THe center is the defensive anchor and generally the most intimidating player on the court. With there being less and less true center’s in the league here are my top five.
5. Ben Wallace
Big Ben was never an offensive threat and averaged less than 6 points per game for his career. His success lies less in his offensive ability and more on his defensive abilities. he is one of only a few players to win four defensive player of the year awards, also he’s a multiple time all star and and all NBA defense. He was also a key component in the Pistons 2004 championship run and all those eastern conference finals appearances. Ben Wallace proves that you don’t have to be good at offense to find great success in the NBA.
4. Marc Gasol
Marc Gasol has so many good things to his game. He’s a skilled big man in just about everything. he has a solid mid-range game, and a great low post game. He’s a great defender and rebounder. this past season he became the first international player to win the NBA defensive player of the year award. The most impressive thing about him is his passing ability, the big men are the ones who draw multiple defenders, most of them can’t pass that well. Marc on the other hand keeps his cool and always makes smart plays. He is one of the main reasons the Grizzles have found success in these past few seasons and why everyone expects great things from them and him.
3, Yao Ming 
Yao was an amazing center in his time. Take Marc Gasol and 5-6 inches and that’s Yao. He was a constant threat to get 20 points and 10 rebounds every night because he was that skilled. He had a feather touch from the floor and the free throw line and was an outstanding passer. Him and McGrady put on a show in Houston and it was great to watch. Tragically due to injuries he was forced to cut his career short.
2 Dwight Howard
Great scorer, rebounder and defender. Dwight encompasses what it means to be a great center and has ten times more athletic ability than most center. multiple time defensive player of the year, multiple time all star, a league leader in rebounds a couple times and a constant double-double threat. Everything about his game is great. The one things he lack is maturity, he needs to learn to carry himself better.
1 Shaquille O’neal
He’s just so good. He has the height, the power, everything. A constant double-double threat, 20+ ppg and 10+ rpg for his career, a couple of finals MVP awards a regular season MVP award and an all star almost every year. Also 4 championships and getting your number retired in Los Angeles is impressive to say the least. he also has one of the best personalities in all of basketball.
If you think I forgot an good center let me know in the comments.
Sam B.
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