Top Five Centers in NBA History

Wilt Chamberlain leaves little doubt he was the best center to play the game. Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, and David Robinson all had impressive NBA careers to be named to my list. The five players have a combine 17 NBA MVP awards and dozen of all-star appearances. They also won a combined 23 NBA Championships.

1) Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain was a 7'1" 275lbs. center. He was a four time NBA MVP and was part of two NBA Championship teams. Wilt Chamberlain tops the all-time NBA rebounding list averaging 22.9 rebounds per game and total rebounds with 23,924. Wilt is second on the all-time NBA scoring list with 30.1 points per game average. Chamberlain is fourth in total points scored with 31,419. He led the NBA in scoring seven times and led the league in rebounding eleven times.

2) Bill Russell

Bill Russell was a 6'10" 220lbs. center. Bill won 11 NBA Championships as a member of the Boston Celtics. Russell was named the NBA MVP five times. Bill averaged 22.45 rebounds per game and finished his career with 21,620 rebounds second only to Wilt Chamberlain in those categories. Russell led the NBA in total rebounds four times. Bill led the NBA in rebounds per game five times. He averaged 15.1 points per game for his career.

3) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a 7'2" 225lbs. center who played for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. Kareem was a 19 time All-Star. He was a six time NBA MVP and won two NBA Finals MVP. Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA Championships. He won one with the Bucks and five with the Lakers. He ranks first for career minutes played in the NBA, first in career field goals, first in career field goal attempts, first in personal fouls, and first in total points. Kareem is third on the all-time list for block shots with 3,189. He ranks thirds in total rebounds with 17,440.

4) Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem Olajuwan was a 7' 255lbs. center who played for the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors. He was a 12 time All-Star, NBA MVP, and was named MVP of the NBA Finals twice. Hakeem was recognized for his defense being named defensive player of the year twice. He won two championships with the Houston Rockets. He ranks 12th in total rebounds. Olajuwan is the all time NBA leader in block shots with 3,830 and ranks third in blocks per game with a 3.1 average. He is eighth on the all time NBA scoring list and averaged 21.8 points per game for his career.

5) David Robinson

David Robinson was a 7'1" 235lbs. center who played his entire career for the San Antonio Spurs. David was a ten time all star. He was named MVP once and defensive player of the year once. Robinson won two NBA Championships with the Spurs. He ranks fifth on the NBA all time block shots list with 2,954 blocks and fourth with blocks per game averaging three a game. He averaged 21.1 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per game for his career.

Sources:

Basketball-reference.com

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