Top 15 NBA Centers of 2014-15 – Preseason Edition

In his second season in Toronto, Valanciunas showed promise as he put up 11.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. He still needs to take a big step forward and has to become a better defender, but the youngster still has to be considered one of the better centers in this league.

Chandler is somewhat of a wildcard heading into this season. He obviously checked out last season in New York, which coming to Dallas should repair. The question is what exactly he has left in the tank. If it’s close to what he once had at his peak, though, he’s definitely a force.

The question with Bogut is always going to be health. He doesn’t have the offensive impact on the game that he once did, but he’s the defensive rock for the Warriors and clearly one of the better big men in the NBA today.

With the departure of Kevin Love, Pekovic is one of the two best offensive options for the Timberwolves this season. His defense showed some serious regression last season, but his prowess and importance to his team on the other end of the floor gives him a ton of value.

Jordan has taken major steps forward in recent years and seems to finally be realizing his potential with the Clippers under Doc Rivers. With even more depth around him in L.A., he should be able to maximize his talent and take an even larger leap forward.

Along with the rest of the Wizards last season, Gortat really found his niche and looked like a certain high-impact player. We need to see it be replicated, but if he does he could almost assuredly move up on this list.

Hibbert was one of the most difficult players to rank on the list because there’s so much that we just don’t know. We don’t know how he’ll look without Paul George leading the show. We don’t know how he’ll recover from his confidence being noticeably shaken at the end of last year. We don’t know what’s next for him. The talent is there, but it’s hard to grade him with any kind of certainty.

As such a young big man in this league, the Pistons have made a solid call in bringing Drummon along slowly. With big decisions to make for the future this season and with Stan Van Gundy now at the helm, though, it looks like a monster breakout season could be on the horizon for the exceptionally talented Drummond.

If he can stay healthy, Lopez is undoubtedly one of the league’s best big men. However, health is a major concern that has always been his biggest issue. Until he’s able to go for the majority of an 82-game season, he’s not going to be able to crack the top-five.

There aren’t many players at any position in the NBA that command the floor on both ends quite like Gasol does and there definitely aren’t many that do it as well as he does. Gasol gets perpetually underrated, but it’s about time people start to realize just how good he is before he starts to decline and we can’t appreciate him in the same way.

Speaking of underappreciated, people seem to have let injuries cloud their memories of how much of a monster Horford is when healthy. Health is indubitably a concern, but he’s a two-way force that could legitimately take the Hawks to a new level.

Jefferson has a strong claim to being the best offensive center in the league, but he’s moving up these ranks because of how his defense has improved. Granted, that’s largely due to the system that he’s in with the Hornets, but he’s no longer a negative defender. Given that, he’s easily top-five for his position right now.

Cousins is forever the enigma at the center position, but there are positive signs all around. Talent has never been the concern for the Sacramento big man, but now he seems to finally be taking the right steps forward mentally. If that’s the case, the rest of the NBA should probably brace themselves.

There’s a great deal of ire thrown in the direction of Howard, but you also can’t deny that he’s an enormous asset at the center position. Given what he was last season in Houston plus the fact that he now says he’s healthy and it’s hard to imagine that he’s not going to be strongly in the running for first-team All-NBA when the year is said and done.

There aren’t many better defensive centers in the league than Noah and there certainly aren’t any that embody what their team stands for like Noah does for Chicago. He can do it all on the floor and do it effectively. It’s hard to picture him not topping this list looking at the NBA right now.