I voted Wilt Chamberlain before reading any posts. He caused many rule changes in the league. He was a giant among boys. But, he played during a time when the Celtics had 5 all-stars on their side and won most of the championships during his era. Individually, he was the greatest yet.
Wilt could have dominated in any area. I think he one of the only athletes that you can look at and say that. His size/speed/power would transcend. Jabbar was the same way. But when you listen to Red Arbauch talk, he says that Russell could have put up incredible numbers as well, but he was always a team first kind of player. Also, to use the Sabonis references are unfair. He didn't stay healthy. If you make excuses for Sabonis, you have to make the same excuses for Bill Walton. So: 1. Wilt 2. Russell 3. Jabbar 4. Olajuwon 5. Shaq
Ditto. He's the best center I've seen with my own two eyes. It's impossible for me to say Wilt or Russell because I never saw them play. Kareem I barely remember. So yes, Hakeem is the one. I still think it would have been possible for Houston to win at least one ring had Jordan not retired. Probably the 2nd ring, the one with Clyde. Hakeem was so unbelievably unstoppable the two years they won the championship. He was Jordan-esque in that regard. Completely dominant.
I think Olajuwon gets short shrift. His defense and rebounding was as good as anyone who's ever played. He was Bill Russell--with a tremendous offensive game. David Robinson also tends to get underrated, IMO. He wasn't the best ever but his numbers and defense compare pretty well to just about any center ever. I'd rank him a bit lower due to his offense being less post-oriented...he was tougher to build an inside-out offense around, so he presented slightly more team-building challenge than players like Chamberlain, Olajuwon, Abdul-Jabbar and O'Neal. Still, if I had Robinson as my center, I wouldn't consider myself to lose a center matchup to any significant degree no matter who from history my opponent had.
With all due respect, Hakeem is NOT "the one." I saw him play and I liked him very much, and I also saw Chamberlain, Jabbar, Shaq and Walton. All of them were better than Hakeem--especially Wilt and Jabbar.
Hakeem was a great center - and probably my favorite to watch - but what made him special was the fact that he had a center size and strength (even if not an overwhelming one like Wilt/Shaq) - but he had guard moves and agility.
I'm sure you're wrong about the blocks - they didn't KEEP blocks for at least most of Wilt's and Russell's careers, so nobody knows how many they blocked. And is the seasons thing still true or did Karl Malone beat it?
Wilt destroyed Russell in head to head match ups, nearly every time. Huge games against him. The Celtics' strategy was to let Wilt have his but nobody else got theirs. Worked. Truth. I saw him play, too. Wilt Russell Kareem Sabonis was awesome before he got hurt. Too bad few people got to really see him play, or play at full health against the NBA's best. Believe it or not, I think Bill Cartwright was right up there before he got hurt. Ralph Sampson, too.
Why give up either? Check out the Bulls' record against the Rockets. I believe the Rockets just dominated the Bulls in that era. It was the other Western Conference teams that denied Olajuwon more rings.
But you have to compare that to his ppg when he wasn't playing Russell that same season. I went back to the wiki entry and I can't seem to find a comparison from his regular season, so I'm going to concede perhaps I was wrong. Also I don't have time tonight to read that whole thing again to check. But I do agree Wilt was by far the best numbers guy ever.
Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I'd love to get that perspective from living in the 50's and 60's and seeing Wilt and Russell play, and in the 70's to see an early Kareem play.. but from what I've seen with my own eyes since the late 80's, Olajuwon was just unstoppable and the best I've seen. He was a defensive player of the year, a dominant shot blocker, an MVP, a Finals MVP and was a beast on the post. He made the Admiral look silly in the '95 WCF when Robinson was the MVP that year. It was a clinic watching the Dream play basketball. But hell.. how can you argue against a man who scored 100 freakin' points in one game. Amazing..
Q? Greatest Center Ever the answer depends largely on whats valued most. If you want stats it's Wilt. Championships Russell. Excellence over a long career, maybe Kareem gets the nod. If the Wilt-Russell era is discounted because of the evolution of the game since then, maybe Shaq and Hakeem get some mention. In my special blending of what I value, Hakeem was the best my 42 year old eyes have seen. I recall this question being asked to Dicky V and he spun it in an interesting way... If you could select one guy at the peak of his abilities to go to war with vs the others at their best in the playoffs, who would you choose? He went with Bill Walton. I could see Sabas getting some mention here too. STOMP
I usually go with that, too. I've often called Olajuwon "the greatest peak center ever" due to his remarkable blend of top-tier defense, top-tier rebounding and top-tier offense. Chamberlain, though, was so dominant and had a longer stretch of dominance, so he's a great pick if one factors in peak and career. Sabonis is interesting, considering his legend. It's a shame he never got to show his peak form in the NBA. I remember Bill Walton once said that Sabonis was the best 18 year old center he ever saw. That's some pretty huge praise.
yup. From the same article Walton stated that the 2nd best 18 year old center he ever saw was a tie between Kareem and Greg. STOMP
Really? I didn't know he had said it recently enough to include Oden. The Sabonis thing he's said for a long time. That's very cool, that he sees so much in Oden. I remember I saw Oden play in the McDonald's All-American game (I believe it was that game, ESPN televised it) and I thought he looked phenomenal. I was distraught that he couldn't come straight to the NBA due to Stern's edict, in a year I expected Portland to get the #1 pick. All's well that ends well, though.
i can only comment on those that I've seen play, so I say Prime Shaq....can't touch that....made me hate him so bad.
