Post by Nathanjyd on Dec 19, 2005 16:46:55 GMT -5
Last of A Dieing Breed: NBA Centers
As Young Jeezy’s lyrics reverberate in my ears, “Last of a Dieing Breed”; is Shaq the last of a dieing breed? Shaq may very well be the last dominant center in a game which is varying by the second. As European big men and smaller more mobile American PF’s take over the game, is there any room left for that dominant center which was such a dominant part of the past champions in the NBA?
Every draft there is always a man who is supposed to be “the next Shaq” or “baby Shaq”, but has there ever been one? Failed attempts at players who were supposed to imitate Shaq’s interior dominance include players like Sofoklis Schortsanitis, who does not even play in the NBA any more. In the upcoming 2006 NBA draft, not one player who is projected to be drafted, weighs over 250 pounds, which is a far cry from Shaq who weighs anywhere from 320-350 pounds. Can anyone in the future ever eclipse career averages of 26.7 PPG and 11.9 RPG, oh, and three consecutive championships?
Shaquille O’neal appears to be the last of a generation of centers that existed in the NBA during the 90’s. Centers such as David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Patrick Ewing reigned supreme during this era where the center was the focal point of the offense. Robinson, Olajuwon and Ewing combined for three championships, two MVP awards, and an astonishing 33 all-star appearances. Even average centers of the time period such as Rik Smits provided a prominent force down low which was supplemented by players such as Dale Davis and Antonio Davis.
The influx of foreign players in the NBA, could also attribute to the fact that centers are having less of an impact on the game. Great centers in Europe normally come to America at 7’0” 220, with a jumper and face up game. This vastly differs from the 7’0” 300 pound centers that play back to the basket and get their points by dunks and put backs like the prototypical American center of the past. The immense numbers of these 7’0” foreigners coming to the NBA are forced to play the three and four because they could not survive with the ever growing physical game in the post. These players often take the place of American college centers in the draft, and the great college centers never make it to the NBA.
The lottery, which was invented to give a disgraceful team an instant building block to mold their team around, has turned into horrid teams drafting for the future and this accumulating lottery picks year after year. This process of drafting high school players that may be good in 4-6 years, has also led to the decline of the prominence of the center. I took the statistics from centers drafted in the lottery from 1998-2002, and was utterly surprised by the results. I did not take centers from the draft classes from 2003-2005 because they are not fully developed. These centers drafted over the five year span in the lottery average just 7.7 points per game and 5.4 rebound per game. These centers include Michael Doleac, Alexander Redojevic, Joel Pryzbilla, Chris Mihm and Melvin Ely. Of all the centers drafted in the lottery in these five years, only 9 players, Yao Ming has made the only all star appearance.
Could Shaq be the last of the dieing breed of centers? With the European invasion of 7’0”+ power and small forwards, the new focus on building for the future instead of the present, and the new American game of basketball focused solely on athletic ability; I think it could very well be.
As Young Jeezy’s lyrics reverberate in my ears, “Last of a Dieing Breed”; is Shaq the last of a dieing breed? Shaq may very well be the last dominant center in a game which is varying by the second. As European big men and smaller more mobile American PF’s take over the game, is there any room left for that dominant center which was such a dominant part of the past champions in the NBA?
Every draft there is always a man who is supposed to be “the next Shaq” or “baby Shaq”, but has there ever been one? Failed attempts at players who were supposed to imitate Shaq’s interior dominance include players like Sofoklis Schortsanitis, who does not even play in the NBA any more. In the upcoming 2006 NBA draft, not one player who is projected to be drafted, weighs over 250 pounds, which is a far cry from Shaq who weighs anywhere from 320-350 pounds. Can anyone in the future ever eclipse career averages of 26.7 PPG and 11.9 RPG, oh, and three consecutive championships?
Shaquille O’neal appears to be the last of a generation of centers that existed in the NBA during the 90’s. Centers such as David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Patrick Ewing reigned supreme during this era where the center was the focal point of the offense. Robinson, Olajuwon and Ewing combined for three championships, two MVP awards, and an astonishing 33 all-star appearances. Even average centers of the time period such as Rik Smits provided a prominent force down low which was supplemented by players such as Dale Davis and Antonio Davis.
The influx of foreign players in the NBA, could also attribute to the fact that centers are having less of an impact on the game. Great centers in Europe normally come to America at 7’0” 220, with a jumper and face up game. This vastly differs from the 7’0” 300 pound centers that play back to the basket and get their points by dunks and put backs like the prototypical American center of the past. The immense numbers of these 7’0” foreigners coming to the NBA are forced to play the three and four because they could not survive with the ever growing physical game in the post. These players often take the place of American college centers in the draft, and the great college centers never make it to the NBA.
The lottery, which was invented to give a disgraceful team an instant building block to mold their team around, has turned into horrid teams drafting for the future and this accumulating lottery picks year after year. This process of drafting high school players that may be good in 4-6 years, has also led to the decline of the prominence of the center. I took the statistics from centers drafted in the lottery from 1998-2002, and was utterly surprised by the results. I did not take centers from the draft classes from 2003-2005 because they are not fully developed. These centers drafted over the five year span in the lottery average just 7.7 points per game and 5.4 rebound per game. These centers include Michael Doleac, Alexander Redojevic, Joel Pryzbilla, Chris Mihm and Melvin Ely. Of all the centers drafted in the lottery in these five years, only 9 players, Yao Ming has made the only all star appearance.
Could Shaq be the last of the dieing breed of centers? With the European invasion of 7’0”+ power and small forwards, the new focus on building for the future instead of the present, and the new American game of basketball focused solely on athletic ability; I think it could very well be.
Courtney
Minerva
Lesley
Sharona
Telisa