In a fresh installment of his Barstool Sports podcast “The Pat Bev Pod With Rone,” longtime All-Defensive Team point guard Patrick Beverley ranked the five centers that he deemed to be the NBA‘s very best, as of this moment.
“Okay, here we go,” Beverley said. “[Denver Nuggets All-NBA big man Nikola] Jokic is No. 1, Joel [Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel] Embiid is No. 2. And I’m only doing that because Jokic has a won championship. If Jokic didn’t win a championship, Joel Embiid would be my number one.”
That is a strange way to frame the conversation.
Embiid, the 2023 MVP, has not only not won a championship, he’s never gotten out of the second round of the playoffs and has consistently underperformed in postseasons relative to his regular season play, while often dogged by injuries.
Embiid was similarly out of shape this summer during the Paris Olympics, and though he generally started at center, head coach Steve Kerr often sat him late in favor of Los Angeles Lakers All-NBA big man Anthony Davis or All-Star Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, both of whom are far better defenders than Embiid.
Jokic, winner of three of the last four MVP awards, always levels up in the postseason and has made multiple deep runs including his Finals victory in 2022-23.
“Big Zu [L.A. Clippers center Ivica Zubac, alongside whom Beverley played for many years] is a friend of mine, he’s for sure top five… That leaves me two positions, probably three and four. And I’m [going to] go Anthony Davis first, and then Bam.”
When asked why he wouldn’t include All-Defensive San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, fresh off of a dominant run through the Olympics for Team France (he played ahead of reigning Minnesota Timberwolves Defensive Player of the Year center Rudy Gobert), Beverley was adamant that Wembanyama didn’t count as a center.
“He’s not a five,” Beverley insisted. “Just because you’re 7-foot-4 [doesn’t make you a] center… Like, we’re talking about guys who are centers, who come out and set screen-and-rolls. It’s not a positon for [Wembanyama]. He’s positionless.”
Wembanyama almost exclusively has played at the center position during his time with San Antonio and Team France. He is non-traditional as a jump-shooting five who can run a fastbreak, but just because he’s a potential generational talent doesn’t mean he should be excluded from these rankings. Gobert and Sacramento Kings All-Star center Domantas Sabonis are the other two obvious omissions in favor of Zubac.
Beverley, 36, is now playing for Israeli Basketball Premiere League club Hapoel Tel Aviv, following a 12-year run in the NBA. During that time, Beverley suited up for the Houston Rockets, Clippers, Timberwolves, Lakers, Chicago Bulls, Philadelphia 76ers, and Milwaukee Bucks.
Read more: Victor Wembanyama Sends Direct Warning To Rest of World Following Defeat to Team USA
