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I would have thought Bradley would have been number 1
1) James Donaldson
2) Erick Dampier
3) Shawn Bradley
4) DeSagana Diop
5) Greg Dreiling
6) Chris Gatling
7) Lorenzo Williams
8) Popeye Jones at the 5
9) Uwe Blab
10) Sam Perkins at the 5
I would have thought Bradley would have been number 1
Roy Tarpley at the five. And count Donaldson twice, he was that bad-ass.
Roy Tarpley off the powder would have been a Hall of Famer.
Get ready to be disappointedI'll start this thread again in 15 years...you might be right.
Hakeem in his prime, would lay waste to any center EVER on both ends of the floor imo. But his prime fell off so dramatically in the late 90's so I'll go w/ Kareem as #1
woulda coulda
This game is the most about wins - Russell did that.
How come Cousy, Sharman and McCaulley were not having any success even led by a coach named Auerbach? huh?
Then one day - Russell came to leauge and the Celtics were dominating.
I just feel something is taking away from Bill.
don't remind me.
1. Lisa Leslie
2. Ed "Too Tall" Jones
3. Wilt the Stilt ChamberRussel
4. Some Other Dudes
5. Shaq
6. Charles Barkley
7. Kurt Rambis
8. Spudd Webb
9. Whoopie Goldberg
10. Rasho
Hakeem Olajuwon.
(1) Wilt Chamberlain
(2) Bill Russell
(3) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I think these big 3s are immovable objects.
Then,
(4) Shaquille O'Neal
(5) Hakeem Olajuwon
(6) Moses Malone
(7) Bill Walton
(8) David Robinson
(9) Patrick Ewing
(10) Nate Thurmond
To ride the momentum of the PG thread...list your top 10
1. Rasho Nesterovic (there, I said it)
If this is what you're gonna put, then change the subject head to:
"BEST CENTERS NAMED RASHO, EVER?"
Once again, Shaq has been absolutely overrated.
He had one, count them, ONE dominant season in 00-01, and a bunch of very good seasons. Yes he scored a lot of points, and he was an incredible passer, but his rebounding was always disappointing for a player his size, he took games off, and has destroyed at least one team (Magic), arguably two (Lakers), and is on track to destroy the future of a 3rd one (Heat). Comparing him to Wilt is a joke. Has he scored 100 pts a game? 55 rebounds? Led the league in rebounds? Led the league in scoring 7 straight seasons? Led the league in rebounding 11 times (playing in the same era as the second most dominant rebounder of all time to boot)? Shaq, for all his unguardability, led the league in PPG twice, led the league in rebounds ZERO times, led the league in blocked shots ZERO times. Could he have dominated the league like Wilt if he wanted to? Sure he could, but he was lazy.
Bill Russell was 6' 9" without shoes, and back then they listed the true height. Most NBA players today add 2 or 3 inches at least to their height. He would be listed as 6' 11" if he played today. That is not small at all.
I think the biggest argument against Shaq is that he took too many games off, for reasons of his own fault.
Number of seasons: 14 (13 82-game seasons)
Number of seasons with more than 70 games: 6
Number of full seasons with 60 or fewer games: 4
1. Kareem
2. Hakeem
3. Russell
4. wilt
5. Shaq
6. Moses Malone
7. D-Rob
8. Bill Walton
9. Artis Gilmore
10. Thurmond (or some other oldie)
Kareem was consistent over many years, on offense and defense. He had an unstoppable shot in the sky hook. he was a winner, and a team player.
Consider this about Shaq before you rank him very high:
In his first SIX years, he never made the All NBA First team. Three years he was on the 2nd team and two years he was on the 3rd team. He only made the NBA defensive team three years.
Sure he scored a lot, but the League and the refs were responsible for a lot of that. He happened along when they needed a new star so they let him bowl over opponents on the way to the basket without calling fouls that could have sent him to the bench in almost every game. Not to mention his skillful 'move' to use his massive left arm to push off his defender while going up for a dunk. He really didn't have a lot of legal offensive skills--just the OK from the league to do whatever he liked.
People putting Moses Malone ahead a D-Rob are crazy.
The only edge Moses has on Dave is rebounding and longevity, thats it
And to the poster who put Walton ahead of him
That's not true. Malone won three MVPs. Malone's career is an amazing one, and the rebounding and longevity that you take so lightly, are just two aspects why he's better than Robinson.People putting Moses Malone ahead a D-Rob are crazy.
The only edge Moses has on Dave is rebounding and longevity, thats it
And to the poster who put Walton ahead of him
Basketballreference.com's HOF monitor has Malone's career coming in at 449, while Robinson came in at 289.
Rebounding, Longevity and MVPs make a HUGE difference.
I'm not going to fault Shaq for playing center during a period of time where All-Time great centers like Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Patrick Ewing were already established and dominating.
Shaq maybe only had one "dominating" season, a statement that's debateable, but his impact on offense was far greater than any center beyond Hakeem's prime since Kareem or Malone in their primes.
And by the way, Shaq made All-NBA 2nd or 3rd team from 93-94 until his first All-NBA 1st team in 97-98, his sixth season in the League. So he didn't make an All-NBA 1st team for the first five seasons, not six.
So, despite being young and not nearly as established as centers like Olajuwon, Robinson or Ewing, from his second year on, he still managed to knock one of them out of the All-NBA teams.
Agree with the last post. David Robinson is my favorite player, and Shaq one of my least. But there's no point in making lists like this unless you're going to be objective. To me it always seemed like Shaq was just pushing the defender out of the way with his body or arm, but then again he played on the team that was playing against MY team, so it is hard to be objective. But the fact is he was allowed to play the way he did, and he was one of the 3-4 most dominating players I've seen in my 25+ years of watching basketball.
Moses Malone is perhaps the most underrated player ever in the NBA. His credentials compare to even the GOAT candidates like Jordan, Magic, Wilt, Russell.
What about Walton? Don't like red-headed hippies? Until he got injured he was as totally a complete center that ever lived. Offense, defense, passing , team play. When Portland won in 1977 he averaged 19 rebounds a game vs the 76's that were supposed to be invincible. Last game 14 pts, 24 bounds, like 6 assists, a like 7 blocks. Greatness isn't always about longevity. Sandy Koufax was tht greatest pitcher I ever saw. Unhittable most games. Longevity cut short by injury like Mantle and Walton. Actually Tim Duncan is a latter day Walton.
Kareem, Russell, Wilt, Shaq, Hakeem, Malone, D-Rob, Erwing.
Ben Wallace
I would place D-ROB before Shaq, after Hakeem. If D-ROB was paired with someone as talented as Kobe during his prime, I think it's a safe bet that Spurs would have had a championship or two before 99'. I'm not knocking Sean, but I remember watching David put 71 up. Then 10 years later, I saw Kobe go for 81. (Right?) That's a combined 152 points. Beat that PHOENIX.
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