NBA centers diversified their skills in the 2010s, adapting to stay relevant. The late 2010s witnessed a big man renaissance with new talents paving their way. Elite centers like DeAndre Jordan and Joel Embiid faced challenges despite their natural abilities.
For decades, NBA centers were counted on to rebound, defend the paint and score inside buckets. While that was still the calling card for many of the best big men during the 2010s, players began to experiment more during this era, resulting in a diverse mix of skill sets from centers. The veteran centers from this list fall more into the traditional big-man category, although a handful expanded their offensive repertoire to stay relevant in their later seasons.
On the other hand, the fives who entered the league later in the decade proved they could produce in various ways. As a result, the late 2010s and early 2020s could be viewed as a big man renaissance, with many of the current top centers paving their way to a Hall of Fame career in new ways. The 2010s were a clear transition phase among centers, as even the top names on this list were only dominant for so long.
Similarly, the up-and-coming stars had only recently solidified themselves as All-Star talents when the decade ended. It makes for an incredibly tight-knit group of elite centers with no clear top dog. 10 Brook Lopez Brook Lopez opened the decade as a towering inside scoring presence for the New Jersey-turned- Brooklyn Nets .
His lone All-Star appearance ca.