Who is the greatest big man in the NBA?

[lindbergh]

Being a center is hard. You have to scramble for the rebound, protect the paint with your body and will, and score in traffic. That's why it takes a lot of skill and natural athleticism and build to be successful in this position. A lot of big men have thrived as center though. To name some, we have Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnet, Kareem Abdul Jabar, and David Robinson. Who do you think is the greatest big man in the NBA?

 

[starfox64]

It depends on what you define as "great". Keep in mind, these are just my opinions...

Physical dominating strength - Shaq

Best footwork/team-first personality - Duncan

Championships - Russell

Best scorer - Kareem

All around offense/defense - Hakeem

 

[llllllllllllllllllll]

As usual, I will be the oddball here and mention an underdog. I think Yao Ming brought a new definition of "big man" in the NBA. I mean you have a 7 footer shooting fade away shots and even nail some occasional 3 pointers, can't be more unique than that?

 

[rjustin]

Of all time, the greatest big man is Wilt Chamberlain. NO ONE will ever replicate his stats and no one will ever be as dominate as he was. 50 ppg and 20 rpg is enough said, on top of the 100 point game. It was enjoyable to watch the few videos they have on him on youtube to see just how great he was.

Currently, the best big man is Tim Duncan and he will be until he retires. He's a proven winner, and one of the best attitudes in all of sports.

 

[Choi]

Of all time, the greatest big man is Wilt Chamberlain. NO ONE will ever replicate his stats and no one will ever be as dominate as he was. 50 ppg and 20 rpg is enough said, on top of the 100 point game. It was enjoyable to watch the few videos they have on him on youtube to see just how great he was.

Currently, the best big man is Tim Duncan and he will be until he retires. He's a proven winner, and one of the best attitudes in all of sports.

I'd agree with you on the Tim Duncan part because I'm a die-hard Spurs fan, however, I'd have to disagree with you on what you said about good ol' Wilt Chamberlain. Let's consider that fact that Wilt played in a watered-down league with players that are mostly white and have little to no athleticism who relied mostly on their jump shots. Wilt's only real competition during his time was Bill Russel and every team not named the Celtics would always get crushed by Wilt's athletic ability. Hence, the monster numbers. If Wilt would play right now, I don't think that he would be able to average the same monster stats in today's more athletic NBA.

Regarding the question, I think that Anthony Davis is already the best big man in the league right now. He's got insane footwork, amazing scoring prowess, and he's a great defensive presence, but the most amazing fact is that he's not even 22 yet. He's got a lot of time to improve and his upside is really scary.

 

[Eagle910]

The greatest big man in the NBA id Dwight Howard.

He wins by default because there are not to many big guys in the league. I personally do not think Howard is special, but he is great compared to his peers.

Kevin Love is impressive, but anyone can put up good numbers on a bad team. I think his stats are inflated. He is a good player though. I would like to see what he could do on a better team.

 

[RedHot]

The greatest big man in the NBA at the momment definetly is: Dwight Howard, he has best statistics, best jump, a lot of mass and high quality muscles that helps him to domiante under the basket.