The Top 10 Best Centers Of The Last Decade

[Danny.Zhu]

LOL. Yao at 8? Come on, every time he beat th crap out of Howard. He should be #2.

And of course Tim is a PF.

[coyotes_geek]

LOL. Yao at 8? Come on, every time he beat th crap out of Howard. He should be #2.

And of course Tim is a PF.

Yao at 2?

[JamStone]

He/She just needs to make a top 10 big men since 2000 and get it over with. That being said, I would still take 2000 Robinson over almost everyone on this list.

+1

While there has been and will be more healthy debate over which players should be listed as power forward or center, the truth of it is that especially over the second half of this decade, the lines of definition have been blurred. More and more centers play the high post and shoot midrange to even long distance jumpers, point guards go into the low post, small forwards run the point and initiate the offense, 2-guards are blocking shots.

For the most part, there are still certain characteristics and traits you want from your center versus from your power forward, but the league has seen a definite evolution of the two positions where more and more hybrid PF/C players are playing either position or one they really aren't suited for. There are plenty of natural PFs playing the center position in the league, and as has been discussed quite a bit in this thread, there are plenty of natural centers who are claiming to be PFs.

I agree in large part it would have made more sense to just combined the two positions and do a list of the best "big men" of the decade.

[Nathan Explosion]

Here's how Dwyer ended his center chat.

4:01
KDonhoops: Bam.
4:01
KDonhoops: Thanks guys, thanks G-man, read theblowtorch.net, stop world hunger, see you tomorrow at 3.
4:01
KDonhoops: Duncan's a power forward.

[manufan10]

^ Is the guy on drugs or what? He must be the one molesting collies!

[024]

Here's how Dwyer ended his center chat.

i noticed that too.

[duncan228]

KDonhoops: Duncan's a power forward.

Leaving Duncan off the Power Forward list was nothing but a publicity stunt. He made waves for a couple of days, got the big chat turn-out.


Duncan's been listed as a Power Forward his entire NBA career. It's what he wants to be called. Out of nothing else but respect for his accomplishments it's what he should be called.

[FkLA]

Howard is so overrated, extremely raw offensively his first years and even now doesnt have much of an offensive game...he simply relies on the fact that he's bigger and more athletic than everyone else. Incredible what one Finals appearance can do for a player, a Finals appearance that had to do with Hedo and Lewis just as much as him. I could understand having him in the Top 10 because the quality of Centers has diminished so much but Top 3 is just stupid.

Also like has been stated it is just completely re ed how much people question whether Duncan is a PF or not just because of the way he plays, as if this argument couldnt be made for numerous other players. Is Dirk a SF because he plays in the perimeter? Shawn Marion? Is MJ a SF because he played that role in the triangle offense? It could go on all day.

[Spursfan092120]

David Robinson>>>Amare, Yao, Ilgauskas, Jermaine O'Neal

this....and Ben Wallace

[da_suns_fan]

That's probably why Duncan was voted MVP in 2001-2002 and 2002-2003...



And Shaq lost once. In the meanwhile Duncan got 2 MVPs this decade, and Shaq one. Shaq got 4 rings and Duncan 3 (this decade start conveniently just after Duncan won his first ring).



We finally agree on something.

1) Nash won the MVP over everybody in 2005 and 2006. Does that mean that Nash was better than Duncan, Kobe, KG etc?

2) Ill take 4-5 over 3-3 any day of the week when it comes to the finals.

Spurs fans are crazy if they think Tim Duncan even sniffed the dominance of Shaq. NO ONE has. I think a lot of you were probably too young in the early part of this decade to remember how unfair playing against him was.

[da_suns_fan]

Stupidest I've ever read. Care to tell me who O'Neal's second best player on the team was in both cases(or first, in Miami's case)? Yeah... logic isn't your strong point.

Actually, Im using logic. YOURE just stating an opinion that Shaq had more success due to a stronger supporting cast which is completely subjective.

[FkLA]

Shaq was more dominant offensively I agree, he was simply bigger and stronger than everyone...he would bulldoze through all-league defenders like D-Rob, Mutombo, Ratliff, etc and get position on them for easy 2 foot hooks or vicious dunks.

Duncan definitely had a more complete offensive arsenal though and was clearly the better defensive player. Factoring in both sides of the ball, I think that overall Duncan was a better player than Shaq this decade.

[Nathan Explosion]

1)Spurs fans are crazy if they think Tim Duncan even sniffed the dominance of Shaq. NO ONE has. I think a lot of you were probably too young in the early part of this decade to remember how unfair playing against him was.

Shaq was more dominant than Duncan during that time period, but Duncan has been more consistent. Duncan hasn't had a drop off really, while Shaq's production is way down.

Duncan may have lost a step but Shaq is a s of his former self.

As for the young comment, you're the one who's too young to remember things. I got two words: WILT CHAMBERLAIN.

[ambchang]

http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=133031

http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132810

While these posts certainly does not put to rest the Shaq vs. Duncan debate, it showed the statistical output of either player at their respective primes (02 Shaq vs. 03 Duncan) through a common opponent.

The stats were normalized through pace, and it showed that while Shaq was better than Duncan offensively, the difference is quite small. On the other hand, Duncan blew Shaq out of the water defensively (based on personal statistics).

[BillMc]

Kelly seems to define his own positions. He probably thinks Tony is a 2 guard, you know, because he scores a lot and his asists are relatively average for a starter. And Fin is a coach, you know, because he's old...