Soon All The Dominant Big Men In Basketball Will Be Gone

[HacheMan]

Shaq will be retiring soon, and let's be honest, he's the last of the remaining superstar centers left.

Shaq, Ewing, Olajuwon, Robinson, and maybe even Alonzo Mourning could be put in the category of dominant NBA centers in the last decade or so who are gone or about to be. (Shaq)

That pretty much leaves Dwight Howard, who is the closest to the group above, and Yao Ming, who shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as the others.

Where have all the big men gone......:think2:

 

[FullyEclipsed]

Shows the sign of the times. Where the big men are becoming more of ball handlers with an inside/outside game.

 

[DesertDevil]

I dont care what position Tim Duncan is officially listed as....

He is a CENTER.

One of the best of all time as well.

 

[wilheim]

Big Men

Depends on how you categorize Tim Duncan. I guess he has to be considered a power forward. Not to mention he is getting close to the end of his great career also.

Emeka Okafur has a chance to have a stellar career if he can get a better surrounding cast but for sure he is not in guys already mentioned class.

FWIW - Give me Hakeem Olajuwon over all of the big men since Kareem (including Shaq).

Accolades
2x NBA champion (1994, '95)
2x NBA Finals MVP (1994, '95)
1x NBA MVP (1994)
2x Defensive Player of Year (1993, '94)
6x All-NBA First Team (1987, '88, '89, '93, '94, '97)
3x All-NBA Second Team ('86, '90, '96)
3x All-NBA Third Team (1991, '95, '99)
5x All-Defensive First Team ('87, '88, '90, '93, '94)
12x All-Star
Olympic gold medalist (1996)
Named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996).
Only player in NBA history to have won MVP, Finals MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards in the same season (1994).
One of the 4 players in NBA history to have ever recorded a quadruple-double.

Olajuwon also won the rebounding and blocked shots titles in 1989-90, becoming the third player ever (after Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton) to lead the league in both categories during the same season.

All-time leader in blocked shots. (note: the NBA did not keep statistics for blocked shots until the 1973-74 season).

Olajuwon is also in the top ten in blocks, scoring, rebounding, and steals.
He is the only player in NBA history placed in the top ten for all four categories.

All-time NBA Playoffs leader in total blocks with 472 and blocks per game with 3.3 per game.

Olajuwon ranks 7th all-time in steals and is by far the highest ranked center. (note that steals were not recorded until the 1973-74 season).

In 1989, Olajuwon had 282 blocks and 218 steals, becoming the only NBA player to record over 200 blocks and 200 steals in a season.

Olajuwon is one of few players to record more than 200 blocks and 100 steals in a season. As the all-time leader in this feat, he did it for 11 seasons (consecutively from the 1985-86 season to the 1995-96 season).

The next closest is David Robinson, who did it for 7 seasons.
Olajuwon has recorded an NBA record six five by fives in his career.

Olajuwon was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2008.

wil.

 

[HacheMan]

No doubt Wil, I'd also take Olajuwon over any of the others.

Tough call, but it may be fair to put Duncan in the center group since he had matched up with centers most of his career.

The only thing that makes it questionable is the years he played beside Robinson and Tim manhandled all of the other forwards......

 

[DesertDevil]

No doubt Wil, I'd also take Olajuwon over any of the others.

Tough call, but it may be fair to put Duncan in the center group since he had matched up with centers most of his career.

The only thing that makes it questionable is the years he played beside Robinson and Tim manhandled all of the other forwards......

Just how many years did he play besides the Admiral? 2 maybe?

Duncan is a CENTER.

 

[HacheMan]

Just how many years did he play besides the Admiral? 2 maybe?

Duncan is a CENTER.

You're right, two, three, four at the most.

All I know is that it's something that sticks out in my mind being an Orlando fan because Duncan had basically made up his mind & agreed that he was coming to Orlando to team with McGrady until David Robinson caught word of it & caught a plane to fly back & talk Duncan out of it...........:>(

 

[wiskers1]

the days of always playing with your back to the basket in the paint are long gone

 

[CHOPTALK]

The guy from UCONN is going to be a stud

 

[joebatters]

IMO..the advent of the 3-point shot has a LOT to do with it. 15-20 years ago, it was unheard of for a big man to launch a 3. Now nobody gives it a second thought.

 

[WorldNumberOne]

if dwight howard can get a ring or 2 , he will be mentioned among the top 5 or 6 big men of all time when he is done.

he might be even without the rings .

 

[FairWarning]

Blame Ralph Sampson

 

[DesertDevil]

The guy from UCONN is going to be a stud

A stud in the NBA? Disagree.

See Roy Hibbard...

 

[jeckll]

Uhh...Dwight Howard?

 

[Addict101]

A stud in the NBA? Disagree.

See Roy Hibbard...

Thabeet and Hibbert is a terrible comparison. Hibbert doesn't hold Thabeet's jock strap when it comes to the defensive end of the court.

 

[DesertDevil]

Thabeet and Hibbert is a terrible comparison. Hibbert doesn't hold Thabeet's jock strap when it comes to the defensive end of the court.

Ive seen this dude play. He is a stiff. He's the latest to get some run since he is a 7-footer playing at a big time school.

He doesnt have the tools. Roy Hibbard might not be that bad of a comparison come 4 years from now.

 

[TomGshotput]

Howard is only 23, still a long way to go, still a very good chance to break into that group. . .

Positions in the NBA are so fluid in some ways that means you can only break them down by what they are listed at, in that case Duncan can only be the best power forward ever. In other ways you cannot break them down by position at all. Put Duncan on the floor in place of any other center this decade and he would do better than all except, perhaps, O'Neal

Could simply be the cycle we are in where few great 7' were born in the late 70s, early 80s. Could also be the revolution of the power forward position that is causing the change. Duncan and Garnett at power forward and James at small forward would not have happened in earlier decades

(remember reading comparisons between Olajuwon and Chamberlain, Russell and Abdul-Jabbar, and the conclusion was that they played the position so differently, Olajuwon would have to be seen as a power forward compared to the others. Not sure if I agree, but shows how changes keep happening from generation to generation)

 

[billhill999]

Ive seen this dude play. He is a stiff. He's the latest to get some run since he is a 7-footer playing at a big time school.

He doesnt have the tools. Roy Hibbard might not be that bad of a comparison come 4 years from now.

Please, Thabeet ate up the Woverines yesterday.
Hibbard couldn't hold his jock.

Thabeet leads the Big East by a wide margin in blocks (over 4 ppg) averages 13 and change in scoring (and he's not even a primary option) hits 65% of his shots, and averages over 10 boards.
Not to mention he alters basicly every shot taken by the oppositon in the paint.

You want to hate on UCONN, be my guest, but Thabeet is one of the top 3 centers in the college game today.

 

[primetime21+]

Once Greg Oden learns to stay out of foul trouble he will be an all-world big man.

 

[DesertDevil]

Please, Thabeet ate up the Woverines yesterday.
Hibbard couldn't hold his jock.

Thabeet leads the Big East by a wide margin in blocks (over 4 ppg) averages 13 and change in scoring (and he's not even a primary option) hits 65% of his shots, and averages over 10 boards.
Not to mention he alters basicly every shot taken by the oppositon in the paint.

You want to hate on UCONN, be my guest, but Thabeet is one of the top 3 centers in the college game today.

Homer.

The dude is a good college player.

He will be nothing more that a 12 ppg, 8 rebound performer in the NBA.

Thats being generous.