When you look back at NBA history, a Championship team or a Dynasty is built around a Center, aka "The Big Man". Your obvious exceptions are: Michael Jordan's Bulls of the '90s, and the Bad Boy Pistons of the late '80s-early '90s. Generally, the Center has a very successful track record of winning titles: The Celtics of the '60s (Bill Russell), the 1967 Philadelphia 76ers (Wilt Chamberlain), the '71 Bucks (Kareem) the '72 Lakers (Wilt, again), the Showtime Lakers (Kareem), the '83 Sixers (Moses), the Houston Rockets back-to-back titles in '94 & '95 (Hakeem), the 3-peat Lakers of the early 2000s (Shaq), and the San Antonio Spurs (Duncan & Robinson). You could even trace back even further to the NBA's first Dynasty, the Minneapolis Lakers (George Mikan). For years, the Center has been the most valuable position, because of the commanding presence in the middle, higher percentage shots, rebounding, shot blocking, and less prone to injuries. The Big Man is the make or break for any team who wants to win titles. The NBA's First Rivalry was between the Giants of the Game (Russell vs. Chamberlain), during the 1960s. Both men shared All-NBA 1st Team honors and MVPs during the decade (Russell-5, Wilt-4) for a combine total of 9. The Celtics reign of terror during the '60s was a result of Bill Russell's defensive dominance, Basketball Genius, hustle, determination, quickness and ability to make his teammates better. Jerry West & Elgin Baylor could not get the Lakers to the top of the mountain, because Bill Russell sat at the top of the throne, guarding the NBA Trophy like a force field. Wilt Chamberlain got his one and only time at the top, when he and the Sixers knocked Russell off the mountain in 1967, while winning League MVP honors. Wilt's impact for the Lakers was tremendous, as he joined forces with West to lead the Lakers to a 69-13 record (including a 33-game winning streak), en route to a 4-1 beatdown of the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals. Wilt was Finals MVP. The year prior, fellow Hall of Fame guard Oscar Robertson put the icing on his cake, by joining forces with rising NBA Phenom, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor at the time). Jabbar led the way as the League MVP/Scoring Champ with 31.7 ppg, while leading Milwaukee to a 66-16 record, en route to obliterating the Baltimore Bullets in the Finals (4-0). Kareem was named Finals MVP. Julius Erving, another Hall of Fame perimeter player, had struggled to lead his team to an NBA title. In his first 6 NBA seasons, Doc carried the Sixers on his back for 3 Finals Appearances. In '77, they blew a 2-0 series lead to the Portland Trailblazers, because no one could stop Bill Walton. In '80 and '82, Philly was destroyed by Kareem. Doc knew that an NBA Crown would be the largest stamp on his legacy, to solidify and validate his status, along with his ABA awards. Philadelphia knew this as well, which led them to bring in Moses Malone from the Houston Rockets, while shipping out Darryl Dawkins and Caldwell Jones. Malone was not only the most dominant big man in the league at the time. Kareem was getting older. Time was running out for Doc. Magic & Bird had another year to turn things up to the max. MJ & Dream were still in college. Therefore, Moses was the NBA's True Alpha Dog. Malone was a 2-time MVP with the Rockets ('79, '82). Moses was the largest & final piece to the championship puzzle. His impact was immediate, leading the team in scoring (24.5 ppg, 5th in NBA) and rebounding (15.1 rpg, 1st in NBA), along with an All-NBA 1st Team Selection. Moses carried an already stacked team on his back (Dr. J, Maurice Cheeks, Bobby Jones, etc.) as he ran through the league like a locomotive. With Malone, the Sixers had a 65-17 record (1st in NBA), while annihilating their opponents in the Playoffs. Moses used the ball as his rod, as he lead the 76ers out of Egypt, through the Red Sea to conquer and vanquish the Pharoah-esque Lakers in a sweep. Moses dominated Kareem that series as well, while posting 26.0 ppg, 15.8 rpg in 13 postseason games, en route to the Finals MVP award. The Sixers went 12-1, making them "Fo, Five, Fo". The Showtime Lakers themselves, have used this ingredient of success, much to their advantage by winning 5 titles in the '80s. Although Magic Johnson caught lightning in a bottle in the Legendary Game 6 of the 1980 Finals (Game where Kareem is hurt), and becomes a hero as a rookie, Kareem was the REAL Finals MVP. That series, he averaged 33.4 ppg, 13.6 rpg, 4.6 bpg, 3.2 apg, 55% FG, 80% FT. Kareem was the best player in the world at the time, whereas Magic was a rookie. Therefore, since Kareem was the Captain, he was the largest reason why L.A. reached the heights that they had reached at the time. That season, Kareem won his record 6th MVP award. Magic would later take the load off of Kareem as the decade progressed, but for the time being, Jabbar was the man! In 1994, when Michael Jordan left for baseball, the league's best Center Hakeem Olajuwon took the torch and held it high in Michael's absence. Coming off of a stellar 1992-93 campaign in which he averaged 26.1 ppg, 13.0 rpg, along with a league leading 4.2 bpg to win Defensive Player of the Year (2nd in MVP voting), Hakeem was at the top of his game. He would build upon that success in the '93-'94 season. Olajuwon would have the signature season of his career, averaging 27.3 ppg, 11.9 rpg, and 3.7 bpg, en route to his first MVP award and his second DPOY award. That season was a Dream year for Hakeem, as he became the only player in history to win League MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP in one season. The Dream filled the gap very well in MJ's absence, with a spectacular Finals performance vs. the Knicks. Hakeem terrorized Patrick Ewing in that series (Olajuwon- 26.9 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 3.9 bpg, 50% FG, PER: 27.1, Ewing- 18 ppg, 36% FG, PER: 15.5). This was certainly a performance worthy of a Finals MVP. The following year, Olajuwon would further build upon his legacy and solidify himself even more as an all-time great, with a Legendary Playoff run. That year, he averaged 33.0 ppg, 10.3 rpg, and 4.5 bpg in 22 playoff games en route to winning his 2nd straight Finals MVP (32.8 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 5.5 apg, in a sweep of Orlando). Clyde Drexler even knew Hakeem's value, which is why he demanded a trade from Portland to Houston to reunite with his old college teammate during that '95 campaign. At that point, Drexler was never the same player after becoming Michael Jordan's whipping boy in the '92 Finals, which made him another notch on MJ's belt. Therefore, he saw the small window of opportunity while His Airness was away, and he jumped on the Dream Express to win his only NBA title. Look at the San Antonio Spurs. If David Robinson was not there, I firmly believe that Tim Duncan's development would not have been the same. As a result of Robinson's presence, the Twin Tower duo of he and Duncan went on to win the first 2 out of 4 Spurs championships.
As you can see, this has been a very strong pattern throughout NBA history. A valuable Big Man is like water: you cannot live very long without it. Unfortunately, the Great NBA Center has become extinct and obsolete. This has come as a result of the league's rule changes, which opens up the floor for perimeter players. This also includes the defensive 3-second violation, where big men cannot stay in the paint for more than 3 seconds. You also have players who are not as well conditioned as they were in the Golden Years of Centers (Wilt, Hakeem, Kareem, Robinson, etc.) There was certainly as much processed food during the '90s, but the Big Men of that time were in better shape, and were more athletic, in spite of not having as much equipment, advanced weight training and vitamins that players have today. Yet, these players STILL put up OUTSTANDING numbers. Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing and a young Shaq were the best Centers of the '90s and their production proves it. There is no way that you can seriously tell me that Dwight Howard, Tyson Chandler or Andrew Bynum would hold a candle to what these players did during their respective primes. Those guys look like scrubs compared to these four Hall of Fame Titans. Dwight Howard is a diva whose offensive game still has a way to go (He trains with Hakeem, what more do I need to say?), Andrew Bynum is inconsistent, and uncoordinated with a lack of footwork, and Tyson Chandler could not stand a chance against a threatening big man, with a horrific 1.1 blocks per game. 1.1 BLOCKS PER GAME?! Yeah, Chandler would really suffocate Hakeem and give him a headache! Dwight Howard could really shut down Shaq and Bynum could really slow down the Admiral! This is foolish! Players from the '90s like Olajuwon & Robinson averaged roughly 13 Rebounds, and 3-4 Blocks Per Game, IN THEIR PRIME!! Today's Big Men have become lazy, out of shape Cream Puffs, with no formidable game that strikes fear in the hearts of the opponents. Big Men like Shaq, Wilt, Russell, etc. were Gladiators that fought the good fight with dignity, pride and self-respect, not for greed! Their game spoke for them and brought the fame to them. Too many players want the fame, but their game does not support the image that they portray. Dwight Howard dominates guys who are SCRUBS!! He would not last that long in the Eras before him! Big Men, please come back! The hardcore hoops fans, like myself, need you!
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