Who would be in the 2010s All NBA 1st, 2nd and 3rd teams? Part 1: The Centres
At the end of every NBA season, the league announce the MVP, MIP, 6MOTY etc. However, my favourite awards are the All NBA teams. I enjoy this because it shows which players performed the best in their respective positions. I started to wonder who would feature in an imaginary All NBA 2010s team. (This runs from the 2009–10 season to the 2018–2019 season.) So, this is a brief review of some of the honourable mentions and my picks for the centres of my 2010 All NBA Teams. This is a 4 part series.
For each position, I have accumulated a list of players who I believe had a great decade.
(All stats, facts and accolades were found on Basketball-Reference)
THE CENTRES: Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, DeAndre Jordan, DeMarcus Cousins, Andre Drummond, Chris Bosh, Al Horford, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Pau Gasol, Draymond Green, Joakim Noah, Dwight Howard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Hassan Whiteside, Anthony Davis, Brook Lopez and Tyson Chandler. (Bold indicates they are mentioned later on)
Some of these players would be considered forwards (Green, Davis and Horford) but for the best possible teams, they have to play at the centre.
SOME HONOURABLE MENTIONS:
Rudy Gobert
Rudy Gobert had an incredible decade for someone who had only played 7 years. He was drafted in the 2013–14 season and since his second year, he has been a starter for the Jazz. He played 82 games in 2014–15 and since then has played 2 seasons of 81 games. He is a defensive beast and a consistent scorer on the offensive end. His pairing with Donovan Mitchell has now made the Jazz a contender in the Western Conference and gives them an exciting future. He has recently signed a huge 5 year/$205 million extension with the Jazz.
Decade stats (per game)
11.7 Points, 11 Rebounds, 1.4 Assists, 0.7 Steals and 2.2 Blocks.
Decade accolades
2x NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2018 & 2019)
3x All-Defensive 1st Team (2017-2019)
2x All NBA team: 1x 2nd Team (2017) & 1x 3rd Team (2019)
Led the league in blocks per game (2017)
Chris Bosh
Sadly, Chris Bosh’s career was cut short by illness. After making an All-Star Game every year he played in the decade, winning two championships and making one of the most iconic rebounds of all time, it is pretty clear that Bosh deserves an honourable mention. Bosh would probably still be a great player in the NBA today. He was the 3rd part of a monster team in Miami and his legacy is Hall of Fame worthy.
Decade stats (per game)
19.1 Points, 8 Rebounds, 1.9 Assists, 0.8 Steals and 1 Block.
Decade accolades
2x NBA Champion (2012 & 2013)
7x All-Star (2010–2016)
Marc Gasol
Marc Gasol has become one of the most versatile centres of all time. He has gained the ability to pass, defend and shoot. Gasol is possibly the best Grizzlies player of all time and since then he has proved himself for the Raptors. He is now playing on a title contender for the second time in 3 years and will be able to demonstrate his worth (again) in the playoffs. Gasol has one of the most complete resumes and could have easily been a 1st Team centre. The one thing which made me decide against him being in one of the 3 teams, was that there were 3 centres better than him.
Decade stats (per game)
16.9 Points, 9 Rebounds, 4.4 Assists, 1.1 Steals and 1.6 Blocks.
Decade accolades
NBA Champion (2019)
3x All-Star (2012, 2015 & 2017)
NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2013)
All-Defensive 2nd Team (2013)
2x All NBA: 1x 1st Team (2015) & 1x 2nd Team (2013)
3rd Team Centre:
Draymond Green
Draymond Green is my 3rd Team All NBA centre. I have chosen him because he was the best defender from the entire decade, he was part of one of the best teams of all time, he was very successful in the playoffs and he has changed the game on offence and defence. His relationship on the court, with Stephen Curry, resembled one similar to Karl Malone-John Stockton’s relationship. Draymond adapted to both Klay Thompson and Steph Curry’s playstyle so that the Warriors could be successful. He was also pivotal in the signing of Kevin Durant. The Warriors need Draymond to step up once again this season, now that Kevin Durant has left and Klay Thompson is injured. Green won’t have to play centre as much from now on because of the arrival of rookie James Wiseman. Hopefully, (even from a Lakers fan) Draymond can return and help grow James Wiseman’s game and propel the Warriors back into the playoffs. His stats aren’t necessarily better than Bosh’s or Gasol’s but his achievements and his impact on the court are incredible and he could have been in a higher team.
Decade stats (per game)
9 Points, 6.9 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 1.4 Steals and 1.1 Blocks.
Decade accolades
3x NBA Champion (2015, 2017 & 2018)
3x All-Star (2016–2018)
NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2017)
5x All-Defensive Team: 3x 1st Team (2015, 2016 & 2017) & 2x 2nd Team (2018 & 2019)
2x All NBA Team: 1x 2nd Team (2016) & 1x 3rd Team (2017)
Led the league in steals per game (2017)
2nd Team Centre:
Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard has been one of the most consistent players in the league. Even now, as a role player, he is putting up great numbers and showing great performances. He is an efficient scorer and takes sensible shots. This is why his career field goal percentage is 58.6%. To put that into perspective, there are only 5 players who have a higher field goal percentage in their entire career. Of course, they are all centres, as they are taking the least amount of shots, but that is still very impressive. Howard came second in MVP voting, falling behind Derrick Rose. Dwight has been one of the best defensive players of the decade. He has been an incredible rebounder and shot blocker. Now he is coming off the bench for the 76ers and could be in talks for 6th Man of the Year which would add to his impressive portfolio.
Decade stats (per game)
16.2 Points, 11.9 Rebounds, 1.4 Assists, 0.9 Steals and 1.7 Blocks.
Decade accolades
5x All-Star (2010–2014)
2x Defensive Player of the Year (2010 & 2011)
3x All-Defensive 1st Team (2010–2012)
5x All NBA Team: 3x 1st Team (2010–2012), 1x 2nd Team (2014) & 1x 3rd Team (2013)
Led the league in Field Goal Percentage, 2 Point Percentage (2010), Blocks (2010) & Rebounds (2010, 2012 & 2013)
1st Team Centre:
Anthony Davis
Anthony Davis has said that he doesn’t want to play centre, ever since joining the Lakers. However, when he does play centre, his stats are not worse, his performances are not worse, and it doesn’t disadvantage the team. This decade he dominated on a team that wasn’t great and lifted them to the playoffs twice. He is a leader on both sides of the floor and will certainly go down in Pelicans history. Davis has had buckets of success and has already won a championship. He has developed a great jump shot and can score from pretty much anywhere on the court. He has also become a defensive beast and is a good ball handler. Even though he is not an out and out centre, he outplayed all the centres on this list and thoroughly deserves his place on this team. At the age of 27, he has the skill set to be a future MVP, DPOY and win many more championships.
Decade stats (per game)
24 Points, 10.4 Rebounds, 2.2 Assists, 1.4 Steals and 2.4 Blocks
Decade accolades
6x All-Star (2014–2019)
All-Star MVP (2017)
All-Rookie 1st Team (2013)
3x All-Defensive Team: 1x 1st Team (2018) & 2x 2nd Team (2015 & 2017)
3x All NBA 1st Team (2015, 2017, 2018)
Led the league in Blocks 3x (2014, 2015 & 2018)
So, now we have The Centres, Next up are The Forwards. This will be in Part 2. Here is a quick recap.
Honourable Mentions: Nikola Jokic, Joakim Noah, Andre Drummond, Karl-Anthony Towns, Joel Embiid, DeAndre Jordan, Rudy Gobert, Pau Gasol, Al Horford, Marc Gasol, DeMarcus Cousins, LaMarcus Aldridge, Chris Bosh, Brook Lopez and Tyson Chandler.
3rd Team Centre-Draymond Green, 2nd Team Centre-Dwight Howard & 1st Team Centre-Anthony Davis.
(All stats, facts and accolades were found on Basketball-Reference)
By Joshan Basi.
