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Basketball is now a fixture in most (if not all) of the countries on Earth. As far as basketball has come in recent decades, it still has a long way to go to catch up to the world's pre-eminent sport: soccer. Nevertheless, the number of fans of the sport is growing. People are watching the matches from all over the world, cheering on their favorite basketball team and betting on the results. Until the advent of the modern NBA, where every player on the floor has to be able to shoot 3pt shots -no thanks Steph Curry- centers were the cornerstones of championship-winning runs. Their ability to dominate on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor, by either blocking opponent’s shots or overpowering opponents with thunderous dunks, made them special and extremely important.
While the current NBA might be dominated by guards and wing-players, the major part of the league’s history was written by big men and when I say “big men” -I mean dominant centers. Here are some of the best centers to ever grace the hardwood of the NBA.
The “Big Aristotle” as he also called is probably the last of the dominant centers to play in the NBA. Drafted number one overall by the Orlando Magic in 1992, Shaq went on to have an impressive NBA career, winning no less than four NBA titles. The former LSU center player for six NBA teams during his 19-year spell in the league and was voted an NBA All-Star on 15 separate occasions to go along with his 8 All-NBA First Team appearances.
After spending four years with the Orlando Magic, O’Neal signed for the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent in 1996. He went on to win three consecutive NBA championships (2000-2002) with the Lakers, forming a deadly duo with the late great Kobe Bryant in the process. O’Neal also won the 2000-01 NBA MVP award during his time with the Lakers. He was traded to the Miami Heat in the summer of 2004, where he won his fourth NBA title in 2006 after forming another deadly partnership with Dwayne Wade. Shaq also played Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics before calling time on his career in 2011.
His career per-game stats read 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.3 blocks and 0.6 steals.
Born January 21, 1963, in Lagos, Olajuwon traveled to the United States to play for the University of Houston under the tutelage of head coach, Guy Lewis. Olajuwon was a dominant player in college, helping the University of Houston to three trips to the 'Final Four'. His performances in college were rewarded when he was selected number one overall by the Houston Rockets in the 1984 draft class, which also included players like Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton.
Olajuwon led the Houston Rockets to two consecutive NBA titles (1994, 1995) despite almost being traded in the summer of 1992 due to a contract dispute. He became the only player to win the NBA MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP awards during the 1993-94 season. The Dream was voted as an NBA All-Star on 12 different occasions and was also a member of the 1996 Olympics Gold medal-winning basketball team for the United States.
His career per-game stats read 21.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.7 steals, 3.1 blocks.
Regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Wilt remains the only player to score 100 points or more in a single NBA game and his “Ultimate Season” career stats would put the best video game NBA stats to shame. After spending a year playing for the Harlem Globetrotters -due to the NBA not accepting players until after their college graduating class had been completed- Wilt became the highest-paid player NBA when he joined the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors.
Wilt won two NBA titles in his career. One with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1967, and the other with Los Angeles Lakers in 1972 -after helping them overcome a Milwaukee Bucks team led by a young superstar center by the name of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Wilt was voted league MVP four times (1960, 1966-68) and was also a 13x NBA All-Star. His number 13 shirt was retired by the Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Harlem Globetrotters.
Wilt Chamberlain’s “Ultimate season” stats per game read: 50.4 points, 27.2 rebounds, 8.6 assists; while his career stats are: 30.1 points, 22.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. Sadly Wilt Chamberlain passed on in October 1999 at the age of 63.
Very few players get awards named after them but the current NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award was named after Bill Russell in 2009. Drafted by the St. Louis Hawks as the 3rd overall pick in the 1956 NBA draft, and later traded to the Boston Celtics for six-time All-Star Ed Macaulay and Cliff Hagan, as the Celtics believed he was a franchise-changing player -after he averaged over 20 points and 20 rebounds per game in his three-year spell with the University of San Francisco.
Bill Russell won 11 NBA championships with the Celtics as a player, including two as a player-coach. He was voted NBA Most Valuable Player on five occasions and was a 12x NBA All-Star. Russell’s greatness extends beyond the hardwood of the NBA court. Bill Russell’s career per-game career stats read 15.1 points, 22.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists.
“The greatest NBA center of all-time.”
That would be the summary of everything you could ever use to describe Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Before getting drafted into the NBA (number one overall in 1969) by the Milwaukee Bucks, Kareem had dominated the college game -winning the NCAA basketball championship three times (1967-69). The only year he didn’t win a college title was in the 1965-66 season because freshmen were ineligible until 1972.
Kareem’s NBA career mirrored his college career as he won six NBA titles (one with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971, and five more with the Los Angeles Lakers). He holds the record for most NBA MVP Awards with six to his name, he is the league’s all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points and also holds the record for most NBA All-Star appearances with 19. His #33 jersey has been retired by both the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, and the UCLA Bruins (the college he played for).
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career per-game stats are 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.6 blocks, 0.9 steals.
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