The NBA is a shooter’s league now. That’s what everyone says, right? You watch a game today and see seven-footers hanging out at the three-point line like they’re afraid of the paint. But honestly, if you look at the history of the game, the championship DNA has almost always been buried deep in the post. When we talk about the top 20 centers of all time, we aren't just talking about guys who were tall. We’re talking about the most dominant physical forces to ever step onto a hardwood floor.
Basketball is a game of leverage. It's about who can occupy the most valuable real estate on the court. For decades, that real estate was the three feet surrounding the rim.
The Unfathomable Peak of Kareem and Wilt
Let’s get the big one out of the way. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. If you look at his resume, it’s actually kind of hilarious how much better it is than almost anyone else's. Six MVPs. Six rings. Nineteen All-Star appearances. His skyhook was basically a cheat code. You couldn't block it. You could barely even contest it without fouling him. He played for twenty years and was an elite bucket-getter for basically all of them. He wasn't just a "center." He was a mathematical certainty.
Then you have Wilt Chamberlain. Wilt is the guy who makes video game numbers look realistic. He once averaged 50 points and 25 rebounds for an entire season. Think about that. Most guys today celebrate a 50-point game like they won the lottery. Wilt did it as a Tuesday afternoon habit. People say he played against "plumbers," but he was an Olympic-level track athlete who weighed 275 pounds of pure muscle. He would have eaten modern defenses for breakfast.
Wilt’s rival, Bill Russell, is the opposite side of the coin. Russell didn’t care about scoring. He cared about making you feel miserable for forty-eight minutes. Eleven rings in thirteen years. That’s not a stat; it’s a typo. But it’s real. Russell invented the idea of the defensive anchor. He didn't just block shots; he kept them in play to start fast breaks. He was the smartest player on the court, every single night.
The 90s Golden Era and the Modern Evolution
If you grew up in the 90s, you were spoiled. You had Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, and a young Shaquille O'Neal all beating the hell out of each other.
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Hakeem "The Dream" was different. He had the footwork of a soccer player—which he was—and the touch of a guard. His "Dream Shake" left the best defenders in the world looking for their car keys in the front row. He is the only player to win MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP in the same season. That 1994 run was legendary.
Shaquille O’Neal, though? Shaq was a hurricane. During that Lakers three-peat from 2000 to 2002, there was no tactical answer for him. Teams had to sign three extra "bigs" just to have enough fouls to give. He broke backboards. He moved like a tank but had the hands of a surgeon. If Shaq had stayed in Orlando-level shape his whole career, we might be calling him the undisputed GOAT.
But then the game changed.
The mid-2000s saw a dip. People thought the center was dead. Then came Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid. Jokic is basically a 7-foot Magic Johnson with a sombor shuffle. He’s arguably the greatest passing big man to ever live. He doesn't jump, he doesn't look fast, but he dismantles defenses like he's solving a Rubik's cube. Embiid, on the other hand, is a throwback to the David Robinson era but with a deadly face-up jumper.
The List: Evaluating the Greatest Bigs
How do you even rank these guys? You have to weigh rings against raw stats, and longevity against peak dominance. It’s messy.
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- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: The longevity and the skyhook make him number one.
- Wilt Chamberlain: The most dominant statistical force in North American sports history.
- Bill Russell: The greatest winner. Period.
- Shaquille O'Neal: The highest peak of physical dominance.
- Hakeem Olajuwon: The most skilled two-way center ever.
- Moses Malone: The "Chairman of the Boards." People forget he won three MVPs. He was a relentless garbage-man who turned misses into points.
- David Robinson: "The Admiral." A physical specimen who was a defensive terror and a scoring machine.
- Nikola Jokic: Already this high? Yes. Two MVPs, a Finals MVP, and advanced stats that break every model we have.
- George Mikan: The original big man. He's the reason we have a shot clock and a wider lane.
- Patrick Ewing: Often underrated because he never won a ring, but he was the heart of those brutal Knicks teams.
The bottom half of the top 20 gets even more contentious. You have guys like Bill Walton, whose peak was as high as anyone’s before his feet betrayed him. There's Willis Reed, the man who defined grit. Don't forget Wes Unseld, a guy who was barely 6'7" but could out-rebound giants because he was built like a brick wall.
- Joel Embiid: He’s climbing fast. His scoring volume for a center is historic.
- Bob McAdoo: One of the first true "stretch" bigs before the term existed.
- Dave Cowens: An absolute fireball of energy for the Celtics.
- Robert Parish: "The Chief." Reliability personified. 00 was always there.
- Dwight Howard: People clown him now, but prime Dwight was a three-time DPOY who carried a team to the Finals.
- Nate Thurmond: The only guy Wilt Chamberlain actually feared playing against.
- Alonzo Mourning: A shot-blocking machine with a legendary scowl.
- Bill Walton: Short peak, but his 1977-78 run was basketball perfection.
- Artis Gilmore: A mountain of a man who dominated the ABA and then the NBA.
- Dikembe Mutombo: "Not in my house." Four DPOY awards speak for themselves.
Why We Get the "Top 20 Centers" Debate Wrong
Most people argue about these rankings based on "what if" scenarios. "What if Shaq stayed skinny?" "What if Sabonis came to the NBA at 22 instead of 31?" Arvydas Sabonis is a huge asterisk in these discussions. If we’re talking pure talent, he’s top ten. But since we have to judge based on NBA production, he often slides down or off the list. It’s unfair, but that’s sports.
Another thing is the "Era Bias." It's easy to look at George Mikan in black-and-white footage and think he wouldn't hack it today. But Mikan was the one who figured out how to use height as a weapon. Every center on this list stands on his shoulders.
The modern center has to do more than ever. They have to switch on guards, shoot threes, and still protect the rim. This is why Jokic is such a disruptor in these rankings. He doesn't look like the centers of the 70s or 90s. He’s a point-center. We’re seeing a total redefinition of the position in real-time.
Tactical Breakdown: What Made Them Elite?
It wasn't just being tall. It was specific, refined skills.
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Hakeem Olajuwon utilized "counter-moves." If you bit on the first pump fake, he was gone. If you stayed down, he’d fade away. He made defenders feel like they were dancing on ice. David Robinson used sheer speed. He would outrun other centers down the floor for easy layups.
Moses Malone had a "second jump" that was faster than most people's first jump. He would miss a layup on purpose just to get his own rebound and put it back in. It was a psychological war with Moses. He’d just keep coming until you were too tired to jump anymore.
Actionable Insights for Basketball Fans
If you want to truly appreciate the history of the top 20 centers of all time, don't just look at their Basketball-Reference pages. Go to YouTube and find full-game broadcasts from the 80s and 90s.
- Watch Hakeem in the 1995 Western Conference Finals. See how he systematically dismantled David Robinson, who was the MVP that year. It’s a masterclass in footwork.
- Study Nikola Jokic’s eyes. Don't watch the ball; watch how he manipulates defenders with his head and eyes to open up passing lanes.
- Look at Shaq's positioning. Notice how he seals his man deep in the paint before he even catches the ball. By the time he touched it, the play was already over.
The debate over who is the "best" will never end. That’s the beauty of it. But when you look at the impact these twenty men had on the game, it’s clear that basketball, at its core, will always be a game where the giants rule. Whether they're hitting threes or smashing backboards, the center remains the most important piece on the chessboard.
To dig deeper into the evolution of the game, research the "Mikan Rule" and the 1966 lane widening. These rule changes happened specifically because centers were becoming too dominant, forcing the league to handicap them just to keep the scores competitive. Understanding how the rules changed to stop these men is the best way to understand how great they actually were.
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