The Top 5 NBA Centers in 2022
The Top 5 NBA centers in 2022
The NBA is always changing, and that means that the players at the top of the game are always changing too. In just a few years, the landscape of the league could look very different than it does today.
One of the positions that is always in flux is the center position. Tall, athletic, and skilled, centers are the backbone of any good NBA team But who are the best centers in the league right now?
Joel Embiid
Joel Embiid the top center in the NBA in 2022, is a 7-footer from Cameroon who was selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. He is a two-time NBA All-Star and was named to the All-NBA First Team in 2019. He has averaged 22.9 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in his three NBA seasons
Nikola Jokic
Nikola Jokic is a Serbian professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the center position and is nicknamed “Joker”. He was drafted by the Nuggets with the 41st overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft Jokic quickly became one of the best players in the NBA, winning the Most Valuable Player Award in 2020. He has been named an All-Star and was named to the All-NBA First Team in 2020 and 2021.
Rudy Gobert
Given that he’s only 30 years old, Rudy Gobert has already accomplished a lot in his career. He’s a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and he was also named to the All-NBA First Team in 2019. He’s a two-Ime Nba All-Star, and he helped lead the Utah Jazz to the playoffs in seven of his eight seasons with the team.
Gobert is one of the best Defensive Players in the NBA, and he’s also an excellent rebounder. He averaged 2.0 blocks per game during the 2020-21 season, which was the third-best mark in the league. He also pulled down 13.5 rebounds per game which was the fifth-best mark in the NBA.
In addition to his defensive abilities, Gobert is also an excellent offensive player He averaged 14.5 points per game during the 2020-21 season, and he shot an impressive 68.7 percent from the field. He’s not a great three-point shooter, but he’s extremely efficient from inside the arc.
Gobert is under contract with the Jazz through the 2024-25 season, so it’s safe to say that he’ll be one of the top centers in the NBA for at least the next few years
Anthony Davis
Anthony Davis is a NBA player who plays for the New Orleans Pelicans He is a shooting guard/small forward Davis was born on March 11, 1993, in Chicago, Illinois. He played one year of college basketball for the University of Kentucky before being drafted by the Pelicans with the first overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft
Davis is a five-time NBA All-Star and a three-time All-NBA First Team selection. He was also named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. In 2020, he helped lead the Pelicans to their second playoff appearance in franchise history.
Davis is currently signed to a five-year contract extension with the Pelicans worth $127 million.
Deandre Ayton
Deandre Ayton previously of the Phoenix Suns is widely regarded as one of the best centers in the NBA. He is a massive presence in the paint, standing at 7’1″ and weighing in at 250 pounds. He is an excellent rebounder and shot-blocker, and has also shown himself to be a capable scorer, averaging 19.7 points per game in his career. Ayton was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2020, and he is currently the starting center on one of the best teams in the league.