All-time · 1946–present
Best centers.
The greatest NBA centers of all time, ranked by a transparent model of production, peak, accolades and longevity.
The short answer. By the Balladex model, the greatest NBA center of all time is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — 6× NBA Champion · 6× NBA MVP · 2× Finals MVP. Next: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O'Neal, Moses Malone.
All-time centers
Ranked by the Balladex greatest score.
| # | Player | Career credentials | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 6× NBA Champion · 6× NBA MVP · 2× Finals MVP | 1891 |
| 2 |  Bill Russell | 11× NBA Champion · 5× NBA MVP · 12× NBA All-Star | 1728 |
| 3 |  Wilt Chamberlain | 2× NBA Champion · 4× NBA MVP · 1× Finals MVP | 1234 |
| 4 |  Shaquille O'Neal | 4× NBA Champion · 1× NBA MVP · 3× Finals MVP | 1124 |
| 5 |  Moses Malone | 1× NBA Champion · 3× NBA MVP · 1× Finals MVP | 965 |
| 6 |  Hakeem Olajuwon | 2× NBA Champion · 1× NBA MVP · 2× Finals MVP | 916 |
| 7 |  Nikola Jokić | 3× MVP · 1× Champ + FMVP · 8× All-Star | 825 |
| 8 |  Bob McAdoo | 2× NBA Champion · 1× NBA MVP · 3× Scoring champion | 722 |
| 9 |  Willis Reed | 2× NBA Champion · 1× NBA MVP · 2× Finals MVP | 706 |
| 10 |  David Robinson | 2× NBA Champion · 1× NBA MVP · 1× Defensive Player of the Year | 695 |
| 11 |  Robert Parish | 4× NBA Champion · 9× NBA All-Star · HOF Hall of Fame | 606 |
| 12 |  Dave Cowens | 2× NBA Champion · 1× NBA MVP · 8× NBA All-Star | 591 |
| 13 |  Joel Embiid | 1× NBA MVP (2023) · 2× Scoring champion (2022, 2023) · 7× NBA All-Star | 588 |
| 14 |  George Mikan | 5× NBA Champion · 4× NBA All-Star · HOF Hall of Fame | 558 |
| 15 |  Neil Johnston | 1× NBA Champion · 3× Scoring champion · 6× NBA All-Star | 544 |
| 16 |  Wes Unseld | 1× NBA Champion · 1× NBA MVP · 1× Finals MVP | 515 |
| 17 |  Dwight Howard | 1× NBA Champion · 3× Defensive Player of the Year · 8× NBA All-Star | 501 |
| 18 |  Bill Walton | 2× NBA Champion · 1× NBA MVP · 1× Finals MVP | 497 |
| 19 |  Rudy Gobert | 4× Defensive Player of the Year · 8× All-Defensive First Team · 2× Olympic silver (France) | 488 |
| 20 |  Dikembe Mutombo | 4× Defensive Player of the Year · 8× NBA All-Star · HOF Hall of Fame | 461 |
| 21 |  Alonzo Mourning | 1× NBA Champion · 2× Defensive Player of the Year · 7× NBA All-Star | 445 |
| 22 |  Patrick Ewing | 11× NBA All-Star · HOF Hall of Fame | 435 |
| 23 |  Al Horford | 1× NBA Champion (2024) · 5× NBA All-Star · 2× NCAA Champion (2006, 2007) | 434 |
| 24 |  Domantas Sabonis | 3x NBA All-Star · 3x Rebounding Champ · 2x All-NBA Third Team | 432 |
| 25 |  Clyde Lovellette | 3× NBA Champion · 4× NBA All-Star · HOF Hall of Fame | 423 |
| 26 |  Bam Adebayo | 3× NBA All-Star · 6× All-Defensive Team · 1× Olympic gold (2024) | 411 |
| 27 |  Ben Wallace | 1× NBA Champion · 4× Defensive Player of the Year · 4× NBA All-Star | 408 |
| 28 |  Karl-Anthony Towns | 1× NBA Champion (2026) · 6× NBA All-Star · 1× Rookie of the Year (2016) | 386 |
| 29 |  Ed Macauley | 1× NBA Champion · 7× NBA All-Star · HOF Hall of Fame | 376 |
| 30 |  Jack Sikma | 1× NBA Champion · 7× NBA All-Star | 372 |
| 31 |  Yao Ming | 8× NBA All-Star · HOF Hall of Fame | 354 |
| 32 |  Bob Lanier | 8× NBA All-Star · HOF Hall of Fame | 350 |
| 33 |  Bill Laimbeer | 2× NBA Champion · 4× NBA All-Star | 347 |
| 34 |  Bill Cartwright | 3× NBA Champion · 1× NBA All-Star | 337 |
| 35 |  Dan Issel | 7× NBA All-Star · HOF Hall of Fame | 334 |
| 36 |  Larry Foust | 8× NBA All-Star · HOF Hall of Fame | 329 |
| 37 |  Alperen Sengun | 2× NBA All-Star (2025, 2026) · 1× Turkish League MVP (2021) | 322 |
| 38 |  Nate Thurmond | 7× NBA All-Star · HOF Hall of Fame | 321 |
| 39 |  Wayne Embry | 1× NBA Champion · 5× NBA All-Star · HOF Hall of Fame | 320 |
| 40 |  Marc Gasol | 1× NBA Champion · 1× Defensive Player of the Year · 3× NBA All-Star | 297 |
| 41 |  Artis Gilmore | 6× NBA All-Star · HOF Hall of Fame | 296 |
| 42 |  Jermaine O'Neal | 6× NBA All-Star | 287 |
| 43 |  Donovan Clingan | 2× NCAA champion (2023, 2024) · 1× All-Rookie Second Team (2025) | 263 |
| 44 |  Ryan Kalkbrenner | 4× Big East DPOY (2022-25) · 1× Naismith DPOY (2025) | 262 |
| 45 |  Brook Lopez | Champion 2021 Bucks · All-Star 2013 · 2x All-Defensive | 259 |
| 46 |  Walt Bellamy | 4× NBA All-Star · HOF Hall of Fame | 258 |
| 47 |  Isaiah Hartenstein | 1× NBA Champion (2025) · 1× G League Finals MVP (2019) | 254 |
| 48 |  DeMarcus Cousins | 4× NBA All-Star | 245 |
| 49 |  Ralph Sampson | 4× NBA All-Star · HOF Hall of Fame | 236 |
| 50 |  Victor Wembanyama | 1× Defensive Player of the Year (2026) · 1× All-NBA First Team (2026) · 1× Rookie of the Year (2024) | 235 |
Method. A transparent Balladex model estimate. Career production, peak, accolades and longevity, ranked across every center in the database. See the full NBA greatest of all time and the stat leaders.