Evaluating the greatest NBA centers of all time means looking at the ultimate anchors of basketball history. These dominant players changed how the game was played from the inside out. This list ranks the top 10 centers based on their career achievements.
Our rankings feature iconic legends who defined different eras of basketball. You will see unstoppable scoring champions like Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Defensive powerhouses like Bill Russell and Hakeem Olajuwon are locked in.
Whether they played in the 1960s or the modern era, these big men represent the absolute gold standard of the position. They are the true titans of the hardwood. Here are the Top 10 Greatest NBA Centers of All Time. Let the debate begin.
Top 10 Greatest NBA Centers of All Time
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem is the greatest NBA center ever because he combined peak dominance with remarkable longevity. He won six championships, six MVP awards and two Finals MVPs, and he made 19 All-Star teams over 20 seasons. His skyhook was the most unstoppable shot of its time, and it helped him become the league’s all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points, a record that stood until LeBron James passed him in 2023. He won titles in 1971 with Milwaukee and five more with the Lakers in the 1980s.
2. Bill Russell
Russell’s 11 championships in 13 seasons with the Boston Celtics is the greatest winning record in team sports. He won five MVP awards and was the defensive centrepiece of the league’s greatest dynasty. He averaged 22.5 rebounds per game for his career and pulled down more than 21,000 in total. He also won two titles as a player-coach, making him the first Black head coach in major American sports.
3. Wilt Chamberlain
Chamberlain holds some of the most outrageous records in sports. He scored 100 points in a single game in 1962 and averaged 50.4 points per game that season. He also averaged 27.2 rebounds across his career and once averaged more than 8 assists per game as a center, leading the league in assists in 1968. He won four MVP awards and two championships, in 1967 with Philadelphia and 1972 with the Lakers.
4. Shaquille O’Neal
Shaq was the most physically dominant player of the modern era. He won four championships, three straight Finals MVPs from 2000 to 2002, and the 2000 MVP award. He finished with more than 28,000 career points on 58.2 percent shooting. In his peak years, he was simply unstoppable near the basket, and he forced the league to change how it officiated physical play. His partnership with Kobe Bryant produced a three-peat, and he added a fourth title in Miami in 2006 alongside Dwyane Wade.
5. Hakeem Olajuwon
Hakeem had the best footwork of any big man in history, and the Dream Shake is still copied by players today. He won back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995 with Houston, the 1994 MVP award, and two Defensive Player of the Year awards. He is the only player to win MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP in the same season. His numbers in the 1995 Finals against a young Shaq, when he averaged 32.8 points, are legendary.
6. Nikola Jokic
Jokic is the best center playing today and has already earned a place in the top ten. He has won three MVP awards, in 2021, 2022 and 2024, and led Denver to its first championship in 2023, taking Finals MVP honours. In 2024-25, he became the first center and only the third player in NBA history to average a triple-double over a full season.
7. David Robinson
The Admiral won the MVP award in 1995, the Defensive Player of the Year award in 1992 and two championships in 1999 and 2003 alongside Tim Duncan. He scored 71 points on the last day of the 1994 season to beat Shaq for the scoring title. He made 10 All-Star teams and was both an elite defender and an efficient scorer.
8. Moses Malone
Moses was a rebounding machine who won three MVP awards, in 1979, 1982 and 1983, and the 1983 championship with Philadelphia. He was the Finals MVP that year, famously predicting the 76ers would win “fo’, fo’, fo’.” He was also the first player to go straight from high school to the pros, and he finished with more than 16,000 rebounds.
9. George Mikan
Mikan was the league’s first superstar and a player who changed basketball by forcing rule changes such as the widening of the lane. He won five championships in six seasons with the Minneapolis Lakers between 1949 and 1954, and he led the league in scoring three times. Comparisons across eras are difficult, but his dominance of the early NBA is undisputed.
10. Patrick Ewing
Ewing was one of the best players of the 1990s, making 11 All-Star teams and finishing with more than 24,000 points and 11,000 rebounds. He led the Knicks to the 1994 Finals, where they lost to Olajuwon’s Rockets in seven games. He never won a title, but his consistency and toughness made him the face of the franchise for 15 years.
FAQs
Q. Who is ranked as the greatest NBA center of all time?
A. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is ranked first with six championships and six MVP awards.
Q. Which NBA center has won the most championships?
A. Bill Russell won 11 championships in 13 seasons with the Boston Celtics.
Q. How many NBA championships did Shaquille O’Neal win?
A. Shaq won four championships, including three consecutive titles with the Lakers.
Q. How many MVP awards has Nikola Jokic won?
A. Jokic has won three MVP awards, in 2021, 2022 and 2024.
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