Ranking the Top 10 NBA Centers for the 2025-26 Season

The days of centers being paint-bound bruisers are long gone. Playing the five in the NBA requires the mobility to guard on the perimeter, along with enough offensive skill to avoid cluttering the paint too much. 

The position has defense-first shot blockers, offense-heavy playmakers, and three-point shooters aplenty. Undersized centers have gone a bit out of favor in recent years with the number of big men becoming a matchup issue, but we’ll still see a fair amount of players 6’9 and shorter patrolling the paint.

With the NBA season fast approaching, let’s take a look at who we believe will be the ten best centers in the 2025-26 campaign.

1. Nikola Jokić

A three-time MVP who could have easily won the award five times in a row, Nikola Jokić isn’t just the league’s best center. He’s the best overall player and even took a step forward in 2024-25 by upping his scoring per game and taking more threes than ever before. 

Jokić has improved markedly as a defender since being a lead-footed rookie. His hands mean he rebounds far better than his lack of athleticism might suggest, and he’s arguably the greatest big man passer in NBA history.

2. Joel Embiid

Joel Embiid’s stock has never been lower. Few people would have him second when ranking the NBA’s best centers, but it’s worth remembering Embiid is only entering his age-31 season and averaged 34.7 points per game across his 39 appearances two seasons ago.

The year before that, he won MVP. Last season, he was playing hurt, and his outlook for 2025-26 is murky, but a healthy Embiid should still be dominant at both ends and will immediately make the 76ers into a title contender. 

3. Victor Wembanyama

It might seem early to have Victor Wembanyama this high. On the other hand, Wemby was barrelling towards Defensive Player of the Year when he was sidelined with deep vein thrombosis and had shown considerable improvement in his all-around offensive game. 

We’re projecting how players will perform in the upcoming season. Wembanyama, paired with young talent and De’Aaron Fox, has a platform to be a fringe MVP candidate. Working with Hakeem Olajuwon in the offseason was incredibly promising, too. 

4. Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis has been best as a center for most of his career. Dallas will play the Brow next to a couple of different big men, but the perception of Davis is as a five, and that’s clearly his best fit offensively since his jumpshot abandoned him after the bubble.

Still a great defensive player and capable of punishing undersized opponents on the block or as a roll man, Davis is going to have his highest usage rate in years on the Irving-less Mavericks. 

5. Ivica Zubac

Putting Ivica Zubac in the top five is an acknowledgement of how important a good defensive anchor is. Zubac was sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting last year, and the Clippers were highly dependent on him on both ends of the floor.

He plays to his limitations. There are no ill-advised threes, nor is he throwing the ball around the gym. Zubac, though, battles on the boards, screens hard, and finishes with a mix of touch and force around the rim. 

6. Alperen Şengün

At the other end of the spectrum, we’ve got Alperen Şengün. The Turk is an offense-first big man, who has been affectionately referred to as ‘Baby Jokic’. He’s a long way off the Joker’s levels of production, but the blueprint is similar. 

Şengün can run the offense, passing from the elbow or nail as well as any non-Jokic center. He’s a good rebounder, despite being a bit undersized, and has shown flashes of scoring upside. 

7. Rudy Gobert

Although he still made Second Team All-Defense, Rudy Gobert showed significant signs of regression last term. The Frenchman hasn’t been as efficient a scorer in recent years and took a major step back in his points and rebounds.

Gobert’s height, length, and instincts still mean he’s an effective deterrent at the rim. His offensive production can partly be attributed to how the Timberwolves have used him. Still, there’s a risk he declines further in the coming season. 

8. Chet Holmgren

Chet Holmgren might be the only player who can get close to Wembanyama’s stock numbers. After missing most of the season with injury, Holmgren eased his way back to full speed before a string of big-time playoff performances.

The outside shot is already falling at a good rate. His off-the-bounce game has shown flashes over the last two seasons, and he’s as disruptive a defender as there is in the league (outside of San Antonio). 

9. Bam Adebayo

Bam Adebayo hasn’t progressed as an offensive player in the way he seemed to threaten earlier in his career. His jumper has never really become an option that impacts how defenses guard him, and while he’s a good playmaker, it’s not like he can claim to be in the Şengün or Domantas Sabonis category. 

The defense remains great. He’s as versatile a defender as any center. On offense, his game has perhaps been overtasked for a Miami team short on shot-creating talent.

10. Jarrett Allen

It didn’t feel great putting Jarrett Allen in tenth. It’s a decision that could age poorly as he’s one of the league’s most efficient finishers at the rim and has long been the Eastern Conference’s best rim-running big. 

However, it’s also a nod to Allen’s limitations as an offensive player compared with Adebayo, Holmgren, and Şengün. 

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