Philadelphia 76ers: Ranking Joel Embiid as a center 2021

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Philadelphia 76ers, Joel Embiid (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

5. Bam Adebayo

The Miami Heat have the most defensively versatile defenders in Bam Adebayo. Despite being undersized he can guard all five positions. He can rebounds, catch lobs, and is developing a mid-range jumper. On top of that, he can run an offense with his passing skills. If he can get a three-point shot, he could move up in these rankings.

4. Karl-Anthony Towns

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It’s been a very rough year for Karl-Anthony Towns both with his personal life and his health. However, when he’s been healthy this year, the Minnesota Timberwolves have looked like a competitive team. Towns is an elite 3-point shooting big and can score on all three levels. If he becomes an above average defender, he could be top-three on this list.

3. Rudy Gobert

The Utah Jazz have a two-time Defensive Player of the Year in Rudy Gobert and he will probably be the runner up for the award this season behind Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers. Gobert is an average offensive center who is limited to scoring around the rim. However, it’s hard to deny how good he is defensive with his shot blocking and rebounding.

2. Nikola Jokic

Nikola Jokic is a three-level scorer and is one of the best playmakers in the NBA. The Denver Nuggets’ star is probably going to win the MVP this year. The only area that he’s not elite in his defense, which while he’s good at picking players’ pockets, he’s not as a rim protector which is important to the center position.

1. Joel Embiid

Outside of passing, Joel Embiid is just as dominant as Jokic on offense, if not more due to the fact he’s a physical force the league hasn’t seen since Shaquille O’Neal. He also deserves to be in the discussion for Defensive Player of the Year and if he hadn’t missed games this year, he’d probably be the MVP over Jokic. The fact that Embiid is elite on both sides of the court is why he’s the best center in the NBA.

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Joel Embiid is the most dominant two-way center in the NBA, so he’s clearly the best center in the NBA. If it wasn’t for the fact that he missed time with injury, the Philadelphia 76ers would have their first player since Allen Iverson win the NBA MVP award.