In today’s NBA, the center position shares a similarity with Gene Wilder: people can’t stop seem to stop announcing that it’s dead. Unlike the late, great thespian, however, the NBA’s big man never actually died. The Utah Jazz boast one of the Association’s finest in Rudy Gobert, but how does he stack up among the NBA’s elite big men?
For this exercise, we removed a great deal of subjectivity by basing our rankings on three metrics from last season: Player Efficiency Rating (PER), Box Plus/Minus (BPM) and Value over Replacement Player (VORP). We simply took each big man’s ranking by each of these measures and ranked them according to their average placement.
Having established the criteria, there are two important caveats to note. Firstly, Karl-Anthony Towns has had a tremendously challenging COVID-19 pandemic. Between personal tragedy and injury concerns, it shouldn’t come as a shock that the former number one overall pick had a down season by his own immense standard.
Secondly, positional designations are considerably more fluid in 2021 than they’ve ever been. As such, two players who may have merited consideration in these rankings who we ultimately treated as power forwards are Domantas Sabonis and Julius Randle. Both men saw time at the 5 position last season, but neither saw enough to ultimately merit designation as centers.
Here’s where Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert ranked among the NBA’s best, according to PER, BPM and VORP.
5. Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo
2020-21 PER: 22.7, VORP: 3.6, BPM: 4.5
For the most part, the concept of the “modern center” elicits thoughts of seven footers launching triples on a nightly basis. Adebayo is different; he’s modern in every way besides three-point shooting.
Need additional playmaking? Adebayo gives you plenty, as evidenced by his 5.4 assists per game last season. Need perimeter defense? Adebayo has you covered. At 6’9 and 255 lbs with nimble feet, elite instincts and a solid vertical jump, Bam is the rare center who can protect the rim while also, if necessary, surviving switches onto wings of all variety and even some guards.
So, what held Adebayo backed in comparison to Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert and the rest of his NBA peers at the center position?
Well, Adebayo ranks last among this group of elite NBA centers in both points and rebounds per game, which is likely reflected in his (also dead last) PER. Also, we might have already mentioned his lack of triples, but they bear repeating. Adebayo shot a whopping 0.1 attempts per game last season. While Gobert is also a non-spacer, (spoiler alert) the other 3 men on this list are effective stretch 5s.
That’s perfectly fine. Adebayo doesn’t need to shoot 3s to be devastatingly effective. He has too many other skills to hand-wring over one he’s lacking. However, with margins as narrow as the ones separating the following men, every skill counts. A relative lack of points and rebounds combined with an absolute lack of three-point shooting limits Bam Adebayo’s advanced metrics and lands him fifth overall in these rankings.
4. Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert
2020-21 PER: 23.5, VORP: 3.6, BPM: 4.5
Don’t be alarmed by the faint whooshing noise you’re hearing in the background. That’s just the sound of Utah Jazz fans around the globe collectively shaking their heads at Gobert’s placement on this list.
Skepticism is warranted, and many observers would opt for Gobert’s services over at least one other player yet to appear on this list. That’s entirely fair. The numbers simply beg to differ.
One might assume that, as a defensive specialist, the Stifle Tower was disadvantaged by the presence of PER, a stat that is sometimes perceived as favouring offensive-minded players, in these criteria. One would be incorrect, as Gobert’s PER of 23.5 actually paced Bam Adebayo.
The Utah Jazz’s beloved big is the most conventional center on this list. He grabs rebounds like they’re critical to his survival, averaging 13.5 per game last season. Anyone who’s even heard of the Stifle Tower knows he protects the rim, as his 3 Defensive Player of the Year awards are quick to attest.
On the other hand, Gobert is primarily held back in these rankings by his offensive limitations. Last season’s averages of 14.3 points and 1.3 assists per game last year do not scream superstar. Gobert is one, but he’d still rank higher among the NBA’s big men if he was more proficient at getting the ball in the basket.
Instead, his strength lies in keeping the other team from doing the same. That’s still a high-value skill, and it earns the Utah Jazz pivot the fourth spot overall in these rankings.
3. Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic
2020-21 PER 22.9, VORP: 4.2, BPM: 5.1
For some fans of the Utah Jazz, this may add insult to injury. We’re ranking a player with a measly 0.2 Defensive Box Plus/Minus (DBPM) over the one-man Defensive Player of the Year dynasty Rudy Gobert?
Frankly, the numbers dictated the outcome, and the one they call Vooch paced Gobert by comfortable margins in both VORP and BPM. We have a hunch that might have something to do with offense.
Vucevic had a banner year in 2020-21, finishing out the season with 23.4 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. Offensively, there is little Vucevic can’t do. His 38.8% accuracy on 5.8 three-point attempts per game last season designate him as the first stretch-5 to appear on this list. Meanwhile, those 3.8 helpers a night belie a player with great positional passing chops. Those pair nicely with Vucevic’s lethal inside game. If the double team comes, he’s likely to find an assist from it, and if it doesn’t…the opposing squad likely has trouble.
The only factor holding Vucevic back is one that has likely held him back, to some extent, for his entire career: defense. With slow feet and an unexceptional wingspan, he’s below average whether protecting the rim or defending in space. His 0.9 blocks per night last season reflect these limitations.
Still, those who maintain that the game is, as they say, about a bucket, will love this placement. Vucevic created them in a multitude of ways for the Orlando Magic for a long time, and he’ll be plying his trade for the newly formed all-in, all-offense Chicago Bulls next season.
2. Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid
2020-21 PER: 30.3, VORP: 3.7, BPM: 7.5
If the debate between Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert and Chicago Bulls big Nikola Vucevic is the debate between offense and defense, then the debate ends with Joel Embiid. Here, the two factors coalesce into one NBA superstar.
Embiid’s PER of 30.3 defies hyperbolic adjectives. Player Efficiency Rating is a stat that attempts to aggregate a player’s overall value in a single number. For context, 15.0 represents an average rotational NBA player.
In other words, Embiid is twice as good as the average NBA player. That’s superstar territory, and Embiid fits the bill. An elite two-way force, Embiid’s 104 defensive rating last season is indicative of his status as one of the league’s best rim protectors. His basic counting stats of 28.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.0 steals per game basically tell you what you need to know.
In contrast to the Utah Jazz’s conventional big man Rudy Gobert, Embiid is a walking contradiction, at once a throwback and modern big. His low post game is transplanted from the 90s, as he can beat defenders with a variety of spins, head fakes and fadeaway jumpers down low. Still, his range stretches as far as the three-point line, as indicated by his 37.7% shooting on 3.0 attempts per game last season.
Unfortunately for Embiid and the Philly faithful alike, injuries have plagued the confident big man throughout his NBA career to date. Last season, he was held to 50 out of 72 games, a particular shame in light of the solid MVP case he was in “The Process” of building.
Instead, he had to settle for a second place finish to the same man you’re about to see in the next slide of this article.
1. Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic
2020-21 PER: 31.1, VORP: 8.6, BPM: 11.7
If you were expecting someone else, check your pulse. If it feels healthy, check yourself into some kind of institution, anyway.
Nikola Jokic unsurprisingly checks in at the number one spot in these rankings, and it wasn’t remotely close. He actually ranked number one in every metric used to compile this list. That 11.7 BPM is not a typo.
The league’s residing Most Valuable Player is the best passing big man of all time, and that’s not a particularly controversial claim. He may be the best passer in the NBA. He may be the best player in the NBA.
His 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game throughout 2020-21 are beyond worthy of an MVP winner. An offensive system onto himself, the Joker contrasts sharply with Rudy Gobert, who has been the defensive backbone of the Utah Jazz for years.
That’s impressive, but Jokic’s offense obviously has to outweigh Gobert’s defense in these rankings. Besides, Jokic may actually be an underrated defensive player, as his 109 Defensive Rating from last season is actually an entirely solid mark. Jokic is willing to work on that end, landing himself in the correct position as often as his slow feet allow. If his feet are a touch sluggish, his hands are anything but, which allowed him to grab 1.4 steals per game last season.
Anyway, that’s enough about Nikola Jokic’s defense. His 130 Offensive Rating from last season is screaming for attention.
Jokic walked away from last season with the NBA’s highest individual award, and he’ll likely continue to compete for it in years to come. He is the best center in basketball, and he finishes with a deserved number one placement in these rankings.