All-Time Center List By ESPN

[spurraider21]

Precisely my point, but the reason I even mentioned it is because VC probably wouldn't be able to justify Walton on the list without some emphasis on peak rather than career. Sabonis had a peak as good as anyone on the list, but like you said, it occurred while he was out of the NBA. 16 and 10 is no slouch of a season, and he was a s of himself by that point.

You said sabonis belongs nowhere on this list because his NBA career high was 16/10

His peak was way above that and I have no issue with somebody calling him a top 10 all time center

[SpursIndonesia]

I'm curious as to why you would think Hakeem would have been better than Arvydas anyway? Not saying you are necessarily wrong, just wondering what the reasoning is behind it. Of course he schooled other all time great bigs, but as you said, Kareem was way past his prime, Shaq was very young, so you're left with basically Ewing and Robinson.
We know that Hakeem had the ability to play against bigger guys, but he was "only" 6'10, Ewing 6'11, Shaq 7', David 7'1 and Kareem a very thin 7'2.
Sabonis was an athletic 7'4 (with shoes) guy. You've seen how Boban towers over everyone and makes guys like Chandler or Baynes look small compared to him. I think the mere size difference would have been a factor between Hakeem and Arvydas. Even David looked tiny next to him in those Olympics games. Hakeem would have had a hard time defending him at least imho.

What do you think?

Well, arguing from the Dream corner, the guy was just a beast defensively, very very good defensive instinct in post defense, help defense, perimeter defense, guard like ability in his younger days. Offensively, umm, even before he had developed the more subtle post moves of his, his athleticism & tremendous footwork allowed him to conquer the paint as good as other greats. I see prime Arvydas as a dominant force offensively & very varied, but defensively, while certainly more than average, was still below the Dream. Sabas MIGHT have been the better offensive player -no matter how preposterous that claim might sound, it has some merit & arguable points, but the bigger margin on the defensive end IMHO tilts the balance toward Olajuwon a little bit more.

EDIT: I would put him alongside Shaq, very dominant offensively but defensively not other worldly. Slightly above DRob because what DRob had been superior as a defender, his offense is just too damn monotone -though in his peak, really worked well with his alien like length & athleticism.

[Obstructed_View]

You said sabonis belongs nowhere on this list because his NBA career high was 16/10

His peak was way above that and I have no issue with somebody calling him a top 10 all time center

He wasn't in the ing NBA, dude. Stop trying to pick fights where they don't exist.

[wildbill2u]

I'm always surprised when these discussions come up that Artis Gilmore's name isn't in the mix. I went to Basketball Reference and ran a comparison between Artis and Kareem. What do you think?

Totals

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Rk	Player	From	To	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	2P	2PA	2P%	eFG%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*	1970	1989	1560	625	57446	15837	28307	.559	1	18	.056	15836	28289	.560	.559	6712	9304	.721	2975	9394	17440	5660	1160	3189	2527	4657	38387
2	Artis Gilmore*	1972	1988	1329	476	47134	9403	16158	.582	3	20	.150	9400	16138	.582	.582	6132	8790	.698	4816	11514	16330	3050	648	3178	3926	4529	24941

Per Game

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Rk	Player	From	To	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	2P	2PA	2P%	eFG%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*	1970	1989	1560	625	36.8	10.2	18.1	.559	0.0	0.0	.056	10.2	18.1	.560	.559	4.3	6.0	.721	2.4	7.6	11.2	3.6	0.9	2.6	2.7	3.0	24.6
2	Artis Gilmore*	1972	1988	1329	476	35.5	7.1	12.2	.582	0.0	0.0	.150	7.1	12.1	.582	.582	4.6	6.6	.698	3.6	8.7	12.3	2.3	0.6	2.4	3.1	3.4	18.8

Note that Gilmore's numbers of games is a lot less than Kareem. I think they may be leaving out the ABA numbers?

I think running a comparison between Artis and some of the others on the list might show he belongs in any conversation about centers, eh?

[Kawhitstorm]

I'm always surprised when these discussions come up that Artis Gilmore's name isn't in the mix. I went to Basketball Reference and ran a comparison between Artis and Kareem. What do you think?

A-Train spent the good part of his prime in the ABA.

[Kawhitstorm]

Not sure how you figured that. In the 86 playoffs, Hakeem was the best player on the court in every game.

Bruh, that is exactly my point. 38 year old Kareem dropped 27 per on 50% shooting on the best player in the 86 playoffs. Meanwhile, Hakeem at 33 got outplayed by Kemp.