- Sport
- Basketball
- Career
- 1969–1989
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 94.0
- Dominance
- 95.0
- Statistics
- 96.0
- Honours
- 95.0
- Longevity
- 96.0
GOAT Rank · 16
Greatest Basketball Centers of all time
This ranking is led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. GOAT Rank currently ranks 16 eligible Basketball centers using verified career records across dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.
Quick answer
According to GOAT Rank's current model, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ranks #1 on this list with a GOAT Score of 95.2.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →#AthleteGOAT Score
- Sport
- Basketball
- Career
- 1959–1973
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 98.0
- Dominance
- 95.0
- Statistics
- 99.0
- Honours
- 88.0
- Longevity
- 86.0
- Sport
- Basketball
- Career
- 1956–1969
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 96.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 97.0
- Longevity
- 86.0
- Sport
- Basketball
- Career
- 1992–2011
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 94.0
- Dominance
- 90.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 89.0
- Longevity
- 84.0
- Sport
- Basketball
- Career
- 1974–1995
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 86.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 90.0
- Sport
- Basketball
- Career
- 1984–2002
- Country
- 🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Peak
- 91.0
- Dominance
- 88.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 87.0
- Longevity
- 86.0
- Sport
- Basketball
- Career
- 1971–1988
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 88.0
- Sport
- Basketball
- Career
- 1987–2003
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 84.0
- Sport
- Basketball
- Career
- 1997–2009
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 86.0
- Statistics
- 85.0
- Honours
- 90.0
- Longevity
- 82.0
- Sport
- Basketball
- Career
- 2015–active
- Country
- 🇷🇸 Serbia
- Peak
- 93.0
- Dominance
- 88.0
- Statistics
- 93.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 74.0
- Sport
- Basketball
- Career
- 1992–2008
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 94.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 78.0
- Sport
- Basketball
- Career
- 1979–1989
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 88.0
- Longevity
- 76.0
- Sport
- Basketball
- Career
- 1985–2002
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 87.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 78.0
- Longevity
- 86.0
- Sport
- Basketball
- Career
- 1953–1964
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 76.0
- Sport
- Basketball
- Career
- 2010–2022
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 78.0
- Longevity
- 74.0
- Sport
- Basketball
- Career
- 2011–active
- Country
- 🇲🇪 Montenegro
- Peak
- 84.0
- Dominance
- 76.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 72.0
- Longevity
- 84.0
| # | Athlete | Sport | Country | Career | GOAT Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Basketball | 🇺🇸 United States | 1969–1989 | 95.2 |
| 5 | Wilt Chamberlain | Basketball | 🇺🇸 United States | 1959–1973 | 93.0 |
| 6 | Bill Russell | Basketball | 🇺🇸 United States | 1956–1969 | 92.5 |
| 23 | Shaquille O'Neal | Basketball | 🇺🇸 United States | 1992–2011 | 89.7 |
| 32 | Moses Malone | Basketball | 🇺🇸 United States | 1974–1995 | 88.5 |
| 37 | Hakeem Olajuwon | Basketball | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | 1984–2002 | 88.3 |
| 46 | Artis Gilmore | Basketball | 🇺🇸 United States | 1971–1988 | 88.0 |
| 58 | David Robinson | Basketball | 🇺🇸 United States | 1987–2003 | 86.5 |
| 61 | Lisa Leslie | Basketball | 🇺🇸 United States | 1997–2009 | 86.3 |
| 62 | Nikola Jokić | Basketball | 🇷🇸 Serbia | 2015–active | 86.2 |
| 64 | Alonzo Mourning | Basketball | 🇺🇸 United States | 1992–2008 | 86.1 |
| 79 | Anne Donovan | Basketball | 🇺🇸 United States | 1979–1989 | 85.4 |
| 129 | Patrick Ewing | Basketball | 🇺🇸 United States | 1985–2002 | 83.4 |
| 151 | Clyde Lovellette | Basketball | 🇺🇸 United States | 1953–1964 | 82.6 |
| 192 | DeMarcus Cousins | Basketball | 🇺🇸 United States | 2010–2022 | 81.1 |
| 211 | Nikola Vučević | Basketball | 🇲🇪 Montenegro | 2011–active | 80.2 |
Compare the leaders
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs Wilt ChamberlainRead the full methodology
Sport lists use the raw In-Sport GOAT Score. Cross-sport lists use the official competition-depth adjustment. No scores are recalculated for this page.
Read the full methodologyFrequently asked questions
How is this ranking calculated?
Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.
Who is included?
According to GOAT Rank's current data model, only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible. Rank and score are read live.
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