National Basketball Association

Top 5 Centers: Western Conference

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:09 p.m. ET

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Centers are a dying breed. But, today we show them some love. Here are our Top Five Centers in the Western Conference rankings.

The center position in the NBA has seen a dramatic shift since the 90s. The evolution of the game has essentially washed away the position. Centers were once cornerstones of franchises who could single handily lift their team into playoff contention. Nowadays, centers, such as Demarcus Cousins, can’t push their team to an 8th seed.

When evaluating who’s the best at this position difficulty lies in what factors to consider. This is one of the only position where I’ve had to disregard winning to a certain extent.

Other difficulties include separating centers from fowards. The NBA All-Star game has gotten rid of this separation all together. It does mirror today’s NBA more to just list big men as forwards. But, the are still a few traditional centers left who make their living playing in the post.

For these rankings, I basically considered the biggest/tallest player on the court who plays in the post primarily to be considered a center. They must, however, have started multiple games at that position.

No Small fowards playing center in small ball line ups are included.

5. DeAndre Jordan

He is the best defensive center in the entire NBA. The Clippers made a great move convincing DeAndre to come back to L.A. Sorry Mark Cuban.

He’s quick, athletic, and never plays outside of his role or abilities.

The pick and roll combination of Chris Paul and DeAndre is one of the best one-two punches in the league. This is why DeAndre Jordan had the highest field goal percentage in the league last year shooting 70%.

Also, he was 2nd in total rebounds and 2nd in blocks per game last season.

He’s one of the few centers who can defend the pick and roll with some success.

His defensive plus/minus was ranked 5th and he’s one of only two centers ranked in the top 20 in the value over replacement category.

But, just as great as he is defensive,he is just as bad offensively.

He has no ability to create his own shot and is a huge liability at the Free throw line shooting only 43%.

4. Marc Gasol

Apr 5, 2016; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol watches from the teams suite during the game against the Chicago Bulls at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

Marc Gasol was the best center in the league a few years ago. However, injuries have slowed him down.

His injuries even caused him not to play in the Olympics this past summer for Spain.

Last season, he averaged 16.6 points per game, 3.8 assists and 7 rebounds.

He shot 46.4% from the field and 82.9% from the free throw line.

He’s a solid player, but it looks like the rest of the league has caught up.

He did have some spurts last season where he looked amazing.

But, he couldn’t quite string together enough of those elite level performances to get higher on this list.

Also, his field goal percentage, points per game, blocks per game, and rebounds per game were down last season from the previous year.

3. Enes Kanter

Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Enes Kanter is incredible on offense and a great rebounder. But, more importantly he’s efficient.

Last season his offensive rating was 4th. He was 8th in win shares per 48 minutes and had the 10th best player efficiency rating last year.

Kanter has played well for the Oklahoma City Thunder averaging 12 points and 8 rebounds last season.

Next season, his numbers should increase as he’ll play more minutes because of Serge Ibaka’s departure.

When it comes purely to offense there are almost no centers better than him.

Despite Kanter’s great offensive production, there are flaws that cause him to rank 3rd on this list.

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Defense.

His defensive struggles are just too much to ignore.

There was a reason the Thunder started Serge Ibaka over him. Ibaka was 6th in blocks per game last year. Way higher than Kanter.

Kanter doesn’t defend the pick and roll good at all. He is slow on switches and gets beat off the dribble.

Lastly, he’s only solid at guarding big men in the post.

Not good or bad.

Just solid.

2. Anthony Davis

Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Although listed as a power forward, he’s started many times at center.

When you watch Anthony Davis play you see tons of athleticism and talent. The problem is a lot of his skills are still very raw. He doesn’t have any true go to moves in the post or go to spots on the court.

Davis is just a very fluid player.

Also, he suffers from the lack of a true point guard and injuries that have plagued the New Orleans Pelicans back court. Jrue Holiday and Eric Gordon both missed significant time last year.

But, despite these issues, he hasn’t been slowed in the slightest.

Last season, he was ranked 9th in player efficiency rating. Ahead of DeMarcus Cousins, Enes Kanter, DeAndre Jordan, and Marc Gasol.

He averaged 24.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, and shot 49.3% from the field.

He’s both an offensive and defensive force. He’s one of the only big men to be equally good at both.

1. DeMarcus Cousins

Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Two of the biggest problems in Cousins’ career has been his attitude and team. DeMarcus Cousins plays for the Sacramento Kings. The Kings have had a different coach almost every single year Cousins has been in the league. This makes it difficult to develop chemistry and culture. Along with this, Cousins has voiced his confusion for the Kings signings and draft choices.

The Kings have missed the playoffs year after year and because of this Cousins has been seriously undervalued.

Shaq has repeatedly called Cousins the best center in the league.

Cousins is the only center with multiple low post moves who can score over either shoulder, spot up off of pick and rolls, face up big men, and shoot a little from three.

At this point it’s almost a crime how underrated he is.

Last season, he shot 47.3% from 2-point range. Also, he attempted 210 3-point shots, a good sample size, and made 33.3% of them.

What’s best is Cousins’ production in other areas don’t drop off because of his work load. Last season, he averaged 26.9 points per game and 11.5 rebounds, with 9.1 of those being defensive rebounds.

While Cousins is not known as a great low post defender and shot blocker like DeAmdre Jordan, he still managed to get 1.4 blocks per game.

What people might be surprised about is that Cousins averaged 3.3 assists last year. He’s one of the best passing big men in the league.

Cousins is a very well rounded player.

When evaluating Cousins it’s important to separate his team’s lack of success from his production.

Last season, Cousins was 11th in player efficiency ratings. Behind Enes Kanter at 10th.

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