, Hakeem and Russell) but I could see him ending up as high as #6 ahead of Malone. Obviously he has his work cut out for him to do that but I think he is capable of winning 2 championships, 2 MVPs and 5 or 6 more All-NBA selections along with 2 or 3 more DPOY awards which would make it possible to argue for him at #6.

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