5 Greatest NBA Centers Ever

5 Greatest NBA Centers - "There are countless ways of attaining greatness, but any road to reaching one's maximum potential must be built on a bedrock of respect for the individual, a commitment to excellence and a rejection of mediocrity" said Buck Rodgers (thinkexist.com). The greatest centers in NBA (National Basketball Association) history all rejected mediocrity. They were on a mission to have excellent careers. They accomplished that goal. The best centers dominated in the NBA. Therefore, who are the greatest centers ever in the NBA?

#5 Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem Olajuwon was a very good offensive player. He was too quick for big men and too strong for guards. He was very quick and agile for a center. He had a wide assortment of low post moves. Shaquille O' Neal said "Hakeem has 5 moves, then four counter moves that gives him more then 200 moves" (www.answers.com/topic/hakeem-olajuwon). He had excellent footwork. "The best footwork I've ever seen from a big man" said Pete Newell (www.nba.com/allstar2006/program). He had a move called the dream shake which was a set of fakes and spin moves. He actually created the dream move from one of his moves from playing soccer.

Hakeem Olajuwon was a great defender. He had a great shot blocking ability. He was good at steals that is unique for a center. He is 7th all time in steals. He is the all-time NBA leader in blocked shots. Additionally, he is the all-time NBA playoffs block leader with 472 total blocks and he average 3.3 blocks per game. He led NBA in rebounding twice. He was good at defensive rebounding and he equally talented at offensive rebounding. He averaged 3.3 offensive rebounds per game. He truly was a well-rounded center.

#4 Shaquille O'Neal

He is one of the most dominate players in NBA history. He is definitely one of the largest players ever. He is seven feet one inch tall and he is 325 pounds. He has used his great size and strength to overpower other centers throughout his career. He is arguably the strongest player ever to play in the NBA. He puts all his size and strength into his dunks. He has shattered glass in backboards and he has broken back boards. He also has broken entire rims off on his dunks because of his strength.

He has more than just his strength. He has a lot of low post moves. He has the drop step move where he posts up a defender, turns around, using his elbows for leverage, powers past him for a slam dunk. He has a good jump hook shot too. He is very quick and agile for a man his size. He is explosive. Besides, many of his opponents are intimidated by him. They see how unstoppable he can be in the low post. He is a very clutch player. Moreover, he is a consistent winner. He has won four NBA championships. The number of championships is more than other great centers like Wilt Chamberlain and Hakeem Olajuwon.

#3 Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain was a great offensive player. "He was basketball's unstoppable force, the most awesome offensive force the game has ever seen" (www.nba.com/history/players/chamberlain). He has too many records to name. He has several records that are unbeatable. For instance, he averaged 50.4 points per game in the 1961-62 NBA season. He has the record for the most points scored in a game. Kobe Bryant game closed to breaking his record scoring 81 points. However, Wilt still holds the records with 100 points in a game versus the New York Knicks on March 2nd, 1962. He scored 60 or more points in a game 32 times that is more than any other player in NBA history. He averaged 30.6 points throughout his career that is second best scoring average in NBA history. He scored a total of 31,419 points in his career.

Wilt Chamberlain had more aspects to his game then just scoring points. He was a great rebounder. He won 11 rebounding titles. He was a great rebounder. He has the record for the most career total rebounds with 23,924. He averaged 22.9 rebounds per game in his career. He was a good defender too. He made the first two all defensive teams in the NBA in 1972 and 1973. Equally important, Chamberlain had a lot of influence over the game of basketball. There were numerous rule changes because of his dominance. The NBA widened the lane to try to keep him farther away from the hoop. Goaltending rules were created because of him. He was such a good athlete he could convert foul shots via dunk without a running start. Dunking foul shots was banned in the NBA after he did this on several foul shots.

#2 Bill Russell

Bill Russell was a very good center. He was the cornerstone of the Boston Celtics dynasty. Bill Russell was one of the greatest defensive players ever. He made blocking shots an art. He had a very high basketball IQ. He did not just block shots to humiliate players. He would blocks shots to gain possession of the ball. On the other hand, many of today's players block shots and they just let those balls go out of bounds. He played defense with great intensity. He was a great offensive and defensive rebounder too. He averaged 19.1 rebounds per game in his 13 year career. He evens recorded 51 one rebounds in one particular game. Equally important, he was the ultimate team player that made his teammates better. He never complained about not being the main offensive option. He was just focused on doing whatever it took to win.

Bill Russell was the greatest winner in the history of team sports. He won 11 championships in his 13 seasons. His desire to win is what motivated him to win so many championships. He was never satisfied no matter how many championships he won. He won all at levels in his career. He won a gold medal in 1956 Olympics for the US National Basketball team. Additionally, he had a great college career he won championships for USF (University of San Francisco) in 1955 and 1956. He led them to 55 consecutive victories. USF was not a strong program until he started playing there. He won eight championships in a now. "I determined early in my career the only important statistic is the final score" said Bill Russell (www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2009). He was a perfect teammate with a mean streak and hunger to win. His desire to win elevated his teammates to play at another level.

#1 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul Jabbar was a phenomenal center. He was a dominant low post threat. He was an eclectic player. He was a good rebounder averaging 11.2 rebounds per game throughout his career. Hel used his height at 7-2 feet inches tall to block numerous shots. He blocked 2.6 shots per game throughout his career. He was a good passing big man. He averaged 3.6 assists per game in his career. He was a good scorer too. He is the all-time leading NBA scorer with 38,387 points. He had the good athleticism for his height. He had no problems keeping up with the LA Lakers fast break offense. Equally important, he was good at free throws with a career 72% average. His free throwing shooting skills were a lot better than other dominant centers such as Shaquille O'Neal, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain whom all struggled at the free throw line. He evened created his own shot called the "Sky Hook". It is an extremely hard shot to block. It was a great offensive weapon. He could do the sky hook with either hand.

Kareem Abdul Jabbar was a winner throughout his basketball career. He has won at every level. His high school team won 71 games in a row. He won with them three New York City Catholic Championships. His success continued in college. He led UCLA do a 88-2 win-lost record. He won three consecutive national championships at UCLA in 1967, 1968 and 1969. Many college basketball experts considered him the greatest college basketball player ever. He had a great NBA career too. He won a championship for both franchises he played for which were the Milwaukee Bucks and LA Lakers. He won a total of six NBA Championships during his career one with the Milwaukee Bucks and five with the LA Lakers. The only center who won more championships was Bill Russell with 11.

These are the best centers in NBA history. They knew how to play the center position correctly. They showed the important of having a dominant center in the NBA. They understood the importance of winning. They have all won at least two championships in their careers. Moreover, they influenced the NBA in all their own individual and unique ways

Works Cited

19 Nov. 2009 http://thinkexist.com/quotations/greatness/

19 Nov. 2009 http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2009/feb/16/basketball-nba-all-star-weekend

19 Nov. 2009 http://www.nba.com/history/players/chamberlain_bio.html