With Shaq recently retiring the question still remains; “Who is the greatest center to ever play basketball in the NBA?” In the NBA’s history there has been many great centers. By most critics the top four to ever play are Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, and Shaquille O’Neal. They are all great players and will all be inducted into the hall of fame. (most of them already are) Even to be mentioned in a list like this is a tremendous honor. But who is truly the best?
Bill Russell – He has 11 NBA championship rings, by far more than any other player on this list. In his career he averaged about 22.5 rpg (rebounds per game) and 15.1 ppg (points per game.) He was also the best shot blocker to live, but since it was not recorded as an official stat until 1973 we do not know exactly how many he had, but it is clearly higher than any other player in NBA history.
Wilt Chamberlain-Is by far the top scorer on this list. He averaged about 30 points per game. He also averaged 22.9 rebounds per game which is a little more than Bill Russel. He has won 2 NBA championships and 4 league MVPs. The highlight of his career was on March 2, 1962 he scored 100 points the most in a single game in NBA history. A lot of critics say that he is not the greatest center to play because he was a huge ball hog and took every shot that he could get his hands on.
Kareem Abdul-Jabar (Lew Alcindor) – Standing at seven foot two Kareem was a force on defense and offense in his career. With the most blocks recorded (3,189 blocks), most points scored all time (38,387 points), six NBA championship teams, six-time NBA MVP, two-time NBA Finals MVP, 19-time All-Star game appearances, and two-time scoring champ. This is a great resume to be the greatest center of all time.
Shaquille O’Neal- He was drafted first overall in the 1992 NBA draft. He also won 4 NBA titles in his career which included 3 finals MVPs. He averaged nearly 24 points and 11 rebounds per game in his career. He won 1 NBA MVP award in the 1999-00 season. In his career Shaq had 15 all-star game appearances. Also he recorded 2.3 blocks per game which is the third most all time. Some critics would argue that if Shaq played in the era of these other great players he would have been the best. We will never have the answer for that though, so we have to look at what he has done. I love the game of basketball and you have to give all of these amazing players props for what they have accomplished. I think that Shaquillle is probably the most dominant center to ever play if you look at him on offense and defense, but do you think he’s the best? The Sport Report cares about your opinion go please comment and say who you think is the best!