Ranking Power Forwards and Centers in the NBA for last ten years

[celticsclay]

Hey guys,

I was having a debate with my brother and we were having a discussion of the top ten power forwards and centers over the last 10 years. For this argument we are looking more for best over the whole period and still at least a solid player now (no retired guys). I was wondering how other people rank them in this situation.

Here is my list (kind off the top of the head so i am probably forgetting people)

1) Tim Duncan
2) Kevin Garnett
3) Shaq
4) Dirk
5) Dwight Howard
6) Gasol (even though i hate him)
7) Elton Brand
.....
9)......

Sub question where would you rank amare stoudamire

[fairweatherfan]

Shaq and Howard aren't PFs.  Stoudemire would be somewhere right around Elton Brand; I'd put him slightly higher as he's been more consistent than Brand with similar injury troubles. 

Edit:  I see you say PFs and centers in the post itself.  If that's the case I'd probably reluctantly put Shaq ahead of KG and maybe throw in guys like Yao and Ilgauskus to flesh out the list.

[jdub1660]

1)KG - Celtics fan, how could you miss this one
2)Duncan - Mr.Fundamentals
3)Shaq - Shaqtus
4)Dwight - Over Dirk b/c Dirky is soft PF
5)Yao! - 20 10 guy w/Small feet
6)Chris Bosh - sick lefty
7)Gaysol - even though I can't stand him
8)Rasheed - past prime but still top 10
9)Carlos Boozer - UGLIEST SHOT IN THE GAME(behind the head)
10)Amare - Bottom of list but still top ten non retired big

Big Z would be fighting for the 10 slot, and Brand I couldn't fit into the list b/c He hasn't made his teams win yet

[celticsclay]

1)KG - Celtics fan, how could you miss this one
2)Duncan - Mr.Fundamentals
3)Shaq - Shaqtus
4)Dwight - Over Dirk b/c Dirky is soft PF
5)Yao! - 20 10 guy w/Small feet
6)Chris Bosh - sick lefty
7)Gaysol - even though I can't stand him
8)Rasheed - past prime but still top 10
9)Carlos Boozer - UGLIEST SHOT IN THE GAME(behind the head)
10)Amare - Bottom of list but still top ten non retired big

I like your list... but I left Yao off for injury reasons. Also, how can Dirk not be top ten?
Big Z would be fighting for the 10 slot, and Brand I couldn't fit into the list b/c He hasn't made his teams win yet

[wdleehi]

Unless you are doing PF/C, Shaq doesn't belong.


If you are, Shaq is 1 or 2.  

If both

1) Duncan
2) Shaq
3) KG
4) Zo
5) Dirk
6) Webber
7) R. Wallace
Mutumbo
9) Howard (will jump up as the years go by)
10) Yao

[jdpapa3]

1. Duncan
2. Shaq
3. KG
4. Dirk
5. Webber
6. Amare
7. Zo
8. Yao
9. Dwight
10. Sheed

[ToppersBsktball10]

1 KG
2 Duncan
3 Dirk
4 Amare
5 Webber/brand?

[celticsclay]

You guys are killing me with your ranking of stoudamire. I really think of him as a one way player (no defense) with inflated numbers from Suns system.

[Fafnir]

For just PFs

1a Tim Duncan
1b KG

I don't think you can really seperate the two of them. Both so [dang] good, KG will always be judged lesser because the team's around him sucked. That bothers me.

3. Dirk
4. Webber
5. Zo
6. Sheed
7. Gasol (on his way up)
8. Boozer
9. Amare
10. Brand

[jdpapa3]

You guys are killing me with your ranking of stoudamire. I really think of him as a one way player (no defense) with inflated numbers from Suns system.

I don't agree with this. A guy with his skillset could avg. 25 in any system.

The "no d" thing is also a played out argument that people keep repeating. He suffers from the Suns philosophy.

[Fafnir]

You guys are killing me with your ranking of stoudamire. I really think of him as a one way player (no defense) with inflated numbers from Suns system.

I don't agree with this. A guy with his skillset could avg. 25 in any system.

The "no d" thing is also a played out argument that people keep repeating. He suffers from the Suns philosophy.

Played out argument? People keep repeating it because its true. He rebounds and plays defense sporadically and without discipline.

Brian Scalabrine freaking took him out of a game.....

[celtalicious]

1 KG
2 Duncan
3 Dirk
4 Amare
5 Gasol

Amare would be tied with KG for number one in terms of pure athleticism though, and yes his Defense suffers from being part of the Sun's system. He does benefit from having Nash to pass to him, but having Shaq there last season obviously ate into his numbers. He is a beast.

[Fafnir]

1 KG
2 Duncan
3 Dirk
4 Amare
5 Gasol

Amare would be tied with KG for number one in terms of pure athleticism though, and yes his Defense suffers from being part of the Sun's system. He does benefit from having Nash to pass to him, but having Shaq there last season obviously ate into his numbers. He is a beast.

I think you're forgetting how athletic Shaq and Tim Duncan were in their youth.

I think both were more athletic than Amar'e.

[celticmaestro]

1 - Tim Duncan
2 - Kevin Garnett
3 - Dirk Nowitzki
4 - Chris Webber

In my opinion they're the only great PF's in the last decade. I'd put Karl Malone in there but at the start of this decade he wasn't great. There are other very good PF's like Pau Gasol and Rasheed Wallace and even Antoine Walker, but the likes of Amare Stoudemire, Elton Brand, Antawn Jamison and Carlos Boozer aren't great by any stretch.

Guys, Shaq, Dwight Howard and Yao Ming are not PF's...

[paintitgreen]

Shaq has to be 1 or 2 among all big men, and you're missing a lot of centers. Shaq was essentially unstoppable the first 4-5 years of this decade and grabbed 3 titles in 4 Finals appearances during that stretch, getting only 1 MVP but deserving more. Then he went to Miami, should have won another MVP award, and helped Dwyane Wade and Bennett Salvatore win a title for the Heat. I would still put Duncan higher, but frankly, Shaq is still a bit ahead of KG for the decade as a whole.

If it's just big men, PFs and Cs, then:
1. Tim Duncan
2. Shaquille O'Neal
3. Kevin Garnett
4. Dirk Nowitzki
5*. Ben Wallace. It's easy to forget now, but he was on 5 All Defensive 1st Teams and a 2nd, and won 4 - yes, 4 - Defensive Player of the Year Awards (as many as Mutombo, more than Mourning, more than Duncan, KG, Camby and Howard combined). He also made 3 All-NBA 2nd Teams, 2 3rds, was a 4 time All Star, a huge part of a championship team, and shut down Shaq in the Finals better than anybody ever has. He averaged 11.2 boards and 2.35 blocks a game for the decade, including his later bad years. * - He may be retired now though.
6. Yao Ming
7. Dwight Howard
8. Elton Brand - injury prone as he's become and as many bad teams as he was on, he's the only guy other than Duncan, Shaq and KG to average 20 and 10 for the decade.
9. Amare Stoudemire
10. Chris Bosh
10*. If Wallace is considered retired - Jermaine O'Neal - though Gasol is much better right now, in O'Neal's first 7 seasons in Indiana he was a 19.1-9.9-2.45 blk guy, better than Gasol's 18.8-8.7-1.71, and his Indiana teams were very good, much better than Gasol's Memphis teams. Even factoring in his last two bad seasons, O'Neal still has better rebounding and block numbers than Gasol over the course of the decade, and is only a little behind him in scoring. O'Neal's rapid descent has made people forget how good he was for the first 6-7 years of the decade.

Top 10 power forwards of the last ten years:
1. Duncan
2. Garnett
3. Dirk
4. Brand
5. Amare
6. Bosh
7. J O'Neal (though playing as a center now, he started at power forward alongside Brad Miller or Jeff Foster during his prime years)
8. Pau Gasol
9. Rasheed Wallace
10. Carlos Boozer

I would put Chris Webber probably 4th ahead of Brand. While he got submarined in 03-04, he really was phenomenal the first 4 years of the decade (99-00 to 02-03) putting up about 25-10.5-4.5 ast-1.5 stl-1.5 blk on great teams. That's just so much better than anything those guys below him but up for more extended periods that I'd have to put him behind only Duncan, KG and Dirk. I'd also put Karl Malone, who played 5 of the last 10 years and averaged 21.8 pts, 8.6 boards, 4.2 assists and 1.39 steals in that time, ahead of Boozer and probably Sheed too.