Historically, the NBA is a league that has been dominated by the big men. The center position has always been at the forefront of importance and great centers were vital to championship teams. That was true for Shaq, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell and many others. Those were the good old days. The last decade has been an entirely different story. Though big men still have their place, they are no longer the key to championships. That could change in the years to come as the NBA is being overwhelmed with young talent. Here are the best 5 centers in today’s NBA.
- Demarcus Cousins
Boogie Cousin’s talent has never been questioned. He is the best all-around center in the NBA. When Cousins is on the court, it’s as if he’s playing pop-a-shot. If he doesn’t make it, he will grab the rebound and shoot until he does. He makes whatever matchup he has uncomfortable; almost as uncomfortable as he makes head coaches, who seem to never like him. Nobody will ever be able to knock Cousin’s talent, but they can certainly question his likeability.
- Andre Drummond
Andre Drummond is reminiscent of Shaquille O’Neal. He does not have the size that Shaq had, but he has a nose for the ball. He is a tenacious rebounder and averages a league-high 15 boards per game. Like Shaq, Drummond is more than just a rebounder, he can also score, and, during the 2015-2016 season, he scored at a clip of 17.3 points per game. Another reason why the Shaq and Drummond comparisons go so well are their horrendous free-throw shooting, with Drummond only making just 35%. If Drummond ever wants to be talked about as the best center in the game, that number needs to drastically rise.
- Karl-Anthony Towns
KAT has shown a lot of promise in his young NBA career, and has proven to be worthy of the number 1 overall pick. Although many may say it’s too early to include Towns on this list, when a rookie scores 16.5 points and 9.9 rebounds, it’s hard not to put him on the list.
