http://espn.go.com/nba/top25/alltimecenters/thanks.html 1-5, in order: The Stilt Jabbar Diesel Russell Dream Ironically, Patrick Ewing at #7 got MORE first place votes than Hakeem...I guess those tards were playing the sympathy card on his retirement...
Someone needs to post these polls as they're happening so everyone on the bbs can go and vote Dream the best.
I was just watching Sportscenter and they had a segment on Jack Ramsay's top 10 centers of all time. 1. Russell 2. Wilt 3. Shaq 4. Kareem 5. Hakeem 6. Mikan 7. Walton 8. Thurmond 9. Moses 10. Ewing I'd put Dream at number 3 on the list behind Wilt and Kareem. Russell's supporting cast was outstanding, yet Russell seems to get all the credit for those 11 championships. Russell was probably the best defensive center of all time, with Hakeem as another possibilty, but I wouldn't put him #1. As for Shaq, as dominant as he is, I'd put him at number 5. I don't think a player who is ineffective outside of 5-10 feet should be ahead of the ultra multifaceted centers in Hakeem and Kareem. As for Ewing getting more 1st place votes than Hakeem, I'd take into account the fact that Ewing is getting a lot of publicity right now since he's just retired. Now if both were getting equal pub, the notion of Ewing getting more votes would give me more to gripe about. I wouldn't take much account if at all in this poll though...I mean Vlade frikkin Divac garnered 48 first place votes.
Dream punished all of them in the playoffs and finals...oops sorry, it was only 2 of them(Shaq and Jabbar)...my bad...
Amazing that in only a few years, just 2 teams will have had 6 out of the top ten centers ever (Wilt, Kareem, Shaq, Moses, Dream, Yao).
The Lakers get a lot of good players simply because they are in LA. Think about it... they TRADED for Chamberlain, TRADED for Kareem, and signed Shaq out of free agency. They drafted none of those guys. Much as I respect Jerry West (I consider him one of the top 10-20 players ever) I think the fact that it was LA and not Memphis helped draw players more than anything. Anywho, all that's really off-topic... what I really wanted to say was: Does anyone else find it hilarious that ESPN misspelled Sabonis' name? Serious "Duh" And by the way guys, Jerry Lucas wasn't a center. Yeah, he played some center, and he has the 4th-highest rebounding average ever, but he was really a forward. Maybe that's why he isn't higher; he's light years ahead of Dan Issel, that's for sure, and I'd put him ahead of Walton and Mourning as well. Lastly, I really don't understand why Shaq is ahead of Russell. 11 championships is a hard thing to dismiss, and Russell never recieved the star treatment that Shaq does; no one did back in the day.
