Dominant NBA Centers

Yao schooled Shaq so bad he announced he's getting surgery today.

But no one is dominates like Shaquille can. Yao can set a pace but not be the intimidator Shaq is. And while Ben Wallace, Emeka , and Camby are good defensively, they're pretty much undersized(underweight in Camby's case) to be a true center. Even Amare is seeing alot of PF time.

The only true centers around now(and this isn't based on how good or bad they are) are Kaman, Ilgauskas, Nazr Mohammed, Magloire, Nesterovic, Yao, and Shaquille. Everyone else is either undersized or center sized with a PF game.

Bynum will be there soon.

Originally posted by Darth Martin
Shaq
Yao
Camby
Amare
Mourning
Big Ben
Okur

Camby, Okur and Mourning? They aren't consistent enough to be considered dominant IMO.

Mourning sucks ass. Not to mention he should go to hell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MGCub_a3mw

YAO GOT BLOCKED BY NATE ROBINSON!!! 😆 😆 😆

Again, one of the softest centers in the league can not be considered dominat, only considered pretty good.

Thats only if you consider dominance to be directly linked to power only. Yao is not a power player, never will be but he dominates with low post moves like the turn around, the jump hook and up and under. I think we have got so used to using Shaq as the definition of dominance that when a player dominates with skill its doesnt stand out.

Also Nate Robinson may be a dwarf but he is built like a brick shithouse and has plenty of ups, its not like he was blocked by Steve Nash. Granted Yao is 7-6, but he has never been an explosive jumper thats one of the reasons he get dunked on so often (he doesnt get off the floor quick enough). Just because he doesnt have a mean steak doesnt mean he isnt dominant right now, i have certainly labeled him as soft in the past but he has been proving me wrong with his play at the end of last season and the start of this one.

Originally posted by DanZeke25
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MGCub_a3mw

YAO GOT BLOCKED BY NATE ROBINSON!!! 😆 😆 😆

Again, one of the softest centers in the league can not be considered dominat, only considered pretty good.

It was a great play by Robinson, but you can't deny everything Yao has accomplished over 1 stupid play. Again for 5 millionth time, you don't have to be "Shaq-like" in order to be dominant. There will only be one Shaq, no one will dominate like him. EVER. So, you're just going to omit all of Yao's fundamental skills and efficiency and not call him a dominant center, when he has kicked Shaq's ass so many times, just because he doesn't have the biggest hops and he got blocked on 1 play? Wow, that's harsh. I can understand if you laugh at the play, but to use that as you backup as to why he's not dominant is just wrong. Robinson is a tremendous athlete and can block anyone with the right timing, even Shaq if Shaq played more often. Yao is a dominant center in the league, period. it's going to take a little more than 1 play to change my mind.

Originally posted by RecSpecs110
It was a great play by Robinson, but you can't deny everything Yao has accomplished over 1 stupid play. Again for 5 millionth time, you don't have to be "Shaq-like" in order to be dominant. There will only be one Shaq, no one will dominate like him. EVER. So, you're just going to omit all of Yao's fundamental skills and efficiency and not call him a dominant center, when he has kicked Shaq's ass so many times, just because he doesn't have the biggest hops and he got blocked on 1 play? Wow, that's harsh. I can understand if you laugh at the play, but to use that as you backup as to why he's not dominant is just wrong. Robinson is a tremendous athlete and can block anyone with the right timing, even Shaq if Shaq played more often. Yao is a dominant center in the league, period. it's going to take a little more than 1 play to change my mind.

I'm not using it as backup as to why he is not dominant, they just happen to be in the same post.

I'm just saying, I don't consider soft players dominant. He might be very good a low post moves and such, but I don't consider it dominant unless you do it most of the time. I consider Yao to be a very good player, not dominant. Sure, if you compare to all the other centers in the league, Yao is dominant, there is no arguement there. But th Center position is the weakest position there.

I think Yao is dominant considering the competition, but put him in the league 10 years ago, no way would he be dominant.

Originally posted by DanZeke25
I'm not using it as backup as to why he is not dominant, they just happen to be in the same post.

I'm just saying, I don't consider soft players dominant. He might be very good a low post moves and such, but I don't consider it dominant unless you do it most of the time. I consider Yao to be a very good player, not dominant. Sure, if you compare to all the other centers in the league, Yao is dominant, there is no arguement there. But th Center position is the weakest position there.

But isn't this thread called "Dominant NBA Centers?" 😕 We are comparing him to other centers.

I wouldn't say yao is dominate, he's on track to getting there. To be dominate you need to be able to put a team on your back and carry them when they need you to. Yao needs to do more than putup good stats for that title, like make a playoff run. I can't consider a player who never put his team in the playoffs domintate, but like I said he's gettin there. Right now there aren't too many dominate centers in the league. Shaq is declining and getting less Shaqlike every year. The only person who I can think of right now that is dominate at that position is Tim Duncan.

Yao has carried the rockets on his back last season and this season. 😕 The rockets did bad because T-mac was injured and a few other guys were simply under acheivers, but nonetheless, Yao was playing phenomenally. There were a lot of games where the team was lost, and he took the scoring and rebounding load to lead them to victory. It would help if T-mac was there to help him. Imagine what Shaq and the Heat would be if Dwyane was out. Yeah...not a pretty picture if you ask me.

You pretty much proved my whole point in what you just said. You can't consider someone dominant who has never made the playoffs. If Yao was so dominant than he would have made all those underacheivers for the Rockets better, because thats what dominant players do, they elevate everyones game.

Originally posted by wuTa
You pretty much proved my whole point in what you just said. You can't consider someone dominant who has never made the playoffs. If Yao was so dominant than he would have made all those underacheivers for the Rockets better, because thats what dominant players do, they elevate everyones game.

Yao made it to the playoffs. Just not last year. Dominant players don't have to elavate other players' games. Sometimes that's just not possible. Underacheivers stay as underacheivers sometimes. I wouldn't consider Shaq as a player who elavated others anymore than I would to Yao.

Yea, it is possible. Thats why there "Dominate" players. I'm gonna ignore your last sentence because if you actually think that, than you dont know as much about basketball as you think you do.

Sorry I'm being picky, I thought it was just a typo at first, but it's "Dominant" not "Dominate." "Dominant" is the adjective, while "Dominate" is the verb.

Back to the point: No, sometimes it isn't possible. You need to understand that some players have things go through 1 ear and out through the other. In other words, no matter how good the situation or whether they play with 1 of the greatest leaders (ie Nash) in the 1 of the greatest teams, they just don't play up to par. The Heat for instance is individually the best team in the league and should be powering over other teams even when Shaq is off the floor. They should have cruised through the playoffs and finals last year considering how much man power they have. 5 guys off their bench would suit as very decent starters in other teams. That's how good talent wise they are. So why are they not powering over other teams? Because those guys are slacking off and putting basically the enite burden on Wade, even with Shaq (your only dominant player) on the floor.

So, in the end, you can't blame Yao for not making his teammates better, when Miami (Shaq's team) also has a bunch of underachievers as well. You can only blame the teammates for doing so, because they just don't listen and learn. They're not called underachievers for nothing.

Originally posted by RecSpecs110
Sorry I'm being picky, I thought it was just a typo at first, but it's "Dominant" not "Dominate." "Dominant" is the adjective, while "Dominate" is the verb.

Back to the point: No, sometimes it isn't possible. You need to understand that some players have things go through 1 ear and out through the other. In other words, no matter how good the situation or whether they play with 1 of the greatest leaders (ie Nash) in the 1 of the greatest teams, they just don't play up to par. The Heat for instance is individually the best team in the league and should be powering over other teams even when Shaq is off the floor. They should have cruised through the playoffs and finals last year considering how much man power they have. 5 guys off their bench would suit as very decent starters in other teams. That's how good talent wise they are. So why are they not powering over other teams? Because those guys are slacking off and putting basically the enite burden on Wade, even with Shaq (your only dominant player) on the floor.

So, in the end, you can't blame Yao for not making his teammates better, when Miami (Shaq's team) also has a bunch of underachievers as well. You can only blame the teammates for doing so, because they just don't listen and learn. They're not called underachievers for nothing.

Miami is Shaq's team? Are you nuts? It's Wade's team. If it wasn't for Wade the Heat might not get passed the first round.

I meant that Shaq is in Miami, and that he's not playing up to par. If you read the rest of my post, couldn't you tell that I was trying to make Shaq seem less dominant? I even said all the burden was on Wade.

Originally posted by RecSpecs110
I meant that Shaq is in Miami, and that he's not playing up to par. If you read the rest of my post, couldn't you tell that I was trying to make Shaq seem less dominant? I even said all the burden was on Wade.

Oh, I see. Yes I could tell by the rest of your post, but it seemed like you were contradicting yourself. I mean, who here doesn't know that Shaq plays for Miami?

Originally posted by DanZeke25
Oh, I see. Yes I could tell by the rest of your post, but it seemed like you were contradicting yourself. I mean, who here doesn't know that Shaq plays for Miami?

I was only trying to emphasize that dominant players are still considered dominant (ie Shaq in Miami) even though they are surrounded by a bunch of underachievers.

Yea ok, Yao is more "dominant" than Shaq. Yao's 0 rings, and 1 trip to the playoffs(which he lost to Shaq btw) is far more dominant than Shaqs 4 rings and numerous trips to postseasons. "Dominant" players don't make excuses and blame other players which is exactly what your doing for Yao. Those underacheivers in Miami have a ring because of a dominant player, which is why people can say that player is "dominant"", albeit its was Wade instead of Shaq, but Shaq did the same thing in Olrando and LA. Just because Yao averages 25 pts and 12 rpg don't make him dominant. So, I guess Yao is a better Center than Bill Russell at this point in Yao's career. Give me a break. As of right now theres only one dominant center in the league right now, and its Duncan, maybe Yao will get there in the future, hell he might even get there this year, but he still needs to take one more step before he deserves that title.