Sixers: Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond best center duo in NBA

There’s been one of the underrated storylines of the offseason, but the Philadelphia 76ers upgraded the depth behind superstar Joel Embiid. The Sixers essentially swapped Dwight Howard into Andre Drummond.

At least during the regular season, Howard was one of the best backups Embiid had in his career. Howard was still an elite rebounder in the NBA, solid rim protector, ok finisher, and great veteran leader despite being past his prime. However, the future Hall of Famer was limited in the postseason.

The 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey clearly saw that and was able to snag former All-Star Andre Drummond. Drummond is an upgrade on the court over Howard and not only is Drummond the best backup that Embiid has ever had, but the two big men are the best one-two punch at the center spot in the NBA.

Embiid and Drummond are an elite duo at center for the Sixers.

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Let’s look at the duo themselves first. Embiid was the runner-up for the MVP and is a top-two center in the NBA. He’s an elite two-way player that has no major holes in his game and is the most physically dominant big man since Shaquille O’Neal.

Drummond is the best rebounder in the NBA. Two seasons ago, Drummond led the NBA in boards with an average of 15.2 rebounds per game. In the past six seasons, he’s been the leader in rebounds per game in four of those years.

He’s also a good rim protector and finished around the rim. Last season he averaged 14.9 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks, while shooting 49.3 percent from the field. Those are pretty good stats considering that last year was one of the worst seasons of his career. Having him as backup is a steal for Philly.

When looking at the competition for the title of the best center duo, the Sixers depth doesn’t have much competition. Nikola Jokic and Embiid are a wash in terms of talent, but Drummond is proven to be much better than Bol Bol at this point. Rudy Gobert and Hassan Whiteside might be the duo that could push the 76ers one-two punch, but both Embiid and Drummond are better than their counterparts on the Utah Jazz.

The New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat, New Orleans Pelicans, and Atlanta Hawks all have good depth at the center spot, but none of those teams have quite the quality of depth that Philadelphia has. Embiid is better than all of their starters and Drummond is either better or more established than their backups.

The Sixers have the best one-two punch at center in the NBA with Embiid and Drummond entering this year. Hopefully, head coach Doc Rivers can maximize this advantage going into this upcoming season.

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