Who's the best NBA center ever? Good question. Most people argue for Kareem, Wilt, Russell, Shaq, and Moses. Who do I think? I think Kareem Abdul-Jabaar is the greatest center in the history of basketball. Kareem won 6 titles, is the all time leading scorer in the history of the league, had probably the most effective shot ever (the skyhook), was a good solid defender, and extremely iconic.
Now sure, Russell won 11, but his prime was pretty much in a time when there was like 8 teams in the league, and the overall talent pool was less. Same with Wilt. Russell didn't have a ton of offensive skill, and Wilt was known to be selfish. Wilt rarely played on great teams, especially early in his career, and that held him back from winning a lot of titles. Shaq is no doubt one of the best, but he regularly came to training camp out of shape, and I think that may have led to injuries and ultimately less titles. Plus, he couldn't get along with Kobe. So, to me, Kareem wins. He played in a pretty difficult era with stiff competition. I think Kareem is the best center ever, by a smidge.
