How to be the best center in basketball

How to Dominate as a Center in Basketball (Tips and Tricks)

The center, who is often referred to as the “five,” is one of the most important basketball positions on the team.

A dominant center can completely change the identity of a team’s offense and defense.

Often the player deemed "the center" is the tallest player on the team, and they usually spend a lot of time around the key on the defensive end of the floor.

Offensively, most of the center’s points will come right around the basket, although it's becoming more common for them to step outside and hit midrange and three-point shots.

Many youth players watch the slam dunks of Shaquille O’Neal or the blocked shots of Dwight Howard and want to mimic the play of famous big men...

But few actually have the characteristics necessary to be a great center.

So, what traits does the “five” man need to dominate?

1. Height

Even though we believe positionless basketball can be a great offensive concept and that multiple players should be able to play multiple positions on the court...

The saying “size matters” still exists for a reason.

The center is typically the tallest player on the team, and therefore is typically responsible for getting high percentage layups and post finishes on the offensive end and guarding the other team’s tallest player on the defensive end.

This isn’t to say a smaller center can’t be effective... but it’s much more difficult.

The team's center also usually has elite strength to compliment that height.

A player who is expected to battle for every rebound, score regularly in the post, and guard the biggest player on the other team will have to be strong in order to be successful.

A lot of teams have players that are tall or strong, but it is far more rare for a player to combine those physical attributes with the willingness to use them.

A great center needs to provide an inside presence on both ends of the court, and size alone is not enough to create that presence.

They must also be willing to play physical with the biggest and strongest players on the other team on every trip down the court.

The tallest player on the team is never going to be the quickest, but a dominant center does still need to be an athletic player who can run the floor and contribute on every possession.

Mobility is a trait that often separates a good center from a great one, primarily because it is so rare among players who are naturally so much larger physically than other players on the court.

Any coach would be glad to have a player who is tall, strong, and willing to play physical...

But if that player is also athletic enough to create shots for himself on the offensive end and block shots on the defensive end, then he will be a truly dominant center.

5. Conditioning

Dominant centers are a nightmare for opposing coaches, and one way they typically try to minimize that player’s impact is by creating tempo offensively and forcing him to run the floor.

Most centers are not built for that type of game, but a dominant one will also be in good enough shape to play a lot of minutes.

After all, even if you are the best player on the court, your impact is not nearly as high as it could be if you are only able to play half of the game.

A center who is in great physical shape will also be in great shape to become a dominant player.

A player with size, strength, and athleticism has the potential to become a great center...

But how should he be putting those characteristics to use?

If you have a player with the size and physicality to be a true center, he needs to be the best rebounder on both ends of the court.

It does not take a basketball genius to realize that the tallest player is the closest to the rim, and therefore the closest to a lot of rebounding opportunities.

A center who controls the glass can be the most valuable member of a basketball team.

More rebounds equals more shots, and more shots equals more points.

So a dominant center who attacks the glass on both ends can completely dictate the game.

As the biggest player on the court, the center needs to provide a presence in the lane for the offense.

This means he must be able to fight for post position, and then be able to execute a variety of different moves to score on the block.

Depending on the level of play, it can be common for centers to be thrust into their role simply because of size, but a dominant center needs to be skilled enough to make efficient moves and finish with touch around the rim.

A great center can completely change your team’s entire defense, primarily because opponents will be much less willing to attack the hoop.

A high level high school center or above may be expected to play above the rim and block shots, but a center at any level can still be a “rim protector” if he is able to be a help defender that discourages the offense to drive.

This is where the height, strength, and physicality mentioned above become necessities for a dominant center, as a smaller player simply does not provide that physical presence.

Naturally, the biggest players typically match up with one another, meaning your center has to be able to guard the biggest player on the other team.

Again, height, strength, and physicality of course play a factor in this responsibility.

Players of any size can get rebounds or score in the post occasionally, but not everyone can physically take on the challenge of defending a center.

If your center has the mobility and conditioning mentioned above as well, then he will have the advantage in this matchup.

If a player is a truly dominant center who is capable of scoring in a variety of ways, then he probably will not be guarded by only one player very often.

Some teams may elect to send double teams or traps to force the center to get rid of the ball, and when that happens, he must be able to distribute to open teammates.

A dominant center scores in the lane often enough to draw additional defenders, and then takes advantage by dumping passes off to the other post player, hitting an open cutter, or kicking out for an open 3-point shot.

Now that we’ve covered what characteristics can make for a great center and what role the center should be playing on the court, how can a player build himself into a great big man?

At some point, most coaches have seen a physically imposing center who provides a presence, but his only chance to score is an easy drop step layup or open putback at the rim.

However, a great center needs to have a number of different post moves that they can execute with their back to the basket.

True post players have become fewer and further between in this era of basketball.

In fact, most teams don’t play with a true center at all...

So a big, tall player who probably isn’t as quick as most others or as comfortable on the perimeter needs to have multiple ways to score inside in order to be established as part of an offense.

A dominant center should have a go-to move, a very reliable secondary move, and then also be able to add counters to those moves.

A dominant defensive center is typically a shot blocker.

But simply being tall will not automatically mean that a player will be spiking every opponent’s shot off the backboard.

Blocking shots - and just playing good post defense in general - requires toughness, anticipation, and coordination.

Playing 1-on-1 against an offensive player on the block will help a center develop those skills, and getting a number of repetitions in a row will help build the necessary conditioning as well.

The most common way that an opposing coach will try to limit the effectiveness of a dominant center is by forcing him to score at the free throw line instead of giving up open post moves.

It has proven to be incredibly effective in some situations, especially against big men who are far below average free throw shooters.

After all, “Hack-A-Shaq” is still one of the most commonly used phrases in defensive basketball strategy many years after it was implemented.

A great center needs to be able to step up to the free throw line and knock down shots at a high rate so that he can not be taken advantage of by opposing teams.

Free throw shooting becomes even more important in late game situations, and if the center is your best player, you want to be able to leave them in the game during crunch time.

But if they can’t be trusted to make free throws, then you probably won’t want them on the court in those big moments.

As mentioned above, the time of true centers has largely come and gone in today’s basketball world.

It has become much more common to see different varieties of “small-ball” or positionless basketball, especially at higher levels.

Therefore, a center will only make himself more valuable if he is also able to at least provide a threat to shoot a jump shot.

Long range shooting isn’t necessary for centers, and it is extremely rare for the center to be considered a knock down shooter.

But even the willingness to shoot from 10-15 feet can add an entirely different dimension that can be very difficult for most opposing centers to defend.

If a center can step out and be a threat from 3-point range, too, then he has the potential to become unstoppable.

While shooting and other ball skills can be a great addition to a center’s game, they will never be truly necessary or expected to play the position.

Strength is absolutely essential to the success of a big man who aims to control the paint.

Spend time weight training to get your body to a point where it can physically take on the responsibility and toll of playing center.

A center can be a focal point of a team offense and a team defense if they have the size and physicality to provide a real presence on both ends of the court.

However, the center can completely change the game if they also have the skills and athleticism to control the rebounding battle, score in the paint, and block shots.

Though the position has become less and less common in recent years, a truly dominant center who has the ability to impact the game as an offensive threat and also a defensive stopper will make your team a matchup nightmare for opposing coaches.

How to Play Center in Basketball

Would you like to know how to play center in basketball? Do you know what is a center in basketball? If you are trying to understand how to play a big man’s game, you are in the right place. There are many different basketball positions, so understanding them is very important. We are grateful you are trying to understand the center position.

In our guide to playing center in basketball, we will help you understand how to play a big, specifically the center position, by explaining the different techniques required to be a thriving center in a league.

So, what does a center do in basketball? A center or five in basketball is a big man traditionally positioned around the rim throughout a game. Traditionally, a center’s role is to score and defend shots at the basket. Even though these are some of the traditional roles of a center, the game is somewhat changing where dominant centers need to be more versatile and possess multiple skill sets.

Centers are usually the tallest persons on the court at any time, however, some players are tasked with playing the center’s position even though they are not as tall as we expect them to be because they possess the skill sets to be effective.

In basketball, a team is as strong as its weakest link, meaning that coaches and the players can orchestrate their offense and defense to focus on their opponents’ weakest players. We are saying this to say that all positions in basketball are equally important.

The center has important roles. These include protecting the rim on defense to make it easier for his teammates to protect the perimeter. A center should provide an offensive option in the post, pass the ball effectively out of double-teams from the post. Depending on how his team plays, centers should stretch the court for his teammates by scoring from the perimeter.

Even though basketball is evolving, there are specific base skills that all good centers possess. Let’s take a look at some of the skills that all centers should have.

Footwork

Moving and positioning your feet properly is an essential skill that all centers need to have. Footwork in basketball refers to a player’s ability to use their feet to set themselves in an advantageous position to lose defenders, place their bodies in ideal places to score, grab rebounds and play post defense. There are multiple footwork moves that coaches should teach their centers.

Centers need to learn how to do footwork while on offense, like basic drop step moves, pro-hops, pivots, and many others. On the defensive end, centers also need to learn to use their feet to get between the rim and defenders to make it difficult for their opponents to score.

Positioning

Positioning is a by-product of footwork. A center’s position on the court can be looked at in two ways. The first way is how he positions himself around the rim while playing offense or defense, and this is where footwork comes in.

Being able to skillfully set yourself between the opponent and the rim or position yourself at an angle that makes it easy to get layups or dunks is something that every center should learn. The second aspect of positioning has to do with how a center spaces the floor so that their teammates can operate while also being a threat to score from where they are.

Centers need to learn about the areas on the floor that they need to be throughout plays so that they don’t clog the lane or disrupt a play by being in the wrong place.

Contact Finishing

The center position is one of the most, if not the most, physical position to play in basketball. Centers are normally the biggest guys on the court, which means that they will be going up against the opponent’s biggest guy more often than not.

With this in mind, centers should anticipate getting a lot of contact while attempting to score baskets. Contact usually results in a foul, which sends the center to the free-throw line, but they also needed to take advantage of finishing through these fouls to get additional points.

Free Throw Shooting

A center is often required to play through contact. Understandably, the center will become a liability if he is a very poor free throw shooter, especially in late-game moments. Have you ever heard the term hack-a-Shaq or hack-a-Dwight?

These are late-game strategies that teams employ when playing against big men who cannot score the ball from the stripe. You don’t want to be a center and have a low free-throw shooting percentage, or you may see your playing time significantly reduced.

On the other hand, if you are a center that can efficiently convert free-throw opportunities, teams will be wary of fouling you and sending you to the free-throw line.

Anticipation

You may be wondering how anticipation is relevant to playing basketball, let alone playing the center position. If you were to have a conversation with any elite rebounder or elite shot-blocker, they would tell you that anticipation has a lot to do with rebounding and shot-blocking.

The best rebounders can look at the trajectory of a shot or the bounce of the ball off the rim and anticipate where that ball will be going next so they can react quickly to grab that rebound. Shot blockers can usually anticipate opponents’ shot attempts and get in a position to block their shots even before the shot is attempted.

Great centers are centers that can defend the rim, and to do this, they need to be able to anticipate.

Rebounding

We have been speaking a bit about rebounding, so it is on our list as you can imagine. The best centers are often the ones that can rebound the ball in addition to scoring. There are great centers that don’t rebound very well, but they need to be exceptionally well on the offensive end for them to be considered great.

If you speak with any coach, they would tell you they would prefer to have a center that can rebound and score and not just score alone. One of the center’s main responsibilities is to rebound the ball to prevent additional possessions by the opponent or give their team extra possessions from offensive rebounds.

Shot Blocking

Not all centers are great at shot-blocking as, if not god-given, it’s a skill that takes time to develop. Shot blockers are valuable to their teams. They allow them to play a specific type of defense that takes the pressure off perimeter defenders because they know that there is someone behind them to protect the rim if they get beaten.

Shot blockers usually have good footwork and anticipation skills. Centers usually block the most shots on the court. This is usually because of their height, but if centers are not extremely tall, they can work on their jumping ability, which will help them protect the rim.

Here are seven tips that you can follow to become a good center in basketball.

1. Bulk up

Because the center position is one that is so physical, players that are bigger and have a lot of muscles usually fare well at this position. As a center, playing on the block will see you banging with other centers and power forwards. You are less susceptible to injury if you have a bigger body that can take the hits, and this will also make it a lot easier for you to score and defend against your opponents.

2. Improve shooting

In today’s game of basketball, the center position is not just the traditional around the rim role. We see an increasing number of centers being asked to stretch the floor by stepping out of the paint and making mid-range to long-range shots. Improve your offensive arsenal by adding a reliable shot so that your coaches can ask you to stretch the floor and help your team’s offense.

If you can knock down shots from outside the paint, you will score more points per game, and this will open up the lane for your guards and wing players to attack the rim. Your ability to shoot will also allow your coach to run more plays for you, such as the pick-and-pop.

3. Practice Passing

Nikola Jokic is one of the best centers in the NBA today. In addition to his ability to score the basketball, he is considered really good because of his passing ability. Centers that can pass the ball properly from out of the post are very rare and valued.

If you can pass the ball from out of the post, this will make you a very dangerous threat when your opponent’s double team you. In addition to passing out of the post, centers that can pass the ball from the perimeter properly are also of extreme value to their teams. Work on your passing so you can find cutters and open shooters.

4. Practice Footwork

Footwork is key at the center position. If you can’t move your feet properly, your days at the center position will be very dismal. On both offense and defense, centers with good footwork will have a huge advantage over their opponents. If you have good footwork on offense, you can use this to score very easily while drawing fouls. Your footwork on defense will help you to keep up with your mark and protect the rim.

5. Work on Rebounding

Centers should be able to rebound the football. Chances are, if you are selected to be the center for your team, you have good height compared to your teammates. Your team will likely depend on you to rebound the ball, so you will need to work on your rebounding to be a good center.

You can do various drills by yourself or with your teammates to help you improve your anticipation and bounce around the rim. Remember to practice boxing out as a boxing out is the fundamental stage of rebounding.

6. Improve strength

In addition to becoming bigger, you will also need it to improve your strength. Remember to devote some of your free time or your training time to gym workouts to be a good center. Strong centers are usually hard to deal with on offense and very difficult to score against on defense.

The stronger you get, it’ll be easier for you to back down your opponents or finish through contact. On the opposite side of the ball, you will be able to stand your ground when your opponent’s try to post you up because you are stronger.

7. Finish through contact

If you want to be a good center, work on finishing through contact. It comes with the territory. The center position is very physical, so you will have a lot of contact during a lot of your finishes.

You can gain additional points by scoring the basket even after you are fouled. Do not depend on the referee because you won’t always get the calls and be sent to the free-throw line. Do drills with your coaches or teammates to work on contact scoring.

1. Drop Step Drill

This is an important post-move that includes sound footwork. This is very important for players to learn if they plan to score while playing with their backs to the basket.

2. Contact Finishing Drills

This drill is very good to help centers finish through contact. The physicality of this drill will form tough post finishers.

3. Jump Hook

This offensive weapon is a deadly, near unstoppable move that all Centers should learn. This video will demonstrate the footwork associated with this move.

Here are a few of the most excellent NBA centers of all time.

Shaquille O’Neal

Many people often regard Shaquille O’Neal or The Big Diesel as the most dominant player ever to play the game of basketball. During Shaq’s years as a player, he was an unstoppable force in the post that required multiple players to contain him somewhat. Shaq is 7’1″ and over 300 lb, making him one of the biggest players to have ever played the game of basketball.

Shaq played with multiple teams throughout his career in the NBA, but his most successful stint was with the Los Angeles Lakers when he played alongside Kobe Bryant. O’Neal won 3 NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and one with the Miami Heat.

Wilt Chamberlain

Without a doubt, Wilt Chamberlain is one of the top 10 greatest players to have ever played the game of basketball. Wilt Chamberlain was a huge player standing at 7 feet 1 in and over 300 pounds.

If you were to take a rock and throw it in a pond filled with NBA records, chances are you will hit a record set by Wilt Chamberlain. Wilt Chamberlain was as dominant as they came. When he played in the NBA, he was able to score at will. Wilt Chamberlain is a two-time NBA Champion.

Yao Ming

Yao Ming is an eight-time NBA All-Star, 7 ft 6 in tall, former Houston Rockets center. Yao entered the NBA as the first pick in the 2002 draft made by the Houston Rockets. Throughout his career, Yao Ming averaged 19 points and nine rebounds to go along with two blocks.

Kareem Abdul Jabar

Kareem is a 7 foot 2 in center who won six NBA championships throughout his career. He was a two-time Finals MVP and, without a doubt, one of the greatest players to ever grace a basketball court.

Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem Olajuwon is another first overall pick made by the Houston Rockets. He was drafted in the 1984 draft and became a two-time NBA champion and two-time NBA Finals MVP. Hakeem is regarded as one of the greatest centers of all time.

To be a good center in basketball, you should work on your size and your strength. Try to be bigger and stronger while remaining mobile. Centers should always be able to finish through contact at the rim, rebound the ball efficiently, and be really good at the position they should pass from out of the post, block shots, and shoot the ball fairly well.

Did you find this helpful? Then also check out other basketball FAQ articles here.

More interesting basketball FAQ posts here:

> How to Play Small Forward in Basketball

> How to Play Power Forward in Basketball

How can a basketball player develop without access to the gym?

4 tips to become a better player, athlete and personality

It happens to everyone that you want to train, move forward, progress, but there is no access to the court and the gym. This article contains 4 recommendations for this case. Read and apply.

1. Start monitoring your nutrition and sleep

One of the most important components of progress and development on the site is recovery, and nutrition and sleep are its foundation. Without this, stretching, contrast showers and everything else make little sense.

So you can not sit if you sleep 4 hours a day

2. Work on your body

This does not always require a basketball hall or even a gym. Charging, yoga and stretching, some other recovery procedures (only with a really heavy load), core is the minimum that can be done at home.

In fact, at the initial stage, it is possible to exercise effectively and beneficially for the body at home. Add this and you will already become the best around, because you will train more.

Images from our online school where you can train at home

3. Analyze matches

This will help you better understand the game and increase your basketball IQ. Analyze your game and the game of professionals you want to be like, analyze your opponent. And always pay attention to details.

Kobe Bryant was a crazy basketball player down to the last detail. He watched the matches and noticed the details so much that he knew how his opponent would act in any situation. In his book, he described a moment where, thanks to analysis, Kobe dunked through the center opponent, because he knew how he would put his hand to resist, and was able to remove it.

Curry said that when he watches his games, he pauses and notes what decisions he can make. Then he chooses the best and turns on the tape to test himself in the game. You can do that too.

You can also look at professionals. You turn on the match of a player you are similar in style to and follow his every move.

Kobe does not waste time and watches the game during the flight

4. Learn

Read books, watch educational and useful videos, be interested in something else. You may not become a professional basketball player, but you can always become a good person.

To be successful in the game, one must not only have good athleticism and skills. Knowledge in psychology will help you better understand the actions of opponents. Communication skills will help build better relationships with teammates. Good time management will allow you to use your time more efficiently. A successful career consists not only of playing on the court, but also of acting outside of it.

We add material and tools to the online school that help not only in basketball, but also in life. Some guys start to study better and do more things in a day, because they become more disciplined and learn a lot of new things. This is important because life does not end with basketball.

LeBron has been using the slogan "More than an athlete" for several years now. Because basketball goes beyond the sport where everything ends in the hall. Now this is life.

Nikita of coachmen

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