All-Time Best Centers (NBA)

In order to evaluate each Center in a comprehensive manner, only Centers who have retired are included in these rankings.

1.      Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1969-1989), 7-2 245 lbs.

Teams: Milwaukee, L.A. Lakers

NBA Finals Appearances: 10

NBA Titles: 6

NBA Finals MVP Honors: 2

Playoff Appearances: 18

NBA MVP: 6

1^st Team All-NBA Selections: 10

2^nd Team All-NBA Selections: 5

All-Defensive Team Selections: 11

All-Star Games: 19

Career Stats: 24.6 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 3.6 APG, 55.9 FG%, 0.9 SPG, 2.6 BPG

2.      Bill Russell (1956-1969), 6-10 220 lbs.

Teams: Boston

NBA Finals Appearances: 12

NBA Titles: 11

NBA Finals MVP Honors: 6

Playoff Appearances: 13

NBA MVP: 5

1^st Team All-NBA Selections: 3

2^nd Team All-NBA Selections: 8

All-Defensive Team Selections: 1

All-Star Games: 12

Career Stats: 15.1 PPG, 22.5 RPG, 4.3 APG, 44.0 FG%, 1.5 SPG, 3.5 BPG

3.      Shaquille O’Neal (1993-2011), 7-1 325 lbs.

Teams: Orlando, L.A. Lakers, Miami, Phoenix, Cleveland, Boston

NBA Finals Appearances: 6

NBA Titles: 4

NBA Finals MVP Honors: 3

Playoff Appearances: 17

NBA MVP: 1

1^st Team All-NBA Selections: 8

2^nd Team All-NBA Selections: 2

3^rd Team All-NBA Selections: 4

All-Defensive Team Selections: 3

All-Star Games: 15

Career Stats: 23.7 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 2.5 APG, 58.2 FG%, 0.6 SPG, 2.3 BPG

4.      Wilt Chamberlain (1960-1973), 7-1 275 lbs.

Teams: Philadelphia, L.A. Lakers

NBA Finals Appearances: 6

NBA Titles: 2

NBA Finals MVP Honors: 1

Playoff Appearances: 13

NBA MVP: 4

1^st Team All-NBA Selections: 7

2^nd Team All-NBA Selections: 3

All-Defensive Team Selections: 2

All-Star Games: 13

Career Stats: 30.1 PPG, 22.9 RPG, 4.4 APG, 54.0 FG%, 1.0 SPG, 5.0 BPG

5.      Hakeem Olajuwon (1984-2002), 7-0 255 lbs.

Teams: Houston, Toronto

NBA Finals Appearances: 2

NBA Titles: 2

NBA Finals MVP Honors: 1

Playoff Appearances: 15

NBA MVP: 1

1^st Team All-NBA Selections: 6

2^nd Team All-NBA Selections: 3

3^rd Team All-NBA Selections: 3

All-Defensive Team Selections: 9

All-Star Games: 12

Career Stats: 21.8 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 2.5 APG, 51.2 FG%, 1.7 SPG, 3.1 BPG

6.      David Robinson (1989-2003), 7-1 245 lbs.

Teams: San Antonio

NBA Finals Appearances: 2

NBA Titles: 2

NBA Finals MVP Honors: 0

Playoff Appearances: 12

NBA MVP: 1

1^st Team All-NBA Selections: 4

2^nd Team All-NBA Selections: 2

3^rd Team All-NBA Selections: 4

All-Defensive Team Selections: 8

All-Star Games: 10

Career Stats: 21.1 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 2.5 APG, 51.8 FG%, 1.4 SPG, 3.0 BPG

7.      Patrick Ewing (1985-2002), 7-0 250 lbs.

Teams: New York

NBA Finals Appearances: 2

NBA Titles: 0

NBA Finals MVP Honors: 0

Playoff Appearances: 11

NBA MVP: 0

1^st Team All-NBA Selections: 1

2^nd Team All-NBA Selections: 6

3^rd Team All-NBA Selections: 0

All-Defensive Team Selections: 3

All-Star Games: 11

Career Stats: 21.0 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 1.9 APG, 50.4 FG%, 1.0 SPG, 2.4 BPG

8.      Robert Parish (1976-1997), 7-0 240 lbs.

Teams: Golden State, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago

NBA Finals Appearances: 6

NBA Titles: 4

NBA Finals MVP Honors: 0

Playoff Appearances: 16

NBA MVP: 0

1^st Team All-NBA Selections: 0

2^nd Team All-NBA Selections: 1

3^rd Team All-NBA Selections: 1

All-Defensive Team Selections: 0

All-Star Games: 9

Career Stats: 14.5 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 1.4 APG, 53.7 FG%, 0.8 SPG, 1.5 BPG

9.      Alonzo Mourning (1992-2008), 6-10 260 lbs.

Teams: Charlotte, Miami, New Jersey

NBA Finals Appearances: 1

NBA Titles: 1

NBA Finals MVP Honors: 0

Playoff Appearances: 11

NBA MVP: 0

1^st Team All-NBA Selections: 1

2^nd Team All-NBA Selections: 1

3^rd Team All-NBA Selections: 0

All-Defensive Team Selections: 2

All-Star Games: 7

Career Stats: 17.1 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.1 APG, 52.7 FG%, 0.5 SPG, 2.8 BPG

10.   Dikembe Mutombo (1991-2009), 7-2 260 lbs.

Teams: Denver, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York, Houston

NBA Finals Appearances: 1

NBA Titles: 0

NBA Finals MVP Honors: 0

Playoff Appearances: 13

NBA MVP: 0

1^st Team All-NBA Selections: 0

2^nd Team All-NBA Selections: 1

3^rd Team All-NBA Selections: 2

All-Defensive Team Selections: 6

All-Star Games: 8

Career Stats: 9.8 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 1.0 APG, 51.8 FG%, 0.4 SPG, 2.8 BPG

Duke vs. UNC - The Rivalry Series

Duke vs. UNC

The Rivalry Series

In the spirit of rivalry week, and on the same day as the first Duke vs. North Carolina ("UNC") game of the season, it seemed appropriate to review the history of the two programs and unveil the hypothetical match-up of the "All-Time Teams" for both Duke and North Carolina. 

National Championships

Since 1939, Duke and North Carolina have appeared in a combined total of 19 National Championship Games (Duke - 10, North Carolina 9). Further, either Duke or North Carolina has won the National Championship nine times - Duke has won four National Championships, while North Carolina has won five National Championships. Since 2000, both Duke and North Carolina have won two National Championships.

Final Fours

North Carolina leads Duke in all-time Final Four appearances with 18, compared to Duke's 15 appearances. Since 2000, North Carolina has made four trips to the Final Four, trumping Duke's three trips.

Tournament Success

North Carolina leads Duke in all-time NCAA Tournament appearances (44-37), Sweet 16 appearances (30-27), and Elite 8 appearances (26-19). Of North Carolina's 44 NCAA Tournament appearances, the Tarheels reached the Elite 8 just over 59% of the time. Duke, on the other hand, reached the Elite 8 nearly 51% of the time in their 37 NCAA Tournament appearances. 

Wooden Award Success

Of the 36 John R. Wooden Award Winners (1976-2012), 5 of the winners played for Duke and 4 of the winners played for North Carolina. Duke has experienced more recent Wooden Award success than North Carolina with 4 Award Winners since 1998, while North Carolina had 1 Award Winner. Contrastingly, North Carolina had 3 Award Winners before 1998, while Duke had 1 Award Winner.

Duke's list of winners includes: Christian Laettner (1991-92), Elton Brand (1998-99), Shane Battier (2000-01), Jay Williams (2001-09), and J.J. Redick (2005-06). North Carolina's list of winners includes: Phil Ford (1977-78), Michael Jordan (1983-84), Antawn Jamison (1997-98), and Tyler Hansbrough (2007-08). 

ACC Regular Season

North Carolina has won the regular season ACC title 36 times. Staggering! Duke has won the regular season ACC title 22 times. Since 2000, North Carolina has won 7 regular season ACC titles. Duke has won 5 such titles.

ACC Tournament

The Atlantic Coast Conference ("ACC") began hosting an annual conference tournament in 1954. Since then, Duke has won the ACC Tournament 19 times. North Carolina has won the ACC Tournament 17 times. Interestingly, since 2000 Duke has won 9 ACC Tournaments, while North Carolina has only won 2 ACC Tournaments. 

NBA Draft

Both programs have seen unparalleled success with placing players in the NBA via the NBA Draft. North Carolina leads Duke in the number of players selected in the NBA Draft, 104-77. However, three Duke players have been selected #1 overall, while only two Tarheels have been selected #1 overall.

All-Time Teams

Duke

Pos.	Name	Years	Ht.	Wt.	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG
F	Christian Laettner	1988-92	6-11	235	16.6	7.8	1.8	1.0	1.6
F	Elton Brand	1997-99	6-8	275	16.2	8.9	0.9	1.4	1.9
F	Grant Hill	1990-94	6-8	225	14.9	6.0	3.6	1.7	1.0
G	J.J. Redick	2002-06	6-4	190	19.9	2.7	2.2	1.1	0.1
G	Jay Williams	1999-2002	6-2	195	19.3	3.7	6.0	2.2	0.1
F	Shane Battier	1997-2001	6-8	220	13.6	6.1	1.6	1.8	1.7
C	Shelden Williams	2002-06	6-9	250	13.9	9.1	0.9	1.2	3.0
G	Bobby Hurley	1989-93	6-0	165	12.4	2.2	7.7	1.5	0.0
G	Kyrie Irving	2010-11	6-3	180	17.5	3.4	4.3	1.5	0.5
G	Johnny Dawkins	1982-86	6-2	165	19.2	4.0	4.2	1.3	0.2
F/C	Danny Ferry	1985-89	6-10	230	15.1	7.0	3.5	1.2	0.5
F/C	Carlos Boozer	1999-2002	6-9	270	14.9	7.2	1.1	1.0	0.7

North Carolina

Pos.	Name	Years	Ht.	Wt.	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG
C	Brad Daugherty	1982-86	7-0	245	14.2	7.4	1.6	0.7	1.1
F	Antawn Jamison	1995-98	6-9	230	19.0	9.9	0.9	0.9	0.8
F	James Worthy	1979-82	6-9	225	14.5	7.4	2.5	1.4	1.1
G	Vince Carter	1995-98	6-7	215	12.3	4.5	1.9	1.1	0.8
G	Michael Jordan	1981-84	6-6	200	17.7	5.0	1.8	1.7	0.7
G/F	Jerry Stackhouse	1993-95	6-6	218	15.7	6.6	2.3	1.3	1.1
F	Rasheed Wallace	1993-95	6-10	225	13.0	7.4	0.8	0.6	2.3
F	Tyler Hansbrough	2005-09	6-9	240	20.2	8.6	1.1	1.3	0.5
G	Joseph Forte	1999-2001	6-4	194	18.7	5.8	3.0	1.8	0.4
F/C	Sam Perkins	1980-84	6-9	235	15.9	8.6	1.2	0.9	1.8
F	Bob McAdoo	1971-72	6-9	210	19.5	10.1	N/A	N/A	N/A
G	Ty Lawson	2006-08	5-11	195	13.1	2.9	5.8	1.8	0.1