Best NBA centers

Nikola Jokić leads with an ELO of 1,379, ahead of Yao Ming (1,338) and Victor Wembanyama (1,317). Ranked over 996 duels between 28 contenders, last updated October 24, 2026.

Vote for your favorite NBA center from 28 legends and current stars: Jokić, Shaquille O'Neal, Wilt Chamberlain, Embiid and many more giants…

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.

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