Using stats, accolades, and overall impact on team success, Fadeaway World places the greatest NBA centers of all-time into into 15 different elaborate categories.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the final installment of our greatest players in NBA history per position by category. From point guards to power forwards, we have broken down every position based on 15 different categories we have selected. Now, it is time to finish things off with the deepest and most dominant position in NBA history, the center position.
Out of every position in NBA history, the center position has been home to the NBA’s most accomplished and celebrated players. From the unbreakable scoring records held by Wilt Chamberlain to the pure dominance produced by Shaquille O’Neal in his prime, centers have had a stranglehold on the NBA and its record books for nearly its entire existence.
As we break down the best centers in these 15 categories, it is important to remind yourself that there are no wrong answers here. If you feel there is another center that deserves to be selected for a certain category, we are definitely willing to hear your point of view. Just know that every choice we make will be backed up with facts and statistics that are not debatable.
These are the NBA’s greatest centers of all time by category.
Scoring – Wilt Chamberlain
The first category on our list is one that is a runaway category for the great Wilt Chamberlain. Scoring records in the NBA are meant to be broken, but some are so unreachable, that they may last forever. For Wilt Chamberlain, breaking a scoring record was something that almost came second nature. Chamberlain averaged 30.1 points per game for his career while shooting 54.0% from the field. In 13 seasons, Wilt would win seven scoring titles, an NBA record for centers, and lead the NBA in field goal percentage nine times.
Chamberlain’s dominance doesn’t stop there. He owns the top four scoring seasons in NBA history and five of the six highest as well. In 1962, he set an NBA record by averaging 50.4 points per game and followed it up in 1963 with 44.8 points per game. In his second season in 1961, he recorded the third-highest scoring season of all-time with 38.4 points per game and, as a rookie in 1960, had the fourth-highest scoring season ever with 37.6 points per game.
If you want to penalize Chamberlain for the era he played in, then that is your prerogative. However, we aren’t in the business of dismissing NBA legends regardless of when or who they played, and as far as scoring goes, no center in NBA history has ever come close to Wilt Chamberlain’s dominance on the offensive end of the court.
Playmaking – Nikola Jokic
At this point in his career, there has simply never been a better or more creative playmaking center in NBA history than Nikola Jokic. With an entire offensive scheme being run through him, Jokic has dominated opponents to the tune of two MVPs, an NBA championship, and a Finals MVP award since 2021, and those accolades have far more to do with his playmaking than any other part of his games.
You see, when Jokic has the ball in his hands, the other nine players on the court need to have their heads on a swivel. You never know what Jokic is going to do with the ball. He can put his head down and use his frame to gain position in the post for an easy score. He can step out and shoot from pretty much anywhere on the court with good efficiency. He can also make any pass to any spot but especially excels in his ability to find his teammates on their cuts to the rim with pinpoint accuracy, or with a cross-court pass to lead them into perfect shooting position.
As a complete player, Jokic is quite literally the perfect definition of what a playmaker should be. He is not only one of the best passing big men in the game today, but one of the best passers overall who can dish out over 25.0 points per game on any given night.
Rebounding – Bill Russell
Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
For centers, rebounding is one of the most important categories on our list. A large part of what centers do is rebounding the ball on both sides of the court. If they cannot grab a rebound, preventing the other team from grabbing it is just as important. When it comes to rebounding, there has never been a better rebounder than Bill Russell in NBA history.
Russell is second in NBA history with 21,620 total rebounds over the course of his 13-year NBA career with the Boston Celtics. His 22.5 rebounds per game are also second in NBA history. His playoff rebound total of 4,104 rebounds is the most in NBA history, as is his 24.9 rebounds per game average. As one of the best parts of his game, rebounding and earning his team extra possessions led to 11 NBA titles for Russell and the Celtics.
3-Point Shooting – Karl-Anthony Towns
Until the late 2000s and early 2010s, we didn’t see too many centers stepping out to attempt shots from beyond the three-point line. That is due largely in part to the fact that before the three-point revolution, centers would be reprimanded and benched by their coaches for even thinking of attempting those shots.
Over the course of the last decade, one NBA center has shattered all of those beliefs and become the best three-point shooting big man in NBA history. Karl-Anthony Towns has attempted 4.2 three-pointers per game for his career and connected on 39.5% of those attempts over the last eight seasons.
At his peak, Towns has been a 40.0% three-point shooter or better on 5.0 or more three-point attempts. We have never seen a center with that volume and efficiency from the three-point line in our lifetimes, and although we may see someone come along who surpasses Town, they have yet to make their presence known to us.
Mid-Range Shooting – Nikola Jokic
Over the years, there have been plenty of mid-range shooting centers that made this shot a part of their offensive arsenal. Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, and Sam Perkins are just a few that come to mind. However, the volume in which they took those shots was not as prevalent as it is today, just as their shooting from three-point range wasn’t either.
For this reason, we have to go with Nikola Jokic at this point in his career. Jokic is an efficient shooter from the mid-range on decent volume for a player whose game is predicated on picking apart defenses from all angles. Using his patented Sombor Shuffle as his go-to move, 33.0% of Jokic’s shot attempts have come from the 3-foot to 10-foot area on the court, which he has converted at 57.3%. Just over 10.5% of his shot attempts have come from the 10-16-foot mark as well, where he has shot 49.9% for his career.
This is one of those categories in which there are numerous answers and choices. Due to his efficiency, and everything else he offers from those spots on the court, I am confident that very few will disagree with Nikola Jokic as our selection for the greatest mid-range shooting big man of all time.
Passing – Nikola Jokic
Chances are that if someone is labeled the best playmaker from the center position, they are likely to be the best passer from that position as well. I know many nostalgic fans are going to argue for the likes of Wilt Chamberlain or Arvydas Sabonis for this category. As an old head myself, I just think it is time we get past any other player being the choice considering what we have watched Nikola Jokic do on the court the past few seasons.
It doesn’t matter if he is on a fast break, in the low post or high post, or throwing full-court dimes like a quarterback, Nikola Jokic is the greatest passing center we have ever seen. Since 2020, Jokic has averaged an astonishing 8.2 assists per game and a total of 2,373 assists, which are better numbers than many top passing point guards in the game right now.
Rarely has any center ever been considered the best passer in the NBA. In 2023, Jokic has comfortably taken that title and is awaiting all challengers to take it from him. Since 2019, Jokic has dished out at least 500 assists every year as well as a minimum of 7.0 assists per game. With perfect accuracy, precision, touch, and ability to read defenses, Jokic will only continue to add to his legacy as the game’s greatest passing big man as well as his trophy case.
Defense – Hakeem Olajuwon
With all due respect to the late Bill Russell, who is a close second in this category, Hakeem Olajuwon is our selection for the greatest defensive center in NBA history. As a center during the 80s and 90s, Olajuwon was a force to be reckoned with in both blocking and impeding shots in the paint. Olajuwon is the NBA’s all-time leader in blocks with 3,830 total in his career as well as third all-time in blocks per game at 3.1.
Hakeem’s shot-blocking and his ability to force errant attempts are the only part of his defensive prowess. At his peak, Olajuwon was also the best at impeding entry passes and picking off plays away from the ball. Olajuwon also averaged 1.7 steals per game with 2,162 steals in his career. He earned back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards in 1993 and 1994, averaging 1.7 steals and 3.9 blocks per game during that time.
Finishing – Shaquille O’Neal
All centers have to be great finishers in their careers in order to have a long and sustainable career in the NBA. With most of their work coming at or near the basket, finishing their opportunities from that distance, whether easy or difficult, is a must to have both individual and team success at the NBA level.
Although there have been many great finishing centers in NBA history, nobody dominated the paint like Shaquille O’Neal did. From his young days in Orlando to his championship days in Los Angeles and Miami, no one player finished with more precision or authority than Shaq. In his career, O’Neal was a 74.5% career finisher from 0-3 feet from the basket. He led the NBA 10 times in field goal percentage in his 19-year career as well.
Beyond the numbers, Shaq’s raw and physical power led to him claiming this category. Those who took on the challenge of defending him in the paint came out beaten and battered from the punishment Shaq handed out at the rim, with three or four defenders unable to stop him or slow him down. Many have tried, and few have succeeded at slowing down the most dominant player in NBA history.
Athleticism – Wilt Chamberlain
Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
The stories of Wilt Chamberlain’s athletic ability have lasted over 50 years throughout NBA history. In his college days at Kansas, Wilt was an accomplished sprinter and high-jump athlete along with his dominant presence on the basketball court. He also had one of the highest vertical leaps in NBA history at 48 inches, tying him for the highest with Michael Jordan and Darrell Griffith.
The most impressive part of Chamberlain’s athletic abilities may just have been his stamina. Rarely seen on the bench during his NBA career, Chamberlain led the NBA in minutes played nine times in 13 seasons and recorded the most minutes ever played in an NBA season with 3,885. In 1962, Chamberlain averaged 48.5 minutes per game of playing time, which is longer than any regulation NBA game.
Clutch – Bill Russell
In order to lead your team to 11 NBA championships in 13 seasons, a player has to have been clutch for their entire career. When it mattered most on the court, Bill Russell was that player who could be counted on to get the job done. Offensively, we know that Russell was a tad limited, having never averaged 20.0 points per game in a season, but that all went out the window when it came time to win an NBA title.
In his storied and accomplished career, Russell was not only 11-1 in the NBA Finals, but he was undefeated when it came to decisive games in the NBA playoffs. In games that could close out a playoff series, Russell went 11-0 in his career while averaging 18.0 points and 29.5 rebounds per game. When it comes to which center you would take first in a do-or-die game, give me Bill Russell 10 times out of 10.
Efficiency – Nikola Jokic
Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
Although he hasn’t put together a complete NBA career just yet, Nikola Jokic is undoubtedly the most efficient NBA center of all time. PER is a stat that is as close as any in measuring the true depths of a player’s efficiency on the court, and only one, Michael Jordan, is better in that stat than Nikola Jokic.
Jokic has a career 27.7 PER rating without ever recording a season below 21.0 in eight seasons. In each of the last three seasons, he has led the NBA in PER with a rating over 30.0 every year. A rating of over 30.0 is as elite as it gets, and at this point, it has become a guarantee for Jokic to be in that vicinity. In 2023, he also led the NBA in true shooting percentage with a 70.1% rate and has a career true shooting percentage of 63.2%. Any other choice would be a farce.
Leadership – Bill Russell
Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY SPORTS
Once again, it is hard to argue with 11 NBA championships when it comes to the topic of leadership. It is not only his success on the court that separates Russell from the other centers in NBA history but the sacrifices he made in order to get there. Russell sacrificed his offensive numbers in order to perfect the elite tools he already had such as his rebounding and defense. His example of fighting for what he believed in off the court was a legendary example for his teammates as well. Not only is he the greatest center as a leader but I would say he is the greatest leader in sports history.
Versatility – Bill Russell
Being a versatile player in the NBA means that a player can lead his team to victory by excelling at multiple parts of the game to lead his team to victory. In the case of centers, no player did it better than Bill Russell. Whether it be his defensive awareness and ability to guard most positions or his rebounding that snatched possessions from his opponents, Bill Russell exemplified exactly what it meant to be versatile.
Ball-Handling – Nikola Jokic
If I am serious for one second, it truly does not matter to me if a center can handle the ball from the perimeter or run fast breaks efficiently in my mind. However, when a center can do it at the levels that Nikola Jokic can, I have to admit that it makes them a much more dangerous weapon on the court. The fact that Jokic can grab a rebound and take the ball coast-to-coast for a bucket or an assist on a regular basis is truly extraordinary to watch. He rarely loses focus or control and always has a plan when the ball is in his hands.
If I needed a center to make a play as a point guard and have the offense run through him as such, Nikola Jokic would be my choice every single time.
Best – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Despite not being named as one of the best in any of the other 14 categories, no one center in NBA history has a resume that matches up with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kareem dominated the NBA from 1970 through 1989 with the Bucks and Lakers. He would win a total of six NBA championships with both teams as well as two Finals MVP awards, winning one with the Bucks in 1971 and one with the Lakers in 1985.
He is the NBA’s all-time leader in MVP awards with six and ranks second in NBA history with 38,387 points. Kareem burst onto the scene as a rookie with Milwaukee, winning two scoring titles, Rookie of the Year, an NBA title, and a Finals MVP within his first three seasons. He would also go on to be selected as an All-Star 19 times as well as an All-NBA Team selection 15 times and an All-Defensive Team selection 11 times.
On top of his two scoring titles, Kareem was also a four-time blocks champion and one-time rebounding champion. He would finish his career averaging 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game. As far as resumes go, Kareem is not only the greatest center in NBA history but he is also one of the few players with a legitimate case to be considered the GOAT.
