The Toronto Raptors have had many talented centers during their 23-year history, but a few standout above the others. Who are the best five at the position in franchise history?
When looking through the former Toronto Raptors greats, there is perhaps no position more accomplished than the center position. Since the startup of the franchise in 1995 there have been some dark years with the Raptors’ roster lacking even the most basic levels of talent. However, for the most part, Toronto’s center position has been able to hold their own.
As counter-intuitive as this may sound, Toronto’s success at the center position has weakened the back-end of this list. With the top two players holding down the position for a combined 13 of the franchise’s 23 seasons, it becomes difficult to find legitimate contributors who lasted more than a handful of years.
As with almost any all-time list, both peak and longevity factor into these rankings. Producing 10 and 6 for five years is more impressive than 12 and 7 for one and a half. How heavily longevity and peak are individually weighted is of course subjective to the individual.
Another subjective factor is how to classify fringe positional players. For purposes of this article, Charles Oakley, Andrea Bargnani, and Jerome Williams were all considered power-forwards (Not that they necessarily would have made the list). Chris Bosh was considered a center.
Lastly, a special shout-out to the honorable mention who just missed the list. Rasho Nesterovic, Keon Clark, and Hakeem Olajuwon each fell short of the number five spots for different reasons.
So here is the definitive list of the top-five starting centers in Raptors’ history, starting with number five.