Greatest Center In NBA History

[Jagger69]

Since we're just about to dive into the finals in the NBA, how about a little side debate for those of us with no rooting interest. Who is the greatest center to ever play in the NBA. If you choose "other", please elaborate.

I'll admit I'm biased living in Houston but I'll take the Dream over anyone. :thumbsup:

 

[turtle825]

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

 

[digdiggler]

Count the rings bitch!!! (in a Rick James voice)

 

[PlumpRump]

I'm going to have to go with Wilt on this one.
-4,000 points in a single season.
-NBA single-game records for most points (100), most consecutive field goals (18) and most rebounds (55) in a game.
-1961-62 season: Averaged 50.4 PPG & averaged 48.5 MPG (He played every single minute of every game.)
-Played more than 1,200 games and never once fouled out. (A center in the NBA never fouling out once?)
-1967-68: Led the league in assists. (Only center ever to do so.)
-Lead the league in scoring 7 straight seasons.
-Career: Averaged 30.1 PPG (Tied w/ MJ for highest all-time) & 22.9 RPG

 

[PlasmaTwa2]

Tough choice between Chamberlain and Abdul-Jabbar, but I got to go with Chamberlain. His stats are amazing. Plus he slept with lots of women.

 

[BAYAMONXXX]

Bill Russell lord of the rings!
http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/mul...p.rings/images/celtics-bill-russell-rings.jpg

 

[Facetious]

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Lew Alcindor is a very good choice! :thumbsup:
•••


Bol, of course!





Seriously, I'd take any of those C's you listed when they were at the peak of their careers. . . You still want an answer huh?

:o

 

[D-rock]

I will have to go with Wilt Chamberlain. I wouldn't even be surprised if someday some sabermetric type of statistical analysis shows he was even more valuable than Jordan, although it's hard to judge and compare centers with ever other position.

 

[anairhead999]

Wilt Chamberlain hands down

 

[316sherm]

Shaq-Fu

 

[biomech]

Bill Russell.No doubt.

 

[Ace Bandage]

Damn, this is even tougher than choosing which boobs are the best. Gotta go with Russell on this one though. You really can't argue with the rings...

The easiest sports question to answer would be: Who is the greatest wide receiver ever? The answer is Jerry Rice. There is no other equal. Period.

 

[roronoa3000]

Shaq-zilla

 

[PlumpRump]

Count the rings bitch!!! (in a Rick James voice)

Bill Russell lord of the rings!
http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/mul...p.rings/images/celtics-bill-russell-rings.jpg

... Gotta go with Russell on this one though. You really can't argue with the rings...

I never understood the concept of more rings = better player. By this logic I could argue that Derek Fisher (4 rings) is a better PG than John Stockon (0 rings), or that Robert Horry (7 rings) is a better SF than LeBron James (0 rings).

I see the correlation, but number of championships isn't necessarily reflective of a player's skill (not saying that Russell wasn't skilled, he was, without argument, simply amazing) but rather speaks to the talent they have around them. I mean, Adam Morrison and Luke Walton have NBA championships to their credit for God's sake.

 

[ThatRedWing]

It would really depend on the make-up of your team. If you want a scorer in the paint then you would have to go with Chamberlain or Kareem. If you want a defender then it's Russell hands down. If you have a young team go with the leadership of Robinson. Dream and Shaq were very versatile. In an All-Star situation I would go with Olajuwon simply for the fact that he didn't have the ego to get in the way of the other players.

 

[Jagger69]

In an All-Star situation I would go with Olajuwon simply for the fact that he didn't have the ego to get in the way of the other players.

Hear hear! Furthermore, none of the other centers on the list were as effective at shot-blocking and none of them had better footwork or a spot-up shot (the Dreamshake....no way to stop it) than Olajuwon. :thumbsup:

And no votes for Kareem? That's fucked up....:eek:

 

[MrZiggles]

This is a tough one. I voted for Russell though. It's not just that he won all those rings but that he was the key player on those teams, so the Luke Walton and Adam Morrison comparisons don't apply. The best defensive center. Also, he outplayed Wilt head-to-head usually. Kareem had Magic and Worthy during his Lakers years. Shaq was a liability late in games his FT shooting was so bad.

 

[feller469]

I was thinking hard about Kareem, he was dominant for so long, but I gotta go with Wilt

 

[LukeEl]

Have to go with Bill Russell

 

[sdj374]

If Chamberlain is correct and has slept with 20,000 women then he has to take it. I couldn't imagine tapping that much ass and then dragging Bill Russel up and down the court for 48 minutes.