The men in the middle

Great centers appear to be a dying breed. With Shaquille O'Neal on the downside of his career, there doesn't appear to be a successor coming along -- although Tim Duncan truthfully is a center listed at power forward.

Still, this is a strange development since centers have ruled the professional landscape since George Mikan.

Side note: I like Yao Ming. I've drafted him for fantasy teams each year he has been in the league. But I don't think he'll ever be a 20 and 10 guy.

Here are the top 10 centers

Player, year, points
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1969-1989, 22679.8
2. Wilt Chamberlain, 1959-1973, 21697.2
3. Hakeem Olajuwon, 1984-2002, 19927.9
4. Bill Russell, 1956-1969, 19765.2
5. Shaquille O'Neal, 1992-2005, 18846.9
6. David Robinson, 1989-2003, 18490.3
7. Moses Malone, 1974-1995, 18288.7
8. George Mikan, 1948-1956, 18123.1
9. Artis Gilmore, 1971-1988, 17319.1
10. Pat Ewing, 1985-2002, 16588.4

Kareem over Wilt. This was another thing that surprised me when I ran the numbers. It came down to Kareem's longevity and Wilt's playoff shortcomings. I've always defended Chamberlain in the Wilt vs. Russell arguments. Russell's fans say he was the ultimate winner. Well, Wilt still finished higher on my list than Bill, but they have a point about Wilt's playoff numbers. They aren't nearly as good as his regular season stats. And in my system, I don't rate playoff numbers against other players, I rate playoff numbers against a player's regular season stats.

Why? Well if Michael Jordan averaged 30 points a game in the regular season, his teammates were going to need those 30 in the playoffs to win the title. If he only averaged 25 in the playoffs, that still may have been better than everyone else, but that means the defense held him down, forcing other Bulls to step up or the Bulls went home.

This happened way too much with Wilt.

Another result that surprised me, Moses Malone finished below David Robinson. I saw both play at their peak and I thought Moses was better. His 1982-1983 season was magic. But Moses faded quickly as a top player -- although he remained a serviceable center for 20 years -- while Robinson played at the highest level longer. Robinson was also helped by his defensive statistics. He may have been the greatest athlete to play center ever. Moses wasn't much of a shot blocker.

Of the next 10 centers, only Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo are playing, but both as backups. This list won't change for a long time.