Center (basketball)

The center is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well. A typical NBA center is 6'10" (2.08 m) or taller.

In many cases, the center's primary role is to use his or her size to score and defend from a position close to the basket. A center who possesses size along with athleticism and skill constitutes an unparalleled asset for a team. The centers are also generally the players who are chosen to take jump balls.

Among current NBA players, Shaquille O'Neal of the Miami Heat is noted both for his enormous proportions, standing 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) tall and weighing (officially) 325 lb (150 kg), as well for his mastery of elegantly simple post maneuvers. Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets stands 7'6" tall; his persistence and shooting touch are exemplary. Both have the awareness to make good passes when double-teamed.

There has been occasional controversy over what constitutes a "true center". For example, some have argued that Ben Wallace, while highly effective at center, is actually a power forward playing out of position, mainly because his 6'9" (2.06 m) height makes him considerably smaller than most centers he faces. Likewise, some would say that Tim Duncan, although listed throughout his career as a power forward, is actually a center, because of his size and style of play. It is believed that when Duncan entered the NBA, he played power forward in order to keep San Antonio Spurs teammate David Robinson playing as center and have two dominant big men on the floor. However, Duncan has continued to be listed as a power forward even after Robinson's retirement. Nonetheless, the judgment of whether a given player is a center or power forward is often highly subjective. Because there are currently so few people who meet the ideal size requirements of an NBA center, teams will sometimes find it necessary to play an individual at that position who would be more effective as a power forward.

It should also be noted that generally centers and power forwards have low free throw percentages (ranging from 45%-70%) with an exception of Yao Ming who averages a free throw percentage over 86 % which ranks #15 in the NBA. Because of this, it is not uncommon for the opposing team to purposely foul and therefore send them to the line, especially late in games. This has been a common strategy used against certain centers who have continuously struggled with free throws, examples include Shaquille O'Neal and Ben Wallace. Centers are among the leaders in blocks and rebounds and are said to "anchor" defenses. It is common for centers to roam the paint, and therefore block a high numbers of shots, especially when their man does not have the ball.

The tallest player to ever be drafted in the NBA was Yasutaka Okayama from Japan but he didn't get any playing time. The tallest players to ever play in the NBA, at 7'7" (2.31 m) are centers Gheorghe Mureşan and Manute Bol (although Bol was said to be a few millimeters smaller). Standing at 7'2" (2.18 m), Margo Dydek is the tallest player in the history of the WNBA. She currently plays for the Connecticut Sun team, and is even taller than Shaquille O'Neal.

Emergence of the Center

The center is one of the key pieces for any team, especially at the professional level such as the NBA. Great centers have been the foundation for most of the dynasties in both the NBA and NCAA. The 6’10" George Mikan pioneered the Center position, shattering the widely-held perception that tall players could not develop the agility and coordination to play basketball well, and ushering in the role of the dominant big man. He led DePaul University to the NIT title, then, after turning professional, won seven National Basketball League, Basketball Association of America and NBA Championships in his ten year career (1946-56), nine of them with the Minneapolis Lakers. Using his height to dominate opposing players, Mikan invented the hook shot and the shot block; as a consequence, the NCAA, and later NBA, adopted the goaltending rule, and, in 1951, the NBA widened the foul lane, a decision known as the 'Mikan rule.'

1960's: The Era of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain

In the 1960s, as the NBA gradually became dominated by African-American athletes, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain further transformed basketball by combining height with a greater level of athleticism than previous Centers. Following the retirement of George Mikan, the rivalry two big man would dominate the NBA. Between the two of them, Chamberlain and Russell won nine of the eleven MVP awards in the twelve year period between 1958 and 1969, while they played against one another in six Eastern Conference Finals and two NBA Finals in the course of the decade from 1959-69. Many of the records set by these two players have endured today. Most notably, Chamberlain and Russell hold eighteen of the top twenty season averages for rebounds.

Bill Russell led the University of San Francisco to two consecutive NCAA Championships (1955, 56') before joining the Boston Celtics and helping make them into the greatest dynasty in NBA history, winning eleven championships over his thirteen-year career (1956-69) as well as five MVP awards. Russell revolutionized defensive strategy with his shot-blocking, rebounding and physical man-to-man defense. While never the focal point of the Celtics offense, much of the teams scoring came when Russell would defensive rebounds and initiated fast breaks with percision outlet passes, primarily to Point guard Bob Cousy. As the NBA's first African-American superstar, Russell struggled throughout his career with the racism he encountered from fans in Boston, particularly after being named player-coach in the 1966-67 season, the first African-American in any major sport.

His principal rival, Wilt Chamberlain, listed at 7'1", 275-pounds, was the most physically dominant player in the NBA, but lacked Russell's supporting cast. He played college ball for the Kansas Jayhawks, leading them to the 1957 title game against the North Carolina Tar Heels. Although they lost by one point in triple-overtime, he was named the tournament's most Outstanding Player. Briefly a member of the Harlem Globetrotters before joining the Philadelphia Warriors of the NBA in 1959, Chamberlain won two Championships, in 1967 with the Philadelphia 76ers and 1972 with the Los Angeles Lakers, although his teams were repeatedly defeated by the Celtics in the Eastern Conference and NBA Finals. He also won seven scoring and eleven rebounding titles and four regular season Most Valuable Player awards, including the distinction, in 1960, of being the first rookie to receive the award. Taller and stronger than any player of his era, he usually proved capable of scoring and rebounding at will, despite being constantly double and triple-teamed and the target of fouling tactics designed to take advantage of his poor free-throw shooting, while setting a number of records that have never been broken. Most notably, Chamberlain was the only player in NBA history to average more than 50 points in a season and score more than 100 points in a single game, both in 1961-62 as a member of the Philadelphia Warriors, while also holding the record for rebounding average (27.2) and rebounds in a single game (55). He also holds the NBA's all-time record for rebounds (23,924).

A lesser-known Center of the era was Nate Thurmond, who initially played the Forward position opposite Wilt Chamberlain for the San Francisco Warriors but moved to Center after Chamberlain was traded to the new Philadelphia franchise. Although he never won a Championship, Thurmond was known as the best screen setter in the league, and his averages 21.3 and 20.0 rebounds per game in 1966-67 and 1967-68, are exceeded only by Chamberlain and Russell.

Centers in the 1970's and 1980's

In contrast to the Celtics dynasty of the 1960s, the 1970s were a decade of parity in the NBA, with eight different champions and no back-to-back winners. At the college level, the UCLA Bruins, under Coach John Wooden, built the greatest dynasty in NCAA basketball history, winning seven consecutive titles between 1967 and 1973. The initial cornerstone of Wooden's teams was Lew Alcindor, who led UCLA to three championships-in 1967, 68' and 69'-while winning the first Naismith College Player of the Year Award. During his college career, the NCAA enacted a ban on dunking primarily because of Alcindor's dominant use of the shot. His entrance into the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1969 was timely, as Bill Russell had just retired and Wilt Chamberlain was 33 years old and increasingly plagued by injuries. After leading the Bucks to the 1971 NBA championship, teamed up with legendary Point guard Oscar Robertson, Alcindor, who had converted to Islam, changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. In 1975, Abdul-Jabbar was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, and, after the arrival of Point guard Magic Johnson in 1980, formed part of a new Lakers dynasty that won five NBA titles (1980, 82', 85', 87', 88'). In addition, Abdul-Jabbar won six regular-season MVP awards (1971, 72', 74', 76', 77', 80'). At 7'2", 267-pounds, he lacked the strength of Chamberlain in his prime, but had a longer wingspan and ultimately proved more durable, adhering to a strict physical-fitness regiment that enabled him to play for twenty years, the longest career in NBA history at the time. Offensively, he was best known for his trademark 'Skyhook' hook-shot, almost impossible to block because of his height and wingspan. His career record of 38,387 points has yet to be broken. Defensively, the 1973-4 season was the first in which the number of blocked shots were kept, and, over the next seven years, Kareem led the league in this statistic or finished second.

Another product of John Wooden's UCLA program, Bill Walton, appeared poised to join the ranks of great Centers. He led UCLA to back-to-back NCAA titles in 1972 and 73', led the Portland TrailBlazers to the NBA championship in 1977, and won the NBA MVP the following year. However, his career was plagued with injuries, most infamously a broken bone in his left foot suffered during his MVP season that he never fully recovered from, and he spent most of the following decade on the bench, although he eventually did win a second NBA title as a backup for the Boston Celtics in 1986, when he received the Sixth Man Award. Willis Reed won two championship with the New York Knicks in 1970 and 1973, teamed with Point guard Walt Frazier; although undersized for the Center position at 6'9", he had the strength to play inside, was a highly-skilled jump shooter, and was effective at setting picks, a key element in the Knicks motion-oriented offense. The undersized but scrappy Dave Cowens, drafted at the recommendation of Bill Russell, helped the Boston Celtics win two more NBA titles, in 1974 and 1976.

Leading Centers of the late 1970s and early 1980s include Artis Gilmore of the ABA Kentucky Colonels, Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs; Moses Malone of the Houston Rockets and Philadelphia 76ers; Mark Eaton of the Utah Jazz and Robert Parish of the Boston Celtics. Of these, Artis Gilmore is perhaps the most overlooked, due to the perennial mediocrity of the teams he played on. He set the NCAA Division I record for career average in rebounds (25.2) at tiny Jacksonville University, and enjoyed a illustrious ABA career before joining the NBA in 1976, where he established himself as the best low-post player of his era. He remains the NBA's career leader in field goal percentage (minimum 2000 shots made) with a 59.9 percentage. Malone, the first High School player to turn professional, was drafted the Houston Rockets after several years in the ABA, won two MVP Awards and lead Houston to its first NBA Finals in 1981, before joining the Philadelphia 76ers, where, teamed with Julius Erving and Bobby Jones, he won an NBA Championship in 1983, as well as a third League MVP. Never a dominant defender, his quickness and tenacity made him one of the greatest rebounders in NBA history, particularly on the offensive end; he led the league in rebounds six times in a seven-year period and still holds the NBA record for offensive rebounds. The 7'4" Eaton as the most prolific shot-blocker in the league, and, although never a major offensive contributor, won two NBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards while helping trasform the lowly Utah Jazz into a playoff contender. Of all these players, none enjoyed the success of Robert Parish who, with Forwards Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, formed the legendary frontcourt of the Boston Celtics team that won three titles (1981, 84' and 86'), their fierce rivalry with the Lakers dominating the NBA during the decade and helping basketball reach unprecedented level of popularity. Nicknamed "Chief" after a character in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" because of his stoic demeanor, he was best known for his trademark arching jump-shot, leading many experts to consider him the best medium-range shooting Center of all time, as well as his ability to finish fast-breaks because of his surprising speed. Playing until the age of 43, Parish broke Abdul-Jabbar's record for career games played.

Centers in the 1990s

Coach John Thompson, once a seldom-used backup to Bill Russell, developed the Georgetown Hoyas into the chief pipeline for talent at the Center position, producing a succession of great defensive big men in Patrick Ewing, Dikembe Mutombo and Alonzo Mourning. In 1984, Georgetown, led by Patrick Ewing, defeated the University of Houston, led by Hakeem Olajuwon, to win the NCAA championship. This matchup involved the two premier Centers of their generation.

The Nigerian-born Olajuwon, a former soccer goalie who did not play basketball until age 15, was drafted by the Houston Rockets and paired with power forward Ralph Sampson in what was dubbed the 'Twin Towers' duo. In his second season, 1985-86, the Rockets upset the Lakers in the Western Conference finals. After Michael Jordan's first retirement, Olajuwon established himself as the NBA's most dominant player, leading the Rockets to two consecutive NBA championships in 1994 and 1995. In the 1993-94 season he became the only player in NBA history to win the NBA's Most Valuable Player (MVP), Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP awards in the same season. In both Finals, Olajuwon outplayed two of the league's leading Centers, Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks and the Orlando Magic, with a young Shaquille O'Neal. Defensively Olajuwon broke Abdul-Jabbar's career record for blocked shots. Offensively, he was best known for his 'Dream Shake,' a series of fakes and spin moves regarded as the pinnacle of big man footwork.

Patrick Ewing was drafted by the New York Knicks in 1985, with whom he spent fifteen of his seventeen seasons in the NBA. An eleven-time All Star, Ewing was one of the best shooting Centers in NBA history, possessing a nearly unstoppable baseline jump-shot, as well as a formidable shot-blocker and rebounder. Ewing never won an NBA championship, but his Knicks represented the most formidable opponents of the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls dynasty in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Ewing's successor as the starting Center Georgetown, Dikembe Mutombo, who played most of his NBA career with the Denver Nuggets and Atlanta Hawks, was less adept offensively, but proved an even more dominant defender. Mutombo, who had not played basketball before arriving in the U.S. from his native Zaire on a USAID scholarship, was among the greatest shot blockers in NBA history, leading the NBA in blocked-shots five consecutive years, in the course of a career in which he ranked second in the history of the league in blocked shots, behind only Hakeem Olajuwon. He was also the recipient of four NBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards, tied for the record with Dennis Rodman.

The other dominant center of the early 1990s was David Robinson. Playing college ball at the United States Naval Academy, his entry into the NBA was delayed by his military service, but he unanimously won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1990 and, in 1995, was voted the MVP. Offensively, Robinson excelled in fast-breaks, running the floor like no 7'0" before or since, while also possessing an effective left-hand jumper. Defensively, his speed and agility helped him hold the distinction of being the only player in NBA history to rank among the top five in rebounds, blocks and steals in a single season.

Several European Centers made an impact in the NBA in the 1990s, most notably Lithuanian Arvydas Sabonis of the Portland TrailBlazers, Serbian Vlade Divac of the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings and Dutchman Rik Smits. In keeping with its more permiter-oriented style of play, European basketball strategy utilized Centers as playmakers more than in the NBA, and Divac and Sabonis in particular distinguished themselves as the best passing Centers in the league. The 7'3" Sabonis, who led the Soviet Union to an upset victory over the U.S. en route to a Gold medal at the 1988 Olympics, was considered by many experts to have been among the best Centers in the world in the late 1980s, but did not enter the NBA until he was well past his prime.

The 1992 NBA Draft marked the entrance into the league of Shaquille O'Neal, who was drafted by the Orlando Magic. Immediately drawing comparisons to Wilt Chamberlain, the 7'1", 325-pound O'Neal was billed as potentially the most physically dominating player ever and he quickly lived up to the hype. By his third season, he led the league in scoring and led the Magic to the NBA Finals, where they were swept by the Houston Rockets, with O'Neal out-played by the more experienced Olajuwon. After the 1995-96 season, he signed with the rebuilding Los Angeles Lakers. Former Georgetown Center Alonzo Mourning, also drafted in 1992, established himself as a premier big man with the Charlotte Hornets and, later, the Miami Heat, winning two Defensive Player of the Year Awards thanks to his prolific shot-blocking while also proving a reliable scoring threat.

Centers in the 21st Century

The balance of power shifted to the Western Conference, and the NBA was dominated by the rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers, who won titles in 2000, 01' and 02', and the San Antonio Spurs, who won in 1999, 03', 05', and 07'. The Lakers hired former Bulls coach Phil Jackson, and Shaquille O'Neal, thrived in Jackson's triangle offense. The San Antonio Spurs were led by the 'Twin Towers' tandem of Center David Robinson and Power forward Tim Duncan, the veteran Robinson modified his game by playing primarily in the high-post to accomodate Duncan's strengths as a low-post scorer and defender.

In the 1990s, an increasing number of smaller forwards, most notably Dennis Rodman and Charles Barkley, excelled at the traditional Center functions of rebounding, shot-blocking and low-post defense, anticipating a trend towards relying on shorter and quicker post players that has continued into the 2000s, as exemplified by perennial Defensive Players of the Year Ben Wallace and Ron Artest. In the fast break oriented style of offense employed by a growing number of teams, the traditional role of the Center is diminished, if not done away with altogether, particularly given the absence of suitably athletic Centers. Many talented big men have elected to play the more versatile power forward position, giving them more room to run the floor and play outside the paint. The best example of this is Kevin Garnett, a 7-footer who, while consistently ranking among the league leaders in rebounds and blocked-shots, listed his height as 6'11" in order to avoid playing Center. Under the influence of European basketball, the offensive role of big men has been redefined to include more emphasis on permitter play, as exemplified by 3-point shooting big men like Dirk Nowitzki and Peja Stojakovic.

The 7'6" Yao Ming was drafted by the Houston Rockets with tremendous hype in 2002; possessing unprecedented shooting touch and coordination for a player of his height, many experts predicted he would revolutionize basketball. Yao has proven an highly efficient rebounder and scorer, particularly with his mid-range jump shot, and shown the potential to be an elite defender. Another heralded young prospect, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, has utilized his exceptional verticle leap to become one of the top rebounders in the NBA, while his spectacular slam dunks have made him a staple of highlight reels.

Dominant big men continue to anchor the teams that have had the most success in the post-season. Two of the last three teams to win championships have had notable centers: Detroit Pistons/Ben Wallace (2004) and Miami Heat/Shaquille O'Neal (2006). However, O'Neal's playing time has been increasingly limited by injuries, benefitting in the Heat's Championship run from the presence of another veteran, Alonzo Mourning, as his backup. Defensive specialist Ben Wallace, listed at 6'9", is considered by most experts as a Power Forward playing out of position, although his strength, leaping ability and uncanny timing has enable him to dominate taller players in the low-post, helping him tie Dikembe Mutombo's record of four NBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards. The San Antonio Spurs have won two championships since the retirement of David Robinson, in 2005 and 2007, with Tim Duncan assuming an even greater share of the work as the primary rebounder, shot-blocker and low-post scorer, as well as taking most of the teams jump balls, although he continues to be listed primarily as a power forward. The entry into the NBA of Greg Oden, who won two national high school player of the year awards, led the Ohio State Buckeyes to the NCAA Finals, and is arguably the most physically skilled Center to come into the league since Shaquille O'Neal, has caused many experts to predict a revival in the importance of the Center position.

Center in women's basketball

In women's basketball, 7'0" Iuliana Semenova pioneered the center position, helping the Soviet Union women's team win two Olympic Gold medals, in 1976 and 1980, and never losing a game in international competition. Semenova also led her club team, TTT Riga to fifteen European Champion's Cup titles. The 6'8" Anne Donovan led the Old Dominion University Lady Monarchs to the 1979 Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women championship, and was the first female Naismith College Player of the Year recipient in 1983, before enjoying a successful professional career in Japan and Italy. With the formation of the WNBA, Lisa Leslie established herself as the premier Center, and the league's most popular player. The first WNBA player to reach the 3,000 point milestone, she led the Los Angeles Sparks to consecutive titles in 2001 and 2002, and holds the distinction of being the only player to dunk in a WNBA game. Other prominent Centers in women's basketball include Lauren Jackson of the Seattle Storm and Karl Malone's daughter Cheryl Ford of the Detroit Shock. Rebecca Lobo led the Connecticut Huskies to a NCAA Championship in 1995, but never recovered from a torn anterior cruciate ligament and had a disapointing professional career. Courtney Paris of the University of Oklahoma is considered the next dominant female Center after becoming the only NCAA player, male or female, to score 700 points, grab 500 rebounds and block 100 shots in a single season.

List of centers

See also: Category:Centers (basketball)

Further reading

• Heisler, Mark (2003). Giants: The 25 Greatest Centers of All Time. Chicago: Triumph Books. ISBN 1-57243-577-1. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)