We've reached the end of our search for the NBA best center and --- spoiler alert! --- it's somebody we know all too well.
In our series ranking the NBA's top 10 players at each position over five weeks
of theranked as the easy choice as the top big man.These are not fantasy basketball rankings. These rankings also don't measure players' potential or their career achievements. Instead, they are meant to capture where players rank at this moment.We unveiled two rankings a day, beginning on Monday mornings with the 10th-best player at a position and ending on Friday afternoons with the best player at that position.
Think a player's ranking is too high or too low? Voice your opinion by writing in the comments field below.
Dwight Howard
Center ranking:1st
Current team: Orlando Magic
Height/weight: 6-11, 265
Age on Dec. 8, 2011: 26
Seasons with current team/in NBA:7/72010-11 regular-season stats: 78 G, 37.6 mpg, .593 fg%, .598 ft%, 22.9 ppg, 14.1 rpg, 2.4 bpg2010-11 advanced regular-season stats*: .616 ts%, .593 efg%, 21.8 trb%, 113 ortg, 94 drtg, 26 PER2011 postseason stats:
6 G, 43.0 mpg, .630 fg%, .682 ft%, 27.0 ppg, 15.5 rpg, 1.8 bpg2011 advanced postseason stats
Contract status: Dwight can become a free agent after the season, using an opt-out clause.
Strengths: He is clearly the league's top center in an age where traditional centers are extinct. No big man dominates with his back to the basket or using athletic moves in the paint quite like Howard. He has added elements to his game --- a bank-shot here or a medium-range jumper there --- to keep defenses halfway honest. Obviously, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year singlehandedly makes the Magic a force. Water covers three-quarters of the Earth; Dwight covers the rest.
Weaknesses: Howard
he wants to be a 75 percent free-throw shooter --- and that would mean taking a giant leap. His career average: 59.8 percent. He can still work on his repertoire ofshots and reducing turnovers when defenses swarm him. The future: That's the multi-million dollar question. Does he stay in Orlando and keep the Magic in contention? Or does he leave as a free agent and decimate the franchise?
*All advanced statistics come from Basketball-Reference.com. Here's what those advanced statistics mean:
ts%: True shooting percentage, a measure of shooting efficiency that takes into account 2-point field goals, 3-point field goals and free throws.
efg%: Effective field-goal percentage, which adjusts for the fact that a 3-point field goal is worth one more point than a 2-point field goal.
trb%: Total rebound percentage, an estimate of available rebounds a player grabbed while he was on the floor.
ortg: Offensive rating, an estimate of points produced per 100 possessions.
drtg: Defensive rating, an estimate of points allowed per 100 possessions.
In our series ranking the NBA's top 10 players at each position over five weeks
of theranked as the easy choice as the top big man.These are not fantasy basketball rankings. These rankings also don't measure players' potential or their career achievements. Instead, they are meant to capture where players rank at this moment.We unveiled two rankings a day, beginning on Monday mornings with the 10th-best player at a position and ending on Friday afternoons with the best player at that position.
Think a player's ranking is too high or too low? Voice your opinion by writing in the comments field below.
Dwight Howard
Center ranking:1st
Current team: Orlando Magic
Height/weight: 6-11, 265
Age on Dec. 8, 2011: 26
Seasons with current team/in NBA:7/72010-11 regular-season stats: 78 G, 37.6 mpg, .593 fg%, .598 ft%, 22.9 ppg, 14.1 rpg, 2.4 bpg2010-11 advanced regular-season stats*: .616 ts%, .593 efg%, 21.8 trb%, 113 ortg, 94 drtg, 26 PER2011 postseason stats:
6 G, 43.0 mpg, .630 fg%, .682 ft%, 27.0 ppg, 15.5 rpg, 1.8 bpg2011 advanced postseason stats
Contract status: Dwight can become a free agent after the season, using an opt-out clause.
Strengths: He is clearly the league's top center in an age where traditional centers are extinct. No big man dominates with his back to the basket or using athletic moves in the paint quite like Howard. He has added elements to his game --- a bank-shot here or a medium-range jumper there --- to keep defenses halfway honest. Obviously, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year singlehandedly makes the Magic a force. Water covers three-quarters of the Earth; Dwight covers the rest.
Weaknesses: Howard
he wants to be a 75 percent free-throw shooter --- and that would mean taking a giant leap. His career average: 59.8 percent. He can still work on his repertoire ofshots and reducing turnovers when defenses swarm him. The future: That's the multi-million dollar question. Does he stay in Orlando and keep the Magic in contention? Or does he leave as a free agent and decimate the franchise?
*All advanced statistics come from Basketball-Reference.com. Here's what those advanced statistics mean:
ts%: True shooting percentage, a measure of shooting efficiency that takes into account 2-point field goals, 3-point field goals and free throws.
efg%: Effective field-goal percentage, which adjusts for the fact that a 3-point field goal is worth one more point than a 2-point field goal.
trb%: Total rebound percentage, an estimate of available rebounds a player grabbed while he was on the floor.
ortg: Offensive rating, an estimate of points produced per 100 possessions.
drtg: Defensive rating, an estimate of points allowed per 100 possessions.
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