Centres

The center, colloquially, the five, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass. many cases, the center's primary role is to use his or her size to score and defend from a position close to the basket. A center who possesses size along with athleticism and skill constitutes an unparalleled asset for a team. (Wikipedia)

All right, that's the technical definition or so.

My definition:

1. Centres are the most physical players on the court.

2. Centres are the main rebounders.

3. Centres are the final line of defence against a penetrating player.

4. Primary scorers under the basket.

Kinda limited, but that's all based on my understanding.

Personally, from my experience, Centre is the hardest position to play next to Point Guard.

I know some people say: "Just a big guy and bang around inside, enough la"

While that is partially true, its a lot more than that.

Offensive Centres always have to deal with double teams, the physicality of a defensive Centre and sometimes, hacks. (eg. Shaquille O'Neal, Wilt Chamberlain)

Defensive Centres will always have to deal with a penetrating player, the pressure of marking an offensive Centre, foul trouble and so on.

Playing under the basket is like a war zone and contact is unavoidable. A player who doesn't like contact has no business being in the paint, or even playing ball for that matter. Endurance, strength and a strong will is vital to survive in the paint.

For example, as an undersized centre, I was always marking players who tower above me, who were stronger than me and more physical than me. So what do i do when i face these guys?

In the words of Alonzo Mourning: "Fight. If that ain't enough, fight harder"

I would take all the contact, the elbows, shoulder thrusts and dish out my own. Every giant i face is a challenge that i have to answer. if i win, thats good. when i lose, i have to get better.

A Centre should be well-versed in post-manouvers,(eg. backing down, hook shot, power up, fade-away, etc) even if he is not the top scorer of the team. This would make him a reliable offensive threat down-low. Any centre who has a decent post-move set is an asset to the team. (eg. Zydrunas Ilgauskus, Sofoklis Shortconitis, Kendrick Perkins, Nazr Mohammed)

Centres should also be the most hardworking players on defence. They must be the ones always blocking out opponents for rebounds, playing physical defence, blocking shots or altering them. who wouldn't miss if a 7-foot, 300 pound man was charging at you to block your shot?

A little history here: many teams that has won a championship in the NBA had a standout Centre. Here's the list:

1. Boston Celtics-Bill Russell ( 11x), Robert Parish (3x)

2. LA Lakers-George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain (1x), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (5x), Shaquille O'Neal (3x)

3. San Antonio Spurs-David Robinson (2x)

4. Houston Rokets-Hakeem Olajuwon (2x)

5. Miami Heat-Shaquille O'Neal (1x), Alonzo Mourning (1x)

6. Detroit Pistons-Bill Laimbeer (2x), Ben Wallace (1x)

7. Philadelphia 76ers-Wilt Chamberlain (1x)

these are some of them. Many of these players had their own way of bringing a championship to their team. Bill Russell and Ben Wallace with their rebounding and defence, Wilt Chamberlain and Hakeem Olajuwan with their scoring, Shaq with his power and post-moves, Zo with his intensity and fearsome shot-blocking.

So now, to wrap things up...

Top 5 Centres of the past

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

All-time leading scorer in the NBA with 38,387 points

6-time NBA Champion

3rd all-time leader in blocks (3189)

Played 20 seasons.

2. Bill Russell

Won 11 championship with the Celtics in 13 seasons

2nd all-time leading rebounder (21,620)

Holds the record for 2nd highest total rebounds in one game (51)

Averaged 20+ rebounds per game

Popularised shotblocking

3. Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon

Won 2 NBA Championships

All-time leader in blocks (3,890)

Perfected offensive post moves to the point he was almost unguardable. His moves were known as the Dream Shake.

1 of 4 players to record a quadraple-double. (18 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, 11 blocks)

4. Mark Eaton

Top 10 all-time leaders in blocks (3064)

All-time leader in blocks per game (3.5)

Holds record for most blocks in a season (456)

Holds record for highest blocks per game in a season (5.56 bpg)

5. Wilt Chamberlain

2-time NBA Champion

Holds record for most points scored in a game (100)

The only player in the NBA to average 40 and 50 points a game in a season

Holds record for the most rebounds in a game (55)

All-time leader in rebounds (23,924)

Potential Hall of Famers

1. Dikembe Mutombo

2nd all-time leader in blocks (3278)

4-time Defensive Player of the Year

Oldest player to grab 20 rebounds in a game

Was the oldest active player during the 2007-2008 season (42 years old)

Holds the record for most blocks in a five-game playoff series (31)

Averaged 5.8 blocks per game in the playoffs during his rookie season

2. Shaquille O'Neal

4 time NBA Champion

3-time Finals MVP

10th all-time leading scorer in the NBA (26,602 and counting)

7th all-time leader in blocks (2546 and counting)

3. Alonzo Mourning

2006 NBA Champion

10th all-time leader in blocks (2356)

2-time Defensive Player of the Year

Returned from a life/career-threatening kidney disease to play in the NBA

Was the second-oldest active player during the 2007-2008 season (38)

Note: all of this is just simply my personal opinion.

Happy Ballin'