The top 10 centers -- no change

After dominating the NBA landscape for four decades, the role of the center has dramatically declined since the heyday of Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Pat Ewing.

Only one of the centers on my list of 10 greatest is still active, Shaquille O'Neal, and he's on his way out.

Of course, the center position isn't totally dead. Yao Ming, if he can stay healthy, perhaps could work his way on to the list, and Dwight Howard is the next big thing for the pivot.

For now, here are the 10 best:

Player, years, points
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1969-1989, 22721.5
2. Wilt Chamberlain, 1959-1973, 21697.2
3. Hakeem Olajuwon, 1984-2002, 19935.7
4. Bill Russell, 1956-1969, 19765.2
5. Shaquille O'Neal, 1992-2007, 18958.9
6. David Robinson, 1989-2003, 18490.3
7. Moses Malone, 1974-1995, 18246.1
8. George Mikan, 1948-1956, 18123.1
9. Artis Gilmore, 1971-1988, 17375.7
10. Pat Ewing, 1985-2002, 16609.2

Wilt was a colossus but there is truth to the critics who say he didn't deliver in the playoffs. He rarely met his season averages in the postseason. Abdul-Jabbar on the other hand routinely exceeded his regular season stats in the playoffs. When you are as close as these two, that was enough to tip the equation in Kareem's favor.

There are still those that choose Russell as the greatest player ever. He is the greatest winner, but his teams were loaded and he was very limited offensively. The more rounded Olajuwon outscored him in a variety of ways.

Both Russell and Chamberlain were hurt by the fact the NBA didn't keep stats on blocks and steals in their careers. I had to use estimated numbers based on their first-time All-NBA finishes of the centers that came after them. If Russell was as good as people say, his block numbers most likely were off the charts and could have pushed him ahead of Hakeem. We'll never know for sure.

David Robinson and Moses Malone illustrate how your eyes can lie. I saw Moses in his prime when he took the Rockets and 76ers to the finals and absolutely dominated Abdul-Jabbar. I would never have picked Robinson ahead of Moses.

But Robinson played at his peak much longer than Moses, who had five top-shelf seasons and then dropped down a tier. Also, Moses didn't block shots or have many steals. Robinson filled up a boxscore in a lot more ways.