As each draft class comes in, the influx of talent and athleticism never ceases to amaze fans. The league may be as talented as it’s ever been, and the game has obviously developed since the end of the 20th century, well at least at every position except the five spot.

It’s amazing what a good point guard can do in today’s game, the offensive prowess of today’s elite shooting guards seem to have no limit, offenses are being run around some of the most athletic small forwards the league has ever seen, and power forwards are better than they’ve ever been. It seems like the responsibility for every position on the court has risen since the end of the Jordan era except for centers.

Looking at today’s centers compared to the big men of the 90s, led me to ask one question: has the center position de-evolutionized?

The short answer; yes. But why? There have been a couple of events that have lead to the center position becoming the least talented of the five spots on the floor. You’d have to go back to 1984 through the nineties to discover the reasons for the lack of post moves that went hand in hand with strength and finesse on the block.

Because of the de-evolution of the position, it has also been de-glorified, these next few names need to be remembered for their accomplishments on the court and what they did for their respective communities off the court. They are living legends.

The 1984 draft saw the beginning of a new era of center. They were men tall as sycamores, strong as oxen with the finesse of a gazelle. They played with their backs to the rim, the footwork was impeccable, and they could hit a fifteen foot jump shot. They were everything you wanted in a center; they were everything today’s center is not.

The 1984 Draft saw Akeem Olajuwon (he later changed his name to Hakeem) taken first by the Houston Rockets. His college career ended with three trips to the final four, with no hardware to show for it. What he did leave college with was a polished game.

Olajuwon came into the league and was able to make an immediate impact. His first year featured veteran type numbers: 20 points, 12 boards, and 2.7 blocked shots a game. The Rockets earned a playoff spot that year posting a 48 and 34 record after an abysmal 29 win season the year before.

The league was only getting the beginning of what would be a hall of fame year by Olajuwon. His game was almost aesthetic to watch. When he caught the ball on the block he had a plethora of moves to get to the basket. He was even more deadly on the baseline with a shot fake that got the best of defenders off their feet and out of position. He knew how to get his teammates involved and was more than willing to play defense. Hakeem was “the dream” center.

In 1985, Patrick Ewing was selected first by the New York Knicks. The big man out of Georgetown was one of the reasons Olajuwon was unable to win a collegiate title. Ewing came out of college and, much like Olajuwon, made an immediate impact for the Knicks, who had the leagues third worse record the year before. With center Bill Cartwright and forward Bernard King sidelined with injury, Ewing was forced to come in and make an immediate contribution.

Coming out of Georgetown, no one really knew what Ewing could do offensively since he played in John Thompson’s defensive focused system. 20 points and nine rebounds a game later and he was the leagues rookie of the year despite missing 32 games due to injury.

It was Ewing’s commitment to defense and that unstoppable mid range jump shot that mad him special. The ability to pound it out on the blocks or step out and hit the jumper created a superfluity of mismatches for opposing teams.

Patrick Ewing played with relentless intensity and was a natural leader. Ewing was never able to get that career defining ring, but that lack of jewelry is not going to keep him from going into the Hall of Fame as one of the NBA’s greatest centers.

In 1990 David Robinson blessed the league with his presence. Robinson was a big part of one of the league’s greatest one year turn around when he posted absurd numbers for a rookie: 24 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocked shots while shooting 53% from the field. He won Rookie of the Month honors for all six months his inaugural season.

His style was a combination of agility, speed, strength and finesse. He ran the floor as good as, or better than any other seven-footer to play the game. On top of that he was a physical beast, the product of serving two years in the Navy after graduating with a mathematics degree in college.

Robinson collected awards year in and year out for his combination of hard work and raw talent. He was able to move to the high post and maintain his level of play when Tim Duncan joined the team; that versatility solidified the Admirals spot among the best to ever play the position.

The 90s also saw Dikembe Mutombo followed by Alonzo Mourning and Shaquille O’Neal come into the league 1991 and 1992. These three men, like previously mentioned centers, came into the league and made immediate impacts.

Mutombo and Mourning were a couple more products of John Thompson’s Georgetown program.

Mutombo left the college game early and posted 16 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks per game as a rookie, but was unable to help bring the Nuggets to the playoffs. The man from the Congo was not as adept at the offensive end of the floor, but had an incredible ability to block shots; he now stands second on the list all time (behind Olajuwon).

Mourning was another defensive minded center averaging 3.5 blocks his rookie year to go along with 21 points and 10 boards. Sure, he’s been on the wrong end of some of the NBA’s most spectacular dunks (see Vince Carter), but it is hard to think of any player that plays with more heart than ‘Zo.

Shaquille O’Neal came out of LSU and dominated, he is the last of the strictly power centers. He ran the floor well for his size when he was in Orlando, and as a rookie, he averaged 24 points, 14 rebounds and 3.5 blocks.

Shaq had the ability to move through anyone that stood in his way and was impossible to guard him one on one. He was incredibly agile for a man his size. When O’Neal catches the ball deep on the block, there is nothing anyone can do about it. Sheer strength and limitless determination has made Shaq the playing legend he is today.

Along with these stars, there were a few European players that came to the league and had respectable careers. Rik Smits, Arvydas Sabonis, and Vlade Divac didn’t post numbers like some of the better centers of the 90s. They played the position well, but helped in the transition between the greats of yesterday to today’s problem.

The 90s were full of extraordinary centers, but what made them so special? There were a few things that the centers of today don’t have.

The centers of the 90s all spent a few years in college with good coaches. All of them spent three to four years at the collegiate level and were allowed to develop their god given talents. They came into the league with great footwork, ability to play with their backs to the baskets and could hit the jump shot. They were taught the importance of defense and were all natural leaders.

All of them made immediate impacts to their teams in their first seasons, the majority of them averaging double-doubles as rookies. It’s the discipline and the knowledge of their positions that made these men great.

Today’s center position has been re-defined by up-tempo offenses and small ball. A seven-footer has to be able to run the floor like guards and hit the three to be on the floor today because they don’t have the ability to play effectively on the blocks.

This generation of big men grew up watching Jordan win six titles handling the ball on the perimeter, they grew up watching the love Grant Hill, Allen Iverson, Tim and Penny Hardaway got; they grew up watching the uprising of And1.

This generation of coaches fell in love with the shooting ability of the European bigs. However, with more minutes on the floor the league saw more flopping (see Vlade Divac). The European game showed the versatility a big man could possess. Now guys like Lamar Odom can bring the ball up court on a consistent basis as opposed to taking advantage of his size and athleticism on the block.

The guard position was glorified, and with the emergence of guys like Kevin Garnett, who can handle the ball exceptionally well for a big man, all hell broke loose. Every six foot eighth grader started working on their crossover, every high school center was bringing the ball up court at local pick up games and they started skipping college because their AAU coaches were telling them they had the talent to become a force to be reckoned with in the big leagues.

Now, we have the Kwame Browns, Yao Mings (who’s finally coming around, thank God), the Samuel Dalemberts and Tyson Chandlers.

You have 7-footers that aren’t exactly considered centers like Dirk shooting as many shots behind the arch as the guards on the team, or like Pau Gasol who are just too soft for their size.

The position just lacks the athleticism it once had. The future seems bleak when the only two centers kids can name now are Shaq and Yao ming. Every once in a while you’ll find a kid that will run off some of the life size names from the 90s, but there aren’t too many. I don’t know how anyone who was born in the 90s that can name some of the hall of fame centers before their time, and it’s really disappointing.

Everyone wants to play the glamour positions in every sport, and the art of the post move is deteriorating. The dominant force there once was isn’t there now. Offenses are not run through the paint first, but through the vigor of the backcourt. The teams without dominant guards are the teams that struggle.

With the puffed guard position, footwork and fundamentals are over looked, and everyone is trying to make Chris Berman’s top plays of the week. Centers in the league now don not play like centers. Seven-footers see the perimeter as much as their point guards.

Sure, there are other factors that have contributed to the de-evolution of the center (the crack down on physical play, flopping, the fear of touching another man), but you can see how the position has changed.

The low post seems pre-historic, big men post up at the elbows now and have perfected the mid range jumper instead of the jump hook in the lane. The game is less physical because no one can catch the ball on the block, turn and power through their defenders anymore, the footwork and determination that was present in the 90s has become extinct.

Nowitzki, Garnett, and Bosh are giving over sized ten year olds false hope that one day, they too can bring the ball up the court and take a twenty foot jumper. Highlights are putting the fact that Garnett and Bosh are brilliant on the block as well. No one wants to be the next Tim Duncan because he takes the fun out of fundamentals. The future seems dour, I can only bid farewell to the center position.


Photos Courtesy of africa.upenn.edu, southalabama.edu, bballone.com, and nba.com