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[The Chosen One]

When guys like Erik Dampier are making claims that they're the 2nd best center in the league, then you know there's a problem. Part of the reason Shaq is still dominant at his age is because there's no other quality big men. Yao is on the verge of becoming a bust.

In the mid 90s, along with Shaq you had Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Alonzo Morning, Patrick Ewing, Mutumbo, and others all in the league at the same time. All those players demanded respect and were a huge presence for their team.

While we now have a lot of talented and athletic 6-8 - 6-10 players, it seems quality 7+ foot players have gone the way of the dodo. Most of the 7 footers in the league right now are 2nd/3rd string players who are lucky to play more than 5 minutes.

What happened?

 

[J2 Cool]

I had this same conversation with a friend oddly enough. People were talking about how great Chandler and Curry are back pre-playoffs, and I just thought they were ok but nothing spectacular. I mean, so many centers are 6'8"-6'9". They move well but the game's seemingly gotten smaller. There used to be a whole assortment of 7 foot plus guys who moved better than the centers today do. 6'8" was PF size. And those 7 footers were explosive. And the better one's, finesse as well. Hakeem was just such a total package and it becames all the more apparent what a rare breed he was today. It's odd, you see stronger, fasters guys a lot in all sports. Always getting more athletic. But size is something out of people's hands.

 

[Dilbert]

Where exactly are the centers supposed to learn skills these days? If you're precociously large, chances are you'll end up in the NBA with 0-2 years college experience...with no mature low-post skills, and no reliable midrange jumper.

I suppose you could learn how to play center on the playgrounds, because most pickup games are FULL of pass-first players who know how to feed the post properly...oh, wait, never mind.

 

[whytemyke]

No such thing as good centers. No need for 'em when you've got your seven footers at the 3 or 4 like Dallas and Minnesota do. now everyones going to Europe for their centers, or Asia, but they're brought up on the international game and not one of those guys has the toughness thats needed to make it in the NBA as a legit center.

I guess Bogut could be the last of a dying breed this year.

 

[Pimpwerx]

Honestly, how many great centers have there ever been? Shaq, Ewing, Hakeem, Kareem, Parrish...you're gonna notice large gaps in there. And only ever one or two great centers at a time. I know the topic asks for "good" centers, but there are lots of them. But with the game actually getting bigger, you're talking about your average PF could play center back in the day. I think it has a lot to do with the backcourt getting so big. As a result, you've got so much range and strength at guard, that you don't need to work it low through your center anymore.

I think there was a point in the 90's when centers became just defensive props to guard down low, and the offenses started running mostly through your big guards and forwards. So good post-play was no longer a necessity, nor was mobility. Look how well the Bulls did with Longley as a big goof down low just taking up space, while everyone else roamed? All IMO, I'm not a student of the game or anything. It just seems like this why we don't have great centers. Not so much b/c you couldn;t, but b/c the necessity no longer showed itself. A guy like Shaq ran wild b/c he was big and mobile and there was no way he could play forward. So as a result, teams wanted to match size on him, so they got one-dimensional players like Bradley or Motumbo to help out down low. Their offense wasn't needed so much as their ability to form a wall in the paint. PEACE.