Skip to content
Curated playlist

Centers (basketball)

  • Andrea BargnaniAndrea Bargnani became the first European ever picked first overall in the NBA draft.
  • Elvin HayesElvin Hayes scored 39 points and ended UCLA's 47-game winning streak in 1968. He held Lew Alcindor to 15 points.
  • Pau GasolPau Gasol first wanted to be a doctor and cure AIDS. Magic Johnson's 1991 announcement changed the boy's plans.
  • Tim DuncanTim Duncan was a swimmer until a hurricane destroyed his island's only Olympic-sized pool.
  • Joel EmbiidJoel Embiid scored 70 points against the Spurs on January 22, 2024, breaking a 76ers record from 1967.
  • Patrick EwingPatrick Ewing crossed North Carolina off his list after seeing a nearby Ku Klux Klan rally. He chose Georgetown.
  • Hakeem OlajuwonHakeem Olajuwon did not touch a basketball until he was 15. The Nigerian goalkeeper later won an NBA title.
  • Bill RussellBill Russell won eleven NBA championships in thirteen seasons. No team has matched that record since.
  • Kevin LoveKevin Love grabbed 31 rebounds in one game in November 2010. It set a Timberwolves record.
  • Karl-Anthony TownsKarl-Anthony Towns scored 62 points for the Minnesota Timberwolves on the 22nd of January 2024, and his team still lost 128-125 to the Charlotte Hornets. Forty-four of those points came in the first half. Both totals were Timberwolves…
  • Moses MaloneMoses Malone predicted his 76ers would sweep the playoffs, and they went 12-1.
  • Nikola JokićNikola Jokić's 2014 NBA draft pick appeared on a news ticker under a Taco Bell ad. He went 41st overall.
  • Shaquille O'NealShaquille O'Neal twice broke steel backboard supports with his dunks. The NBA then redesigned its equipment.
  • Chris BoshBlood clots ended Chris Bosh's NBA career after two straight championships with Miami.
  • Wilt ChamberlainNo camera filmed Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in one game. Only a radio broadcast of the fourth quarter survived.
  • Giannis AntetokounmpoGiannis Antetokounmpo could not leave Greece for his first 18 years. He had no papers from Greece or Nigeria.
  • Dikembe MutomboDikembe Mutombo came to Georgetown to become a doctor, not a basketball star. A coach changed those plans entirely.
  • Dolph SchayesDolph Schayes played almost a full season with his right arm in a cast. He learned to shoot left-handed instead.
  • Kareem Abdul-JabbarKareem Abdul-Jabbar broke Wilt Chamberlain's career scoring record with a skyhook over a 7-foot-4 defender.
  • Arvydas SabonisArvydas Sabonis was drafted by Portland in 1986 but did not play in the NBA until 1995. He was 30 by then.
  • George MikanThe NBA widened its foul lane to slow down one player, George Mikan. The rule was formally dubbed "The Mikan Rule."
  • Phil JacksonPhil Jackson convinced Michael Jordan to trust his teammates. In 1991 the Bulls swept the Pistons and won the title.
  • Yao MingYao Ming scored the first basket of China's home Olympics in 2008, a three-pointer.
  • Andrew BogutAndrew Bogut was cut from a junior state team at fifteen. He became the first Australian picked first in the NBA draft.
  • Artis GilmoreArtis Gilmore played 670 straight pro basketball games without missing one. He entered the Hall of Fame in 2011.
  • Christian LaettnerChristian Laettner topped an ESPN fan poll as college basketball's most hated player.
  • Rik SmitsRik Smits appeared in the 1988 comedy Coming to America. Cameras filmed his 1987 Marist game at Madison Square Garden.
  • Rudy GobertRudy Gobert earned his nickname, the Stifle Tower, before playing an NBA minute.
  • Victor WembanyamaVictor Wembanyama was a small boy when a youth coach named Michaël Allard noticed a tall figure sitting on the bench at an under-11 game in 2013. Allard worked for the club Nanterre 92, and he assumed he was looking at a fellow coach. The…
  • Joakim NoahPresident Obama called Joakim Noah's shot the ugliest he had ever seen.
  • Kosta KoufosIn high school, Kosta Koufos blocked 10 shots in overtime to beat Canton McKinley, which had won 41 straight.
  • Luc LongleyLuc Longley dislocated his shoulder body surfing in 1996-97, and Michael Jordan kept calling him to return.
  • Vlade DivacVlade Divac was traded for a teenage Kobe Bryant. The Lakers center had arrived from Yugoslavia speaking no English.

Queue