Why Traditional Big Men Are No Longer Wanted in the NBA

 The Golden State Warriors, the supposed enemy of the league, has revolutionized the game of basketball. With their position-less play from the Death Squad tandem of Curry, Klay, Iggy, KD, and Draymond, they instituted a new long-standing culture of small ball, focused on quick ball movement, extreme floor spacing, and no center down inside the post. With the possibility of Golden State’s dynasty brewing, the regular center position is in danger. The starting center, Zaza Pachulia, and their lackluster backup, JaVale McGee, have been averaging 18.1 and 9.6 MPG respectively, dropping off from their totals from Dallas a year ago and is set to tank more with the new additions of Nick Young and Omri Casspi. In a new age of floor spacing, can the old order of centers rise again? Or is this a new age of NBA big men?

            Even as Michael Jordan dominated the league in the 1990s, the NBA was infatuated with several great centers, most notably Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon and legend Shaquille O’Neal. When Jordan exited the league in 1993, Olajuwon averaged career highs in 1994 and 1995, averaging 27.6 PPG, 11.3 RPG, and 3.6 BPG, leading the Rockets to two NBA championships. The golden age of centers peaked when NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal was picked by the Orlando Magic in 1992. The Lakers stole the future legend, and Shaq went on to win three straight in Los Angeles from 2000-2002, along with three Finals MVPs. Olajuwon brought a sense of style down in the post and is arguably the greatest defensive center in history. Shaq’s size and strength obliterated smaller defenders in the paint while he was also able to dominate the defensive boards. 

            This all changed with the addition of international big men on stage in 1999-2000. The first player to make significant changes was Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets since his entrance into the league in 2001. Unlike most centers, Yao could stand out on the mid-range to high post and consistently shot well at 52.5%. This further complicates matters when the stretch four conceptwas introduced. Georgia Tech power forward Chris Bosh was taken by the Toronto Raptors with the third pick in 2003. He easily could step out from the post consistently and added a three-point shot, having a career percentage of 34% from deep. Others followed in suit. Rockets power forward Ryan Anderson can stretch out offenses with his great play from the three-point line. Although he is a vulnerability on defense, Rockets Coach Mike D’Antoni fully utilizes him to the best of his abilities by placing him outside the perimeter to force defenses to pay extra attention to him. Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra revolutionized his Miami Heat Big 3 by switching Chris Bosh from power forward to center to focus on play outside, the center was forced to defend outside more than when Shaquille O’Neal was in his prime.

            It does not help that the league instituted a defensive three-second rule in 2001 to bring more ball movement and less play inside the post. Although it certainly did not stop Shaq from winning three straight Finals, it forced him to play differently.

            The end of the basketball revolution begins and ends with the Golden State Warriors. Steve Kerr placed a lineup with center Andrew Bogut off the floor and Iguodala playing as the SF during the 2014-2015 season. The Warriors saw an outbreak in almost every single statistical line. Their net efficiency increased by +15.7 points while their defensive rating increased to +95.4 in the playoffs, leading the Warriors to a 67-15 season while bringing home an NBA title. This immediately led Bogut to a lesser role in Golden State, and even though he was a pivotal part in the Warriors run in 2016 [which led to an eventual loss], it led to Bogut and Harrison Barnes being expendable at a cost of superstar SF Kevin Durant.

            This is a huge problem for big men today. You cannot place a center such as Dwight Howard guarding Draymond Green at the perimeter with his playmaking abilities as a “center.” The closest thing that the Warriors have with other competition in the NBA is the current Cavaliers starting lineup [IT/Rose, Wade, LeBron, Crowder, Love]. Love is a defensive vulnerability, and the Cavaliers have been hurt with Tristan Thompson playing at center.

            A new breed of NBA elites is transitioning to dominate the post and perimeter: a new style of big man who can spread out the floor while still performing down low. The definition of basketball “unicorn” fits this term, starting with the 2015 NBA Draft. Karl-Anthony Towns, the next generational center from Kentucky, led the draft class, and has already seasoned league highs that NBA Hall of Famers such as Tim Duncan and Olajuwon could not, as he is the first player in NBA history to average 25 PPG, 12 RPG, 2 APG, and 1 BPG while shooting over 200 threes in one season (while hitting 36.7% of them) at 21 years old. The 2017 NBA GM survey already ranked him as the best center in the league, and he has more room to grow as the Minnesota Timberwolves’ big man. Kristaps Porzingis (who is nicknamed “The Unicorn”), Myles Turner, Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis (recently adding a three-point shot), DeMarcus Cousins, and most recently, Joel Embiid, have stepped onto the scene as the best NBA big men right now. There is no ceiling for how great the NBA’s new big men are going to be, which is great for the sport and allows the same players in college to find a stepping stone onto the professional stage.

            However, the descent of other high profile big men is taking on a steeper slope. Take another great and talented center: Jahlil Okafor, who currently plays for the Philadelphia 76ers. With the emergence of Joel Embiid at the center role and Richaun Holmes’s possibility of taking the role as the backup center, Okafor is left alone in a part of a league that can do away with his position.

            Last year’s NBA offseason has seen the cap space of NBA teams rise from $70M to $94M in a span of one year. Centers were taken with fury to take up cap space, most notably Timofey Mosgov, Bismack Biyombo, Dwight Howard, and Joakim Noah, more traditional big men who were signed to roughly $17M per year for four years (with the exception of Howard for three). This year, the traditional centers market was mostly left alone, even though many restricted free agents who were looking to collect cash as the previous free agent center class. Nerlens Noel, Alex Len, and Dewayne Dedmon were among the lucky few. They were signed to deals averaging to amount around $5M in a year.

            In a position-less league, many teams have stayed afar from the traditional big men and pursued players who could beat the Warriors. Houston did its part by staying away from players such as Dedmon, Noel, and Miles Plumlee and signed P.J. Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute, players who are more than able to hit the three while playing intense defense. Oklahoma City does not plan to use a traditional center and is redirecting its new power forward Patrick Patterson in small ball lineups. Sadly, there remains no answer for the remaining amount of traditional big men, as the NBA is transitioning into a clear no-big men league (with exceptions like Memphis and New Orleans) to beat the Golden State Warriors, the ultimate standard for why traditional big men are no longer needed in the National Basketball Association.