Ranking The Best Centers Of The 2017-18 NBA Season
Who were the best NBA centers in 2017-18?
With the rise of smaller, more skilled lineups, the value of the classic NBA center has plummeted. Strong, plodding big men have in large part fallen to the wayside. And their replacements? Players with the foot speed to keep up with perimeter players on switches. Or with the offensive perimeter skills to run the old center archetype off the floor. But only 20 qualified players that ESPN labels as centers averaged more than 24 minutes per game in 2017-18, easily the lowest mark of any position — 27 power forwards, 35 small forwards, 32 shooting guards, and 29 point guards, as ESPN defines them, cleared 24 minutes per game. So for this list of the best NBA centers in 2017-18, the pickings were slim. (For more reviews of the 2017-18 NBA season, check out our lists of the most overrated and underrated players of the year.)20. Brook Lopez
Though his minutes took a huge hit with a new, rebuilding team, the 30-year-old continued to be one of the more effective inside-out offensive centers in 2017-18.
While he gets roasted for his minuscule rebounding figures, for the sixth season in a row Lopez’s team had a better rebounding rate with him on the floor than off, underscoring his ability to wall off opponents’ would-be rebounders.
19. Hassan Whiteside
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Whiteside kept destroying the boards in 2017-18, hauling in 11.4 rebounds in just 25.3 minutes per game. As usual, the 28-year-old was helpless when forced to defend in space away from the basket, but he continued to be a solid rim protector.
He did what he’s done since his career resurgence, but the game is moving past his archetype.
18. Enes Kanter
Once again, Kanter was one of the game’s best interior players on the boards and on the offensive end, averaging 14.1 points and 11 rebounds in 25.8 minutes per game on a true shooting percentage of 63, according to Basketball Reference. Once again, he was absolutely hopeless on the defensive half of the floor.
17. Jonas Valanciunas
Formerly kinda like Kanter if Kanter wasn’t absolutely hopeless on defense, Valanciunas further separated himself from interior-banging centers by adding an occasionally deployed three-pointer in 2017-18, hitting 40.5 percent form deep on just 74 attempts. He averaged 12.7 points and 8.
6 rebounds in 22.4 minutes per game, with a 62.8 true shooting percentage.