Rudy Gobert has been the pinnacle of consistency and defensive success for the entirety of his career. Since he joined the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2022, they have not missed the playoffs and are in their best stretch in franchise history. That is not a coincidence.
I get the offensive frustrations with Gobert, but what he does on defense truly cannot be replicated by anyone in the league except Victor Wembanyama. He is tied for the most DPOY trophies in NBA history, and even as he approaches his mid-30s, he isn't showing any signs of slowing down. But where does Gobert stack up among the best centers in the league?
For my ranking, I focused on a few things: who I would want as my center on a championship team, sustained success, portability, and impact on both sides of the basketball.
Some players who may have been in consideration for this list, but are classified as power forwards, are Chet Holmgren, Alex Sarr, and Jaren Jackson Jr.
Honorable mentions: Domantas Sabonis, Donovan Clingan, Jarrett Allen, Walker Kessler, and Myles Turner
10. Alperen Sengun
Sengun is a tricky one for me. On the one hand, he has a blend of self-creation, playmaking, and scoring that probably makes him the closest player in the NBA to Nikola Jokic. But on the other hand, he's still so far away from Jokic that using him as an offensive hub probably isn't going to result in a lot of playoff success, as we've seen.
Truly, I think Sengun is an immensely talented player, but his playstyle is hard to win at the highest level with if you aren't Jokic. The poor defense, inconsistent shooting, and lack of scalability in his role have him bumped to 10th in these rankings, but as far as pure talent goes, he's probably top five.
9. Jalen Duren
Jalen Duren, the last remaining big-name free agent. He wants a max extension; the Detroit Pistons have no interest in giving it to him. Personally, I don't blame the Pistons, given the way Duren looked like a shell of himself under the playoff lights. Nevertheless, Duren is a great starting center, and he should only get better as he gets more seasoned.
He kind of exploded last year. After a promising first few years showing flashes as a roll-man and lob threat, he blossomed into an All-Star and All-NBA Third Team member last season, with career highs essentially across the board. Who knows where his future lies at the moment, but if he proves he can rise to the occasion in the playoffs, he can easily be higher next season.
8. Ivica Zubac
In a lost season due to injury, the Indiana Pacers made the shocking decision to part ways with their first-round pick in order to fill the center void caused by Myles Turner's departure last offseason. They used that pick along with Bennedict Mathurin to acquire Ivica Zubac. Big Z is as consistent as they come for an NBA center. He rebounds the ball, he's efficient in the paint, and he's a great interior defender.
Last season was fairly lost for Zubac due to injuries as well, but the season before with the Clippers, he was a borderline All-Star talent. However, two seasons ago, he put up 16.8 points and 12.6 rebounds while providing elite defense. He doesn't necessarily have take-over-the-game abilities, but his game can fit on nearly every roster, and his presence in the middle will help make the Pacers borderline contenders again next season.
7. Joel Embiid
Ah, yes, the Joel Embiid conundrum. When healthy, he is one of the most dominant forces on both sides of the ball in the NBA. The problem: he is quite literally never healthy. 38 games played last year, 19 before that, and 39 before that; he isn't getting any younger either.
Availability has to be accounted for due to the fact that Embiid doesn't provide any value if he's in street clothes for 3/4 of the season. If he has a healthy season, he shoots into the top three, but I just can't bank on that happening given his track record. Despite the incredible talent that Embiid is, I just can't trust him to stay on the court when he's needed the most. The guys ahead of him provide more value simply by being available.
6. Anthony Davis
I can hear the criticism from here: "You have Anthony Davis over Embiid when your argument for Embiid being low was availability." Yes, I do. I think when it comes to injuries, Davis has had a lot of freak injuries (retina surgery and the hand ligament injury, which happened on a freak play), whereas Embiid has had a lot of chronic issues with his lower body. I think Davis could have come back last season if the Wizards weren't in a hardcore tank.
I also believe that Davis' injuries affect him less in the long term than Embiid's. Davis has also performed better in the playoffs historically and is a better current defender. I'm probably higher on the Wizards than the consensus, and a lot of that is because I believe in an Anthony Davis bounce-back season; when he's healthy, he is probably the closest thing to Wemby when it comes to two-way production. If he has another "day-to-Davis" season, I'll happily eat my words.
5. Rudy Gobert
Rudy Gobert is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, and he will go down as one of the most underappreciated and disrespected players in NBA history. I said it. Call me biased, but it's a fact. There is no more elite model of consistency on the defensive end in basketball than him. He never misses games; he anchors a top-10-plus defense every season, and he's the best pure rim protector of this generation.
In this last playoff run, we saw Gobert do what few have ever done: completely stymie Nikola Jokic for an entire series. In the regular season, Jokic shot 56.9 percent from the field. When Gobert defended Jokic in the playoffs, that dropped to 44.4 percent. From 3-point range, it dropped from 38 percent to 25 percent. Jokic might be the most unguardable player in the NBA, and Gobert made him look pretty regular for an entire series, as the Wolves won 4-2.
He'll never be an elite scorer, which is the only reason he's not top-three, honestly. But the things he does on offense, he does well. He's an elite screener and offensive rebounder, and he led the league in field goal percentage last season. Wolves fans are lucky to have him, and he'll have his plaque in Springfield someday.
4. Bam Adebayo
I considered putting Adebayo below Gobert, but the difference in offensive capabilities ultimately gave him the edge. Adebayo is a gifted scorer, but one of the biggest gripes about his scoring is that you always feel like he can do more. You saw it when he scored 83 points against the Wizards; the dude can score, but sometimes he just...doesn't.
Nevertheless, he gives the Miami Heat an efficient 20 points a night, while also being one of the NBA's most versatile defenders. He's one of the only guys in the NBA I would be comfortable switching one-through-five. He and Giannis Antetokounmpo will be arguably the league's most fearsome frontcourt duo this season, and he's earned his place in the top-four with consistent elite two-way play.
3. Karl-Anthony Towns
That is NBA champion Karl-Anthony Towns for you. After years of being deemed a losing player in Minnesota, Towns completely erased that narrative this season, hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy this past season. Towns is the greatest shooting big man of all time, and one of the most offensively gifted to go along with them.
Towns has also taken a big step on defense in recent years. From defending Jokic well in the playoffs in his final season in Minnesota, to defending Wembanyama well in the finals this past season. Towns was the second-best player on a championship-winning team, and he deserves every ounce of respect coming his way.
2. Nikola Jokic
Jokic has held the crown of best center and also best player in the NBA for a few seasons now, in my opinion. He is one of the greatest offensive masterminds in the NBA, and he puts up video-game numbers every night. However, these recent playoffs have bumped him down to second-best center and third-best in the NBA for me.
The defense is a real issue. I get that his counting stats aren't bad, but his eye test is awful, and he gets blown by way too often on the perimeter and scored on too frequently at the rim. The hospital-Wolves made a fool of his defense in the playoffs last season. If he wasn't one of the greatest offensive players of all time, he would be bumped down significantly, but he is, and anything lower than two is simply wrong.
1. Victor Wembanyama
As much as I hate to say it because of some of his playoff antics, Wembanyama is the best player in the NBA. He offers an impact on defense that the NBA has never seen, and if he stays on a healthy trajectory, he will be the greatest defensive player to ever play the game.
He also walks to 25 points a night, too. The playoffs did make notice to some of his flaws (strength, ball-handling, turnovers) noticeable, but those flaws will be course-corrected over time. What he does on both ends of the court is the stuff of superhumans, and he might just be one. But maybe chill on the elbows in the future.
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