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Image credit: Fadeaway World
By the time the 2000s came out, it was considered a fairly weak era for the buggers at the center. Other than one guy being the most dominant player in the game, talent at the position is relatively rare across the league. That’s no slight to the big names of the era, but you could see the game starting to change in the middle of this decade. Instead of dominating in the paint, the game slowly moved away from the basket until we got to where we are today.
That’s not to say there weren’t some great players at center in the NBA at the time. From 2000 to 2004, the recognized best player in the world was a center forward. Perhaps the reason many feel that way about that era is that the aforementioned players were so dominant that everyone else at center looked worse. I should also point out that many of the game’s greatest defenders are centers, as you’ll see below. Inside defense was still the most valuable thing in basketball at the time, so many people may have a different opinion of this position because of the obsession with offense. Regardless, these 10 players were greats in the 2000s, and today we celebrate their accomplishments.
These are the 10 greatest NBA centers of the 2000s.
10. Brad Miller
Image credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
1999-00 to 2008-09 Honors:
2x All Stars
Brad Miller is an odd case to start this list. Miller was a Swiss army knife of centers in the early 2000s. Of course, he can score and rebound, which is critical to a center’s success. Miller is also one of the best passing big men in the NBA, and half of his points come from spot-up shooters. He is very effective on mid-range shots and high post passes, and his passing vision is wide. The only downside for Miller is his length and strength on the defensive end.
Miller started the decade as a member of the Chicago Bulls and Charlotte Hornets. After several productive seasons in Chicago, Miller was traded to the Pacers in 2002. In his only full season in 2002-03, Miller was a first-time All-Star, averaging 13.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists. That summer, Miller was traded to the Kings, where he fit in perfectly their system. Miller was again an All-Star in the 2003-04 season, averaging 14.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.2 blocks per game. Miller, who retired in 2012, is a two-time All-Star and one of the best big men of the decade.
9. Marcus Camby
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee – USA TODAY Sports
1999-00 to 2008-09 Honors:
1x Defensive Player of the Year
4 times selected to the All-Defensive Team
Remember how I said earlier how important interior defense is in this day and age? Marcus Camby is one of those people I’m talking about. Camby dominated the paint, making many superstars think twice before stepping inside to challenge him at the basket. He’s intimidating as a weak-side shot-blocker and uses his length and size to control the game around the rim. His offensive game is far from perfect, and while he has second chances on offensive rebounds, he rarely creates his own shots.
After winning the block title in his second season with the Raptors, Marcus Camby left the team at the turn of the decade to join the New York Knicks. Camby became a double-digit scorer and game-changing shot blocker. Camby left the Nuggets in 2003, where he truly became the defensive maestro he knows today. From 2006 to 2008, Camby led the NBA in blocked shots for three consecutive seasons and averaged 3.3 blocks per game or better each year. In 2007, he was named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year with averages of 3.3 BPG and 1.3 SPG.
8. Vlade Divac
Image credit: Fadeaway World
1999-00 to 2008-09 Honors:
1x All-Star
Vlade Divac is another intriguing option for this position, really only because he retired after 2005 so he’s so late on this list. Divac is a solid rebounder and defender who produced one of the most memorable moments of the decade against Shaquille O’Neal in the Kings’ NBA playoffs. Divac was one of the best all-around big men of the 200s, but faltered towards the end of his career. At the end of his career, Divac was one of only three players in NBA history to total more than 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,500 blocks.
Playing alongside Shaquille O’Neal for most of the early 2000s really helped the most in understanding how tough he was on the court. At the end of his career, though, he wasn’t someone to be easily overwhelmed, as he fought back on more than one occasion in the Kings’ close rivalry with the Lakers. In 2001, he also represented the Kings in the only All-Star Game of his career, averaging 12.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. Divac might even make our underrated list of the decade at some point.
7. Dikembe Mutombo
Image credit: Fadeaway World
1999-00 to 2008-09 Honors:
1x Defensive Player of the Year
3 times all star
2-time All-NBA selection
2 times selected to the All-Defensive Team
Dikembe Mutombo was hailed as one of the greatest defenders in NBA history in the 90s and was still making a big impact on teams in the early 2000s. Mutombo is an artist at changing shots and blocking shots, and teams have won a lot of games with his defensive ability. He’s a double-digit scoring threat with money on both sides of the ball in the paint. Fewer people have made it to the top of Mutombo’s mountain during their NBA careers, and many more have failed to do so.
Mutombo started in the 2000s as an All-Star for the Atlanta Hawks. He was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers midway through the 2001 season and was named Defensive Player of the Year for the fourth time in his career. He also helped bolster the defense as the Sixers reached the NBA Finals that season. In 2002, Mutombo was named to the last All-NBA, All-Star and All-Defensive team of his career with the 76ers. He retired in 2009 after 18 seasons in the NBA.
6. Amare Stoudemire
Image credit: Howard Smith – USA TODAY Sports
1999-00 to 2008-09 Honors:
1x Rookie of the Year
4x All Stars
3-time All-NBA selection
One of the most exciting centers of the 2000s was Amar’e Stoudemire. He controlled his game with great speed and ferocity as a member of the Suns team in the 2000s, whose offense broke records. Thanks to the high IQs of Steve Nash and Stoudemire, the Suns became one of the most successful and exciting teams of the 2000s. Stoudemire wowed crowds with his powerful shots and ability to put the ball on the floor and finish with ferocity at the rim.
Stoudemire started his Rookie of the Year career in 2002-03 with 13.6 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. He was an All-Star in his third season and was a mid-season selection of the year in 2007. Stoudemire peaked in the 2000s with the Suns in 2008, when he averaged 25.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. While he didn’t lead the Suns to an NBA title, he was recognized as one of the team’s best players due to his stellar efforts in the 2000s.
5. Alonzo Mourning
Image credit: Fadeaway World
1999-00 to 2008-09 Honors:
1 NBA championship
1x Defensive Player of the Year
3 times all star
1x All-NBA Team Selection
1x All-Defensive Team Selection
Alonzo Mourning is one of the players we’ll be talking about more today if he stays healthy and doesn’t get sick. During his time with the Miami Heat in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, Mourning was considered a top 5 center in basketball. He’s built like a bull, and his athleticism complements his defensive and offensive prowess. Mourning took a lot out of him after the 2002 season with a kidney ailment.
Mourning led the NBA in blocked shots with 3.7 blocks per game and started the decade with the Defensive Player of the Year award. He also added 21.7 points and 9.5 rebounds in his All-Star season. Mourning went on to be an All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year in 2001, averaging 13.6 PPG, 7.8 RPG and 2.4 BPG. In 2002, he made his third straight All-Star selection, averaging 15.7 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. His all-around game was as influential as ever before he missed the entire 2003 season with illness. Sad to see what would have happened had he never lost the momentum he carried in the 2000s. In 2006, he finally got the gold medal when he won the 2006 NBA Championship with the Miami Heat as a standout backup to Shaq.
4. Ben Wallace
Image credit: Kim Klement – USA TODAY Sports
1999-00 to 2008-09 Honors:
1 NBA championship
4-time Defensive Player of the Year
4x All Stars
5-time All-NBA selection
Selected to the All-Defensive Team 6 times
In the 2000s, there probably wasn’t more than 1 or 2 center players who had more impact on a team than Ben Wallace. Although he could finish at the rim, he was never seen as an offensive threat. Wallace was considered the best defensive big man in the game at the time, and when they decided to drive to the rim against the Detroit Pistons in the 2000s, anyone would have been horrified. Wallace is one of two players, the other being Dikembe Mutombo, to win four Defensive Player of the Year awards in his career.
Wallace won back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2002 and 2003 and 2005 and 2006. Perhaps his most influential year was 2004, when he lost the award but gained something far more precious. The 2004 Pistons were known as one of the best defensive teams in basketball thanks to the work Wallace did inside. In the playoffs that year, Wallace averaged 10.3 points, 14.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. His contribution to O’Neal in the NBA Finals was legendary, and he helped the Pistons win their first championship since 1990. For a defensive juggernaut he once was, Wallace has a reason to be in the top three of this list, but dropping to No. 4 is still admirable.
3. Yao Ming
Image credit: Rafael Suanes – USA TODAY Sports
1999-00 to 2008-09 Honors:
7 time all star
6-time All-NBA selection
Yao Ming is another player whose career kept us from being NBA fans because premature injuries robbed us and the Houston Rockets of our full potential. Yao Ming’s combination of size and skill made him irresistible to most opponents in the paint. He has the hands of an NFL receiver and has a smooth shot away from the rim. His instincts and defensive awareness made Houston a formidable opponent in the 2000s until injuries derailed them nearly every year.
Call it his fans in the Far East or the skill he displays every night, but barring a sideline in 2010, Yao has been an All-Star in every season of his career. His peak period can be considered from 2006 to 2008. During that time, Yao averaged 23.0 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks over a 3-year period. The Rockets centered Ming on four playoff appearances, but then again, he rarely made it to the big games. Who knows what will happen if he stays healthy, but when he’s healthy, he’s one of the best players around.
2. Dwight Howard
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
1999-00 to 2008-09 Honors:
1x Defensive Player of the Year
3 times all star
3-time All-NBA selection
3 times selected to the All-Defensive Team
The second most dominant big man of the 2000s was Dwight Howard. Known as Superman for his incredible leaps and the incredible strength he displayed on the court, Howard took the league by storm in the late 2000s. Almost unstoppable on both ends of the floor, he was critical to success every time he stepped on the court. Howard led the Magic to an improbable run to the 2009 Finals and had an impact on a team that had struggled since the departure of its last dominant big man.
Howard was an All-Star in the 2007 season and didn’t stop until 2014. Howard led 3 rebounds and 2 blocked shots in the 2000s. He peaked in the 2009 Finals season in the 2000s, when he averaged 20.6 points, 13.8 rebounds,…
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