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In the NBA, the best 2010s centers are the linchpin of the team. The &quot;big man&quot; is normally the tallest man on the team, with a lot of strength and body mass. It's a necessary component for a successful team, so naturally, the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/greatest-centers-of-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">greatest NBA centers</a> from the 2010s makes for a great list to look through! Vote for your favorites among the best 2010s NBA centers and vote down the ones you don't think are among the greatest NBA centers from the 2010s!When discussing the top 2010s NBA centers, Dwight Howard has to be in the conversation. Tim Duncan and DeAndre Jordan are considered some of the best NBA Cs of the 2010s, and many more are in this list!&nbsp;So take a look at our best NBA centers 2010s and vote for your favorites! Check out our other sports lists to see your next favorite player!

Best 2010s Centers | Greatest  2010s NBA Centers

The Best Centers of the 2010s

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Tim Duncan

Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA) He spent his entire 19-year playing career (1997–2016) with the Spurs. 
Duncan started out as an aspiring swimmer and did not begin playing basketball until ninth grade when Hurricane Hugo destroyed the only available Olympic-sized pool in his homeland of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. In high school, he played basketball for St. Dunstan's Episcopal. In college, Duncan played for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, and in his senior year, he earned the John Wooden Award as well as Naismith College Player of the Year and USBWA College Player of the Year.
After graduating from college, Duncan went on to win NBA Rookie of the Year after being selected by San Antonio with the first overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft. Widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time as well as one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history, he is a five-time NBA champion, a two-time NBA MVP, a three-time NBA Finals MVP, a 15-time NBA All-Star, and the only player to be selected to both the All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams for 13 consecutive seasons.Off the court, Duncan created the Tim Duncan Foundation to raise health awareness and to fund education and youth sports programs.

Dwight Howard

Dwight David Howard (born December 8, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is an eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA Team honoree, five-time All-Defensive Team member, and three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
Howard, who plays center, spent his high school career at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. He chose to forgo college, entered the 2004 NBA draft, and was selected first overall by the Orlando Magic. Howard set numerous franchise and league records during his time with the Magic. In 2009, he led the team to the NBA Finals.
In 2012, after eight seasons with Orlando, Howard was traded to the Lakers. Following a one-year stint with the Lakers, he played for the Houston Rockets, the Atlanta Hawks, the Charlotte Hornets, and the Washington Wizards.

Joel Embiid

Joel Hans Embiid (born 16 March 1994) is a Cameroonian professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After one year of college basketball with the Kansas Jayhawks, he was drafted with the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the 76ers. Multiple foot and knee injuries delayed his debut for two seasons until 2016–17, when he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team despite playing only 31 games. Embiid has received two All-Star selections. He has nicknamed himself "The Process" in response to a refrain from 76ers fans during the Sam Hinkie era to "trust the process".

Anthony Davis

Anthony Marshon Davis Jr. (born March 11, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the power forward and center positions. Davis was selected first overall in the 2012 NBA draft by New Orleans, is a six-time NBA All-Star, and has been named to three All-NBA First Teams and three NBA All-Defensive Teams. He also earned a gold medal playing with Team USA at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Davis played one season of college basketball for the University of Kentucky, when he was first team All-American and the Consensus National Player of the Year. He also won the USBWA National Freshman of the Year, NABC Defensive Player of the Year and the Pete Newell Big Man Award. Davis led the NCAA in blocks and set Southeastern Conference and NCAA Division I freshman single-season blocked shots records. He led Kentucky to a National Championship and was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament.
Davis left college for the NBA after one season and was drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans, then known as the New Orleans Hornets, and was selected that summer to play for the Team USA in the 2012 Olympics. After his rookie season, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. The next season, he became an All-Star for the first time and led the NBA in blocked shots per game. He has since become a six-time All-Star and the youngest player to score at least 59 points in an NBA game. In 2017, he was named the recipient of the NBA All-Star Game MVP Award after setting an All-Star Game scoring record of 52 points en route.

Marc Gasol

Marc Gasol Sáez (born 29 January 1985) is a Spanish professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A center, he was drafted 48th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2007 NBA draft. After having his rights traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in February 2008 in a deal that sent his older brother Pau to the Lakers, he signed with the team and remained with the franchise until being traded to the Toronto Raptors in 2019, where he won his first NBA championship. He is a two-time All-NBA Team member, a three-time NBA All-Star, and an NBA champion. In 2013, he was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Karl-Anthony Towns Jr. (born November 15, 1995) is a Dominican-American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. Towns was named to the Dominican Republic national team as a 16-year-old. He was selected with the first overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, and went on to be named NBA Rookie of the Year for the 2015–16 season. He has received two All-Star selections.

Pau Gasol

Pau Gasol Sáez (born July 6, 1980) is a retired Spanish professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a six-time NBA All-Star and a four-time All-NBA selection, twice on the second team and twice on the third team. Gasol has won two NBA championships, both with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2002 with the Memphis Grizzlies, and is one of only three non-American NBA players to have won that award. He is the older brother of fellow NBA player Marc Gasol. Internationally, Gasol has won two Olympic silver medals, an Olympic bronze medal, a FIBA World Cup title, and three EuroBasket titles with the Spanish national basketball team.

DeMarcus Cousins

DeMarcus Amir Cousins (born August 13, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Boogie", he played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, where he was an All-American in 2010. He left Kentucky after one season, and was selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings. In his first season with the Kings, Cousins was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, and from 2015 to 2018, he was named an NBA All-Star. He is also a two-time gold medal winner as a member of the United States national team, winning his first in 2014 at the FIBA Basketball World Cup and his second in 2016 at the Rio Olympics.

Al Horford

Alfred Joel Horford Reynoso (born June 3, 1986) is a Dominican professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for the University of Florida, and was the starting center on the Gators teams that won back-to-back NCAA national championships in 2006 and 2007. He was drafted with the third overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks, a team he played nine seasons with before joining the Celtics in 2016. He is a five-time NBA All-Star. He also represents the Dominican Republic national team.

DeAndre Jordan

Hyland DeAndre Jordan Jr. (born July 21, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for Texas A&M University before being selected by the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round of the 2008 NBA draft with the 35th overall pick. Jordan is a three-time All-NBA and two-time NBA All-Defensive Team member, and has twice led the league in rebounding. In 2017, he was named an NBA All-Star for the first time. Jordan currently holds the NBA record for best career field goal percentage at 67.4%.

Andre Drummond

Andre Jamal Drummond (born August 10, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 2012 NBA draft with the ninth overall pick. A two-time NBA All-Star, he has led the league in rebounding four times and also been named to the All-NBA Third Team.

Nikola Jokić

Nikola Jokić (born February 19, 1995) is a Serbian professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays the center position. The three-time NBA All-Star has been named to the All-NBA Team on three occasions (including two first-team selections), and has won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for the 2020–21 NBA season. He also represents the Serbian national team. Nicknamed "the Joker", Jokić was selected by the Nuggets in the second round of the 2014 NBA draft.

Chris Bosh

Christopher Wesson Bosh (born March 24, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. A high school "Mr. Basketball" in Texas, Bosh left Georgia Tech after one season to enter the 2003 NBA draft. He was selected fourth overall by the Toronto Raptors in a draft class that included multiple future NBA superstars such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony. 
While at Toronto, Bosh became a five-time NBA All-Star, was named to the All-NBA Second Team once, played for the U.S. national team (with whom he won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics), and supplanted former fan favorite Vince Carter as the face and leader of the Raptors franchise. In the 2006–07 season, Bosh led the Raptors to their first playoff appearance in five years and their first-ever division title. Bosh was nicknamed "CB4" by then-Toronto Raptors play-by-play commentator Chuck Swirsky, a combination of Bosh's initials and then jersey number. He left Toronto in 2010 as the franchise's all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocks, and minutes played. 
In 2010, after seven seasons with the Raptors, Bosh entered into a sign-and-trade deal in which he was traded to the Miami Heat. In Miami, Bosh joined fellow stars Dwyane Wade and LeBron James; the trio became known as the Big Three. Bosh spent the second half of his career with Miami, appearing in the NBA Finals each year from 2011 to 2014 and winning NBA titles in 2012 and 2013. Bosh made the NBA All-Star team every year during his time in Miami. His career was cut short by a blood clotting condition that the NBA ruled to be a career-ending illness. Bosh played his final NBA game on February 9, 2016. Notwithstanding the NBA's ruling, Bosh fought to resume his playing career for three years before announcing in February 2019 that he intended to retire. On March 26, the Heat retired his no. 1 jersey in a ceremony before a regular season game with the visiting Orlando Magic.Seeking to promote sports and education amongst youths in Dallas and Toronto, Bosh set up the Chris Bosh Foundation and regularly speaks to youths about the benefits of reading.

Tyson Chandler

Tyson Cleotis Chandler (born October 2, 1982) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Chandler was the second overall pick of the 2001 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, then was immediately traded to the Chicago Bulls. He has also played for the New Orleans Hornets, Charlotte Bobcats, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers. As starting center for Dallas, he played an integral role in the franchise's first NBA championship in 2011. He has been named to the NBA All-Defensive Team three times. While with New York, Chandler was voted the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2012, when he was also named to the All-NBA Third Team. He won gold medals with the US national team in the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Nikola Vučević

Nikola Vučević (born 24 October 1990) is a Montenegrin professional basketball player who currently plays for Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for the University of Southern California before being drafted 16th overall in the 2011 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. He received his first All-Star selection in 2019. Vucevic entered the offseason as an unrestricted free agent. On June 30, 2019, he signed a four-year, $100 million contract to remain with the Magic.

Rudy Gobert

Rudy Gobert-Bourgarel (born June 26, 1992) is a French professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represents the French national basketball team in the international competitions. Standing at 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) tall with a wingspan of 7 ft 9 in (2.36 m) long, he plays at the center position. He was the NBA blocks leader in the 2016–17 season. In 2018 and 2019, he won back-to-back NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards, making him one of only ten players in NBA History who have won that honor at least twice. In 2019, Gobert shattered the single-season record for slam dunks with 306. That year, Gobert also led the NBA in screen assists, with 482, effective field goal percentage, with 66.9 percents, and true shooting percentage, at 68.2 percents. He has been named to an All-NBA Team in 2017 and 2019. He was named the French Player of the Year, in 2019.

Amar'e Stoudemire

Amar'e Carsares Stoudemire (Hebrew: אמארה סטודמאייר‎; ; born November 16, 1982) is an  American-Israeli professional basketball player who last played for Hapoel Jerusalem of the  Israeli Premier League and the Basketball Champions League. He won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 2003 with the Phoenix Suns, who selected him with the ninth overall pick of the 2002 NBA draft. He made six appearances in the NBA All-Star Game and was named to the All-NBA Team five times, including one first-team selection in 2007.
Stoudemire played high school basketball for five different schools, ultimately graduating from Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, Florida, and declaring for the NBA draft as a prep-to-pro player. He won several prep honors, including being selected as Florida's Mr. Basketball. The highly athletic Stoudemire suffered from chronic knee problems during his career and underwent microfracture surgery on both knees. He played for the Suns, the New York Knicks, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Miami Heat before retiring from the NBA in 2016. 
Stoudemire won a bronze medal with the United States national team at the 2004 Olympic Games. His off-court ventures include a record label, a clothing line, acting and a series of children's books for Scholastic Press. In addition, Stoudemire owns a significant share of Hapoel Jerusalem, the team he won a championship with in 2017.

Clint Capela

Clint N'Dumba-Capela (born May 18, 1994) is a Swiss professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). On June 26, 2014, Capela was selected with the 25th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets. On July 25, 2014, he signed with the Rockets. On March 30, 2015, Capela scored his first NBA points, finishing the game with eight points and nine rebounds in a 99-96 loss to the Toronto Raptors. On April 13, he had a season-best game for the Rockets with 10 points and five rebounds in a win over the Charlotte Hornets.

Brook Lopez

Brook Robert Lopez (born April 1, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected 10th overall by the Nets in the 2008 NBA draft, after playing two years of college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal. In 2013, Lopez was selected to play in his first NBA All-Star Game. His twin brother Robin Lopez is also an NBA player.

Hassan Whiteside

Hassan Niam Whiteside (born June 13, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Marshall Thundering Herd before being selected in the second round by the Sacramento Kings in the 2010 NBA draft. After joining the Miami Heat in 2014, Whiteside was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2016, when he also led the NBA in blocks. He led the league in rebounding in 2017.

Joakim Noah

Joakim Simon Noah ( JOH-ə-kim; born February 25, 1985) is a former professional basketball player who played for the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in New York City to a Swedish mother and a French father, he holds American, Swedish and French citizenship. He played college basketball for the Florida Gators, winning back-to-back NCAA championships in 2006 and 2007. The Chicago Bulls selected Noah with the ninth overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft. Noah is a two-time NBA All-Star and was named to the All-NBA First Team in 2014 when he also was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Jonas Valančiūnas

Jonas Valančiūnas (born 6 May 1992) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. Valančiūnas has been a member of the Lithuania men's national basketball team since age 19. He won two EuroBasket silver medals in EuroBasket 2013 and EuroBasket 2015, earning All-Tournament honours in the latter. Valančiūnas also appeared in the documentary The Other Dream Team.

Nenê

Nenê (Portuguese pronunciation: [neˈne]; born Maybyner Rodney Hilário; September 13, 1982) is a Brazilian professional basketball player who last played for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Known previously as Nenê Hilario, he legally changed his name to simply Nenê in 2003.

Marcin Gortat

Marcin Gortat (Polish pronunciation: ['mar.t͡ɕiŋ 'ɡɔr.tat]; born February 17, 1984) is a Polish professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 6 ft 11 in, 240-pound center is the son of boxer Janusz Gortat. He was a second-round draft choice of the Phoenix Suns in the 2005 NBA draft and has also played for the Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards, and Los Angeles Clippers.

JaVale McGee

JaVale Lindy McGee (born January 19, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for Dallas Mavericks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected 18th overall by the Washington Wizards in the 2008 NBA draft. He is a two-time NBA champion, having won consecutive titles with the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018 before signing with the Lakers.

In the NBA, the best 2010s centers are the linchpin of the team. The &quot;big man&quot; is normally the tallest man on the team, with a lot of strength and ...