Center is a very dominant position. Centers need to be big but agile so they can get the ball, block shots, and grab rebounds before their opponents. They're not usually known for their ability to hit shots, but a few are able to do it all.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers

Like Lakers modern-day great Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was not drafted by the Lakers. Kareem, who was born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor but changed his name, was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks as the first pick in the 1969 draft after a great career at UCLA under legendary coach John Wooden. He won three straight collegiate championships (freshmen were not allowed to play then). Kareem, who was rookie of the year, played until age 42 and holds records for points scored, shots blocked, most seasons played, most NBA Most Valuable Player Awards (6), and the most all-star games (18). He was able to change the game because even though he was over seven feet tall, he was still graceful and quick. Defenders were powerless to stop his “Sky Hook” shot.

Kareem helped his teams win six NBA Championships and was chosen to both the 35th and 50th Anniversary All- Time Teams. A lot of people know Kareem from his championships with the Lakers later in his career, when he played with Magic Johnson. Kareem actually won an NBA title in his second year in the league with the Milwaukee Bucks playing with his talented point-guard teammate Oscar Robertson. Kareem was named NBA finals MVP in that series.

Kareem was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1975 and won another NBA Most Valuable Player Award that season. The Lakers became great again and won nine division titles in Kareem's final 10 years, during which Kareem helped lead the Lakers to five NBA Championship titles.

KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR

Points	Rebounds	Assists
24.6	11.2	3.6

Willis Reed, New York Knicks

The image of Willis Reed limping out to lead his New York Knicks to the NBA Championship in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals is among the most memorable in league history to many fans, especially those in New York. Willis had dominated the series. The 6 foot, 10 inch, 245-pound Willis had lit up the Los Angeles Lakers for 37 points in Game 1 of the Finals, 29 in Game 2, 38 in Game 3, and 23 in Game 4, and averaged 15 rebounds a game. But early in the series, his thigh was injured with a deep bruise that many feared would keep him out of the rest of the series.

The Knicks were hammered by the Lakers in Game 6, and no one knew if Willis would be able to play in Game 7. He gamely limped onto the court and fired up his teammates by out-jumping Wilt Chamberlain for the jump ball to start the game, and then scored the game's first basket. Though he didn't score again, Willis's teammates rode that momentum to a 29-point lead at one point in support of Willis and rolled to the NBA Championship. Willis was MVP in 1970 and went on to help lead the Knicks to a title in 1973.

WILLIS REED

Points	Rebounds	Assists
18.7	12.9	1.8

George Mikan: Chicago, Minneapolis

The first real big man to dominate the professional game, 6 foot, 10 inch George Mikan averaged more than 23 points and more than 13 rebounds a game for his career. George played college basketball for DePaul, where he led his team to the NIT title and was twice National College Player of the Year. He started out by playing one year for the Chicago American Gears in the National Basketball League (NBL), leading his team to the league title, before joining the NBL's Minneapolis Lakers. Along with teammate Jim Pollard, he led Minneapolis to the NBL title, George's second in two years.

After that season, Minneapolis was among the NBL franchises that defected to the BAA. In 1949, George led the Lakers to the championship despite suffering a broken wrist halfway through the finals. The BAA and NBL fully merged the following year to create the NBA, and teams led by George won NBA titles in 1950, 1952, 1953, and 1954, the first dynasty of the league.

GEORGE MIKAN

Points	Rebounds	Assists
23.1	13.4	2.8

The Fingers of One Hand

On a 10-player team, only 5 players are allowed on the court at any one time.

Hakeem Olajuwon: Houston Rockets

Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon led the Houston Rockets to their first two titles in NBA history. In 1993–1994, he had a dream season when he won the league Most Valuable Player Award and the NBA Finals MVP honor while leading Houston to its first NBA championship. During the season Hakeem averaged 33 points a game in the playoffs to lead Houston to its second NBA title. He followed that up with a spot on the 1996 U.S. Olympic Dream Team, which won a gold medal in Atlanta.

For his size, Hakeem had surprising agility and a soft touch shooting the basketball and he developed a wide array of offensive shots, including spin moves and fade-away jump shots that defenders could find no way to stop. He averaged 26 points or more per game for four seasons in a row. He was also a defensive force, winning the Defensive Player of the Year award in 1993.

HAKEEM OLAJUWON

Points	Rebounds	Assists
21.8	11.1	2.5

Bill Russell: Boston Celtics

As a college player at San Francisco, Bill Russell led his team to two NCAA championships — in 1955 and 1956 — though he was forced to miss the final four games of the 1956 NCAA tournament because his college eligibility had expired. Bill still made an important appearance in a championship game in 1956, when he led the U.S. Olympic Basketball Team to a gold medal at the Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.

Bill almost did not end up a Boston Celtics player, but NBA coach and general manager Red Auerbach wanted Bill so badly that he traded for the second pick in the draft to get him. Bill was a defensive power, changing the game of basketball by blocking shots. He also had 21,620 rebounds during his career, an average of 22.5 rebounds a game, a huge number that hasn't been matched since. Bill led the league in rebounding four times. He once had 51 rebounds in a single game; twice had 49 rebounds in a game. But above all, Bill was regarded as the ultimate team player and a winner. He led the Celtics to 11 NBA Championships in his 13 seasons. Bill is regarded as the most dominant big man in the game, and only Michael Jordan is referred to more often as the game's greatest player. Bill was no 7-foot giant, either; he was 6 feet 9 inches tall.

In the NBA, Bill's greatest foe was Wilt Chamberlain, who put up great offensive numbers, but Bill's team-first attitude led to far more championships than Wilt would ever attain.

BILL RUSSELL

Points	Rebounds	Assists
15.1	22.5	4.3

Wilt Chamberlain: Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles

Wilt “The Stilt” Chamberlain was seen as the most powerful offensive player in the game. He was a dominant figure at 7 feet 1 inch tall and 300 pounds. Wilt left the game with several NBA records. He was the only player to score 4,000 points in a season. He scored 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a victory against the Knicks in 1962. He also set an NBA record with 55 rebounds in one game. His offensive numbers were hard to comprehend; Wilt averaged 50.4 points during the 1961–1962 season. His 31,419 points were a record at the time of retirement, though he was later passed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, and Michael Jordan.

Wilt was also a defensive force, leading the league in rebounding 11 of the 14 seasons he played. He could also pass, leading the league in assists in 1967–1968. He was constantly double-teamed and even triple-teamed, and the NBA itself had to change some of the rules to negate Wilt's dominance. Because of Wilt, the NBA came up with the offensive goaltending rule. Once a ball has reached the top of its arc and is headed down into the basket, it is illegal to tip the ball in. Rule changes also widened the lane and made inbounding the basketball more structured to keep Wilt from controlling the entire game. Wilt used to shoot free throws by jumping from the free throw line and dropping the ball into the hoop until the league changed the rule to say that players must remain behind the foul line.

WILT CHAMBERLAIN

Points	Rebounds	Assists
30.1	22.9	4.4

Bill Walton: Portland, San Diego, Boston

Bill Walton was supposed to be the next big thing in the NBA when he came out of UCLA, but the big man struggled with injuries. Despite those injuries, he won an NBA title and an NBA MVP award in his first four years with the Portland Trail Blazers. He averaged nearly 18 points and more than 13 rebounds a game during his final three years in Portland. His numbers declined for the following three years after he was traded to San Diego. He was rescued by Boston and became a key role player on Boston's run to its league championship in 1986, a season in which Bill came off the bench and won the NBA's Sixth Man Award. A chronically broken foot bone kept him injured off and on throughout his career, but he still became a Hall of Famer and was selected as one of the NBA's top 50 players of all time.

BILL WALTON

Points	Rebounds	Assists
13.3	10.5	3.4

Patrick Ewing: New York Knicks, Seattle, Orlando

Though he bounced around the final couple of seasons in the league after an Achilles tendon injury effectively ended his career, Patrick Ewing will always be remembered for his dominant years as the New York Knicks's prototypical 7-foot center. He was also among the better shooting centers in the game and retired as the Knicks's all-time scoring and rebound leader. Patrick also helped lead the United States to a pair of Olympic gold medals in 1992 and 1996.

Unfortunately, Patrick was never able to deliver a championship to New York, although he came close. He took his team to the NBA Finals in 1984, where they lost to the Houston Rockets.

PATRICK EWING

Points	Rebounds	Assists
21.0	9.8	1.9

David Robinson: San Antonio Spurs

David Robinson came out of the Navy, earned the nickname “The Admiral,” and steered his Spurs to two NBA Championships in 1999 and 2003. He was also Defensive Player of the Year in 1992 and NBA MVP in 1995. At 7 feet 1 inch, David was tall, but he was lean and in such good shape that he rarely tired and was among the most athletic centers ever to play the game. David was actually in the latter stages of his career when he finally won his NBA championships. Tim Duncan, who like David carried himself with dignity and was considered the consummate teammate, joined the team and turned the Spurs from good to great. David also competed in three Olympic Games and helped the United States win two medals, in 1992 and 1996.

DAVID ROBINSON

Points	Rebounds	Assists
21.1	10.6	2.5