Memphis Grizzlies: Is Marc Gasol The Best Overall Center In The NBA?
By Pete Schauer
Marc Gasol capped off an impressive 2012-13 season with the Defensive Player of the Year award, but does that make him the NBA’s best center? (Photo Credit: Mark Runyon, Basketball Schedule)
After an excellent season with the Memphis Grizzlies that has his team as the fifth seed in the Western Conference, Marc Gasol is emerging as one of the best centers in the NBA—but is he the best overall?
I say no.
No disrespect to the 2012-13 Defensive Player of the Year, but I can think of a handful of centers who own a better game than the Memphis center: Brook Lopez, Dwight Howard, Al Jefferson and Al Horford immediately come to mind—you can even throw DeMarcus Cousins and Greg Monroe into the mix.
ESPN’s Mike Greenberg agrees with me.
I think Marc Gasol is a terrific player. But, he isn't better than Dwight Howard. He just isn't.#Grizzlies #Lakers
— Mike Greenberg (@Espngreeny) May 1, 2013
Let’s take a look at how Gasol stacked up against Lopez, Howard, Jefferson and Horford this season:
| Player | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Blocks | Steals | FG % |
| Dwight Howard | 17.1 | 12.4 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 58% |
| Brook Lopez | 19.4 | 6.9 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 52% |
| Al Jefferson | 17.8 | 9.2 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 49% |
| Al Horford | 17.4 | 10.2 | 3.2 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 54% |
| Marc Gasol | 14.1 | 7.8 | 4.0 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 49% |
As you can see from the table above, there are plenty of centers in the NBA who possess a better overall game than Gasol.
If you need further proof, I’m about to deliver it to you.
Gasol posted 18 double-doubles this season. While that’s respectable, that mark ranked tied for 17th in the league among centers alone. Howard, Jefferson, Horford all had at least 37 double-doubles and guys like Larry Sanders and Emeka Okafor had more than Gasol.
According to ESPN Insider (subscription required), Gasol ranked 13th in terms of Player Efficiency Rating (PER) for centers, with a 19.57 mark. Brook Lopez led all centers with at 24.81 while Jefferson and Horford again finished ahead of Gasol.
ESPN Insider also uses another statistic, Estimated Wins Added (EWA), to measure the impact a player has on his team. It found that Gasol contributed 12.5 wins to the Grizzlies, which ranked fourth among all NBA centers.
Would you like to take a guess at the three guys ahead of him?
If you guessed Lopez, Jefferson and Horford, than you’re absolutely correct.
I’m not aiming to take away from the impressive season that the 28-year-old Gasol had this year—this very well may have been the best season of his career—but what I am doing is dispelling any notion that he’s the best overall center in the NBA.
For what it’s worth, I do think he’s a top-five center.
To be quite honest, I’m still not sure who the best is at the center position. I’d like to see Dwight Howard play a completely healthy season and see Brook Lopez match his 2012-13 numbers next season before jumping to any conclusions.
Regardless, the numbers speak for themselves. He’s an excellent player, but Marc Gasol isn’t the best center in the NBA.
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