It’s no secret that the NBA has made its push to small ball. Centers in the NBA certainly don’t play the role they once did, but a solid No. 5 is still beneficial to a team.
Much of the NBA has gone small. Big men today are now required to have a different skill set than in the past, and it has changed the way the game is played.
Centers today need to be more versatile than in the past, and there are some great young examples of athletic big men who have emerged in recent years.
The NBA has transitioned to its current state, where guards such as Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook, and others draw a majority of the praise for their flashy, athletic play. While this is directly correlated to the small ball movement, there are still several impact big men around the NBA — some who have done it for years and others who are just getting into what figures to be long careers.
With this in mind, how does the ranking of the top 10 centers in the NBA shake out? There are several options, and some players who may have made the list in years past have fallen off, but here is the opinion of one writer.
Next: Number 10