In the history of the NBA some of the best and most well know players have been big men. The center position has been the key to winning championships. However the NBA is seeing a transformation of the average big man. The Miami Heat have been major trend setters winning two straight NBA Championships without a legitimate center.
The evolution of the big men has been quite unpredictable. The once volume scoring and rebounding giants are slowly dying off. Gone are the days of players averaging a 20-20 box score. This past year Dwight Howard led the league in rebounding with only 12 rebounds a game. In the modern age of basketball 12 rebounds is quite a lot. However from 1956 to 1968 Bill Russell never averaged less than 18 rebounds a game. Bill Russell is only 6’9" and 215 pounds which would be incredibly small for a center in today’s game.
The average NBA center today is usually around 6’10" and 260 pounds, effectively dwarfing Bill Russell. I’m going to analyze Bill Russell and the other big men of the past decades and see where the evolutions unfold.
The Early Years
Big men in the 60’s would look much different than they do now. Most were around 6’8" feet tall and weighed around 210 pounds. They would more resemble small forwards than centers if they played today. Despite this lack of size they were still highly effective. The 60’s were dominated by two big men. And those men were Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlin. From 1960 to 1969 Wilt Chamberlin led the league in rebounding seven times and the two times he didn't win the rebounding title, Bill Russell did.
These two players were miles above the competition, averaging five more rebounds a game then the third best rebounder. In those nine years Bill Russell averaged 23 rebounds per game and Wilt averaged 24. Physically these players were polar opposites. Wilt stood at 7’1" and 275 pounds and simply abused his competition with his size. While most top scores play guard or forward, Wilt got his points in the paint. He is one of the NBA’s all-time scoring leaders.
While Bill wasn't the scoring juggernaut Wilt was, he made up for it on the defensive end averaging close to five blocks per game. These two men were simply gods among men on the court. They dominated all competition and are often regarded as two of the best big men to ever play the game.
The Roaring 70’s
The 1970’s was a time of great evolution for the NBA, especially for the center position. This decade showed much more balance then the one before it. While Wilt Chamberlin only played until 1973, there were six big men that were consistently dominant. These players were Elvin Hayes, Dave Cowens, Bob McAdoo, Nate Thurmond, Wes Unseld and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The major differences between these players and the superstars of the 1960’s are an increase in scoring and a more balanced field of competition.
These six players seemed to rotate between leading the league in rebounding ever year. There were consistently four to five players averaging over 15 rebounds a game. The scoring abilities of the bigs were also developing. Many of these players averaged around 17 points per game, which would be very acceptable among today’s centers. The centers were also developing better footwork and post moves. In 1975 there were 16 players who averaged over 10 rebounds per game. Last season in the NBA there were only eight that accomplished that feat.
The 70’s were really the start of the style of center you would see in the following decades. The competition at the center position in the 1970’s is really quite incredible when you consider the centers in the NBA today. Most importantly the 1970’s saw the retirements of the original great big men and the birth of many more to follow.
The 1980’s
The 1980’s were arguably the most exciting time in NBA history. It gave birth too many of the greatest players of all time. It also saw an interesting evolution of the NBA big man. The power forward position was starting to become much more competitive and some of the best rebounders of the decade played the four. The early 80’s were dominated by three big men. Moses Malone was the most dominate center in basketball and he was followed by Bill Laimbeer and Buck Williams. In the later part of the 1980’s the NBA was highly competitive and so were the big men.
Players like Charles Barkley, Buck Williams, Bill Laimbeer, Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone and Karl Malone all averaged around 20 points per game. This kind of offensive production on such a wide scale had never been seen before at the center position. These men were consistently going up against some of the best big men in the history of the NBA. These men were double double machines and established themselves as some of the best and well-rounded players in a time when the competition was at its peak.
The 1990’s
While the late 1980’s and 1990’s had some of the greatest guards and forwards to ever play the game, the center position also had some of its greatest players. The 1990’s was a decade of the offensive and defensive juggernauts. Dennis Rodman was one of, if not the best rebounders in the 90’s as he averaged nearly 16 boards a game. He was also one of the best defenders during this time. Dikembe Mutombo was also a defensive force as he is the second all-time leader in blocks. However both of these players lacked offensive games.
The 1990’s had some of the best offensive big men in the history of the NBA. Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Karl Malone, Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning all averaged 20 points or more in this decade. The big men of the 90’s were certainly giants as many of them were seven feet tall. This decade’s bigs also continued the trend of being offensively gifted as many post moves were created during this time period.
Players could no longer use just their size alone to score on the opponents. Players and to refine their offensive arsenals and improve them or else they would get left in the dust. Big men like David Robinson, Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman were key pieces to their team’s success.
The Y2K
Towards the end of the 1990’s and the early 2000’s many of the great big men retired, leaving a few still playing. These three were Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Shaquille O’Neal. These three big men were the most consistently dominant of the early 2000’s. As Shaq slowly regressed players like Pau Gasol, Yao Ming and Dwight Howard emerged as some of the top centers in the NBA. Ben Wallace was another center who was successful in the early parts of 2000. While he wasn’t a scoring threat he was a very efficient rebounder and shot blocker.
Yao Ming had a successful career however it was to short lived to leave any lasting impact. The most important part of the legacies of KG, Tim Duncan and Shaq is their ability to win championships. They dominated the paint and their teams achieved great success. Between 2000 and 2009 Duncan won three championships, Shaq won four and Kevin Garnett won one. These teams won because they had one of the best big men in the league and that is the legacy these three men will leave behind.
The Present Era
While the 2010 decade is still young, it’s fair to say that the talent at the center position is dwindling. While players like Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Garnett are still playing, they will soon retire and pass the torch to the next generation of big men. As of right now there is one dominate big man in the NBA. That man is Dwight Howard. He has been very impressive since joining the league and has been the best big men in the past few years.
There are some also up and coming big men like Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe, Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins. However the NBA is changing. The game is becoming more and more dependent on scoring from the guard positions, and most of the great scoring big men are now stretch fours who lack the power and post proficiency that the former greats had. The Miami Heat have proven to everyone that you don’t need a dominant big man to win it all, as they are repeat champions. NBA teams are now looking for big men that can rebound and block shots.
The sad truth is that the offensively gifted center position is dying. For example, Steven Adams was selected 12th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in this year’s draft. Adams only averaged seven points and six rebounds per game in college. If a player that can average this meager of stats be valued this high, but does it say about what is happening to the center position. The center position started with two great players and over the years grew to the most dominant position in the NBA. However it is now on the decline and I fear that it will die just how it started, with a few great players.