10. Dikembe Mutombo
A legit Argument can be made that Mutombo is the best shot blocking C of all time. Well at least of the Centers who played during the era it was a counted stat. Mutombo was a never a great offensive player but during last decade it wasn't an issue at all as he just didn't give a team much on that end. But Mutombo excelled on the boards and blocking shots and changed teams entire offensive strategy's when he was on the floor even in his late 30s and 40s.
9. Alonzo Mourning
Mourning was one of the best defensive Centers ever both in his prime and towards the end of his career. His offensive game just wasn't the same in the 2000s as it was in the 90s because of his problems with injuries that bugged him his entire career last decade. But when he was on the floor he was still a force blocking shots and defending the rim. He also was a key role player for the Heat when they won the title in 06.
8. David Robinson
The admiral only played 4 seasons last decade but during that time he was a key piece for The San Antonio Spurs and helped them win their 2nd title in 2003. In his prime in the 90s he was one of the best Centers ever on both ends but I want get into that because were only focusing on the 2000s. In the 2000s Robinson was no longer the main guy as that was now Tim Duncan's role. But he played his part and did it well. During the last years of his career his minutes were limited which is why he never had any 10 rebound a game seasons but despite the limited minutes he was still a menacing shot blocker and paint defender and still was among league leaders in blocks. He retired after winning his 2nd title in 03 and truly went out on top.
Marcus Camby was one of the best post defenders and shot blockers the league has ever seen. Get used to me saying that because it's gonna be a theme with this post not really alot of offensively skilled Centers from last decade. Last decade Camby never averaged any more than 13 a game in a season and was by no means a real threat to score. But for the majority of last decade Camby averaged over 2 blocks a game sometimes 3 and over 10 rebounds a game. I'll take 10 a game from my Center if he's doing that any day.
6.Zydrunas Illguskas
For the 1st few years of last decade big Z was the franchise player for the Cavs and once the got Lebron the 2 helped completely turn that organization around as they eventually made a finals appearance and made the playoffs year after year. Illguskas had tremendous length at 7'3 and used it to be one of the leagues best shot blockers. Unlike alot of the other Centers on this list he could get his own offense as well. He was a premiere offensive threat but you could run post ups for him and he'd get you some buckets. He also had great range for his size and was really good at knocking down the mid range jumper which kept the floor better spaced.
If KG was the best overall defender of last decade this guy was somewhere close behind. He had no offensive game what so ever but with what he did defensively and on the boards it wasn't to big of a issue. Ben Wallace was the heart of those great pistons teams and the work he did defending Shaq in the 2004 finals might have been the biggest reason the upset the lakers to win that title. He won defensive player of the year 4 times.
Jermaine O'Neal in his prime was a fantastic 2 way big man. He had the size strength and athleticism to play both the 4 and 5 effectively. Really good defender and defended the rim and block shots really well. Offensively O'Neal had franchise big man game. You could just give him the ball and get out of his way. He had solid footwork and could score back to the basket or facing up and could knock down the mid range jumper. He was also good in pick and roll situations.
Yao had the potential to be a hall of fame caliber player and maybe even deliver a title to Houston. Unfortunately injuries bothered him his whole career and ultimately forced him to retire to early. For his size it was my opinion he wasn't a good enough rebounder or shot blocker. Despite being 7'6 he never averaged 11 rebounds or more in a season and the most blocks per game he ever had was 2.0. But he wasn't bad in those categories by any means just wasn't dominant enough in my opinion. On offense he used his length to perfection and combined with his solid post arsenal he was often too much to be defended 1 on 1. Due to his injury troubles and lack of playoff success I couldn't rank him any higher than this.
As Shaq was started to decline Dwight Howard emerged and received the torch as the leagues best Center towards the end of the decade. He's a force on defense because of his freakish athletic ability, quick feet, and lateral mobility. He's also very strong with big hands which allows him to be a dominant rebounder as well. A big knock on him during last decade was his lack of a back to basket post game but he made do without one as he proffered to face up and use his athleticism or score off pick and roll and alley oops. Despite not having a real go to post game he still averaged over 20 a game 2 seasons because he was just more athletic than his opposing defenders. He could just turn around and drive by bigger centers from triple threat if he wanted.
Without question the number 1 on this list is Shaq. He was possibly the most dominant force this league has ever seen. He was 7'1, 325 and there was nothing anybody could do to stop him. Shaq simply over powered defenders with his size and strength and despite his huge size still could move pretty well. There are some that say for his size he should have been a better rebounder and shot blocker and I'd agree but he was too dominant on offense for me, Phil Jackson, or anybody else to really care or take that argument to heart to hold against Shaq. I watched the Lakers 3 peat first hand growing up I was in awe at how dominant he was. In the 4th quarter the Lakers just dumped it down to Shaq and it was either 2 or a trip to the line just about EVERYTIME. He was the 3rd best player of last decade after Duncan and Kobe.
No comments:
Post a Comment