For the better part of the NBA we have seen amazing center play and numerous legends play the position. We’ve seen Mikan, Russell, Chamberlain, Kareem, Olajuwon, Lanier, Robinson and I could probably list off another twenty great centers.
I won’t though.
If you’re reading this blog you probably know basketball and you could probably roll off a few more names.
If you’re like me, you’re mind will wander a bit and you’ll start thinking of all those amazing Sonics centers.
Sam Perkins in my mind is easily the best center in team history. Sure, he wasn’t a pure center like Sikma or Haywood. Smooth would not make it on 99 out of 100 ten best Sonics of all time. He wouldn’t make my list of ten best Sonics of all time. You ask me what five Sonic greats you want out on the floor in the in crunch time against the five greatest players to ever play their position?
I’d throw out Gary Payton, Ray Allen, Eddie Johnson, Shawn Kemp and Sam Perkins.
The reason I throw out Perkins is because he further stretches the floor. Four guys on the floor, playing four different positions, all shooting at lest 36% career from beyond the arc. This completely renders Russell useless defensively, which opens up the lane for people to drive and hopefully get easy buckets.
Up until 1992 (year Sam became a real three point threat) can you name me another center in the NBA who could be considered a “stretch five?”
There were a few centers who had a solid mid-range game that you had to always respect. Never one who could extend you out to 23 feet nine inches.
Not until Sam Perkins put an asterisk on the position.
Today there are quite a few players who play the power forward and the center position who will step out from beyond the arc and let a few fly. It’s mostly because of the new European influence on the game. A lot of the kids from the Europe come in with an already built offensive game, low post game something to be desired.
In college you are seeing a lot of the same thing. Yes you have your Cody and Tyler Zellers, Greg Monroes, Roy Hibberts and the lot of them, but then you have guys like Alex Len (yes, he’s European, but learning the American game fast and will be a lottery pick next year), Kyle Wiltjer, Anthony Davis (yes, he does have an outside game) and a few others.
These kids were in the age range of 4-9 years old in 1996. Some of the most informative years of a budding youths life. If they were into basketball, especially getting into it in the mid 90s that we hold so dear.
The other side of the coin on this is guys like Dwight Howard, JaVale McGee, DeAndre Jordan and Nerlens Noel at Kentucky. These guys have zero offensive game outside of five feet and are complete and total liabilities at the end of a game. No way you want them on the floor in a tight game. They won’t be able to make a free throw and you can just hack them if they get the ball or just assume they won’t get the ball anyway, play zone and force the other team to make jumpers.
Or you can be like the Miami Heat, completely throw out conventions, discover the best way to win in this league now is to go small, spread the floor and render the opposing interior defense useless.
The Heat also had LeBron James who is the best all around basketball player since Michael Jordan who decided he would expand his game become the team’s power forward.
The proved despite the opposing team having two dominant defenders in Ibaka and Perkins, you put your five best players out there and even though they are in their non-traditional roles (granted it was moving up one spot on the floor for Bosh and James) you can win a championship.
Now look at the reaction from the league after the Heat won with a small lineup. You hear about how Kendrick Perkins is going to be an automatic lock to be amnestied and Serge Ibaka is going to be the starting center with Durant switching out to the power forward and James Harden would be playing small forward.
Well Perkins was never cut (could be next season?), Harden was traded for cash reasons. Continue around the league and guys like Roy Hibbert got a max contract even though they aren’t a max type player. A defensive center was taken #1 overall in the last draft, the Lakers got bigger, Philadelphia got bigger, Dallas got bigger. Only two teams seemed to get smaller, add shooters and perimeter defense.
Denver and Miami.
Denver is of course coached by our beloved George Karl, who as you know made the call to start Sam Perkins as a stretch five during the great Sonics runs in the 90s. One of Karl’s main closing lineups right now is to have Danilo Galinari playing center. Galinari’s natural position is small forward.
The Heat meanwhile added two former SuperSonic floor spreaders (Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis) to open up their offense even more and give bigger teams a line up that could see LeBron James at center. What coach is going to want to try to have a Hibbert, Howard, Davis, Asik, Duncan, etc. trying to guard James thirty feet from the hoop? They just going to rotate them over to Wade, Allen, Lewis or Chalmers? Nope. That coach will be forced to go small.
We can’t predict how the NBA will be going forward and what type of team we are going to have when the Sonics finally come back. We going to play small? Going to draft another center from Bakersfield, CA who has more tattoos on his body than he did baskets made in the NBA?
Give me another Sam Perkins type player. Let’s spread the floor, score some points, play great perimeter defense and have a deep bench. I’m not very worried about the growth of offensive centers coming through the league in the next few years.
Nice read, thanks Kevin!
Great read!
I loved Sam Perkins. He was the originator of the swing under with his arms and a foul would be called on the guy guarding him.
The best basketball related show going is Open Court on NBAtv with Barkley, Kenny the Jet, Shaq, Webber and others. They talked about this very subject and brought up great points and that was 1) there aren’t as many 6’10 - 7’0 guys in the world and 2) the game evolves related to the highlights you see on ESPN. When you see guys like Garnett, Dirk and Durant handle the ball and face up that is what guys those size will try and emulate.
I can’t wait to have a team and have debates regarding what would be the best starting 5 and why.
It is interesting how Virgina Beach keeps releasing information about their arena and the Kings. It almost seems like they are lobbing the Maloofs to move via the press. I also find it interesting how all is quit in Seattle and with Chris.
I was interested to read that George Karl named Sleepy Sam as the player he most enjoyed coaching a few weeks back.
I know he ticked all of Furious George’s boxes (veteran, mismatch, etc), but I would’ve thought there’d be a couple ahead of him, given all the wonderful players George has coached over the years. Speaks to Sam’s underratedness, I suppose.
as an announcer brian davis is as atrocious as they come. makes your ears bleed. i am glad he works for the blunder.
He’s the only one that I rank behind the spurs announcing duo.
just listened to brians 710 interview today. sounds like some news will be coming out soon.
what was said?
I think the Maloofs are looking at 3 options for the King
1. An Arena Remodel in Sac, Tonight Grant Naper on 1140 The Fan in Sac said there are
discusion taking place behind the scene (he did not say with who) I think it is a long shot given the City already said they would not fund it
2 . Move to VB if they can negotiate a Sweet Heart Deal an maintain ownership, Cable TV, Concession, Parking, Suites Etc. (I do not think it is likely as this will be a long term proposition).
3. Sell to Chris H group and move Team to Seattle. 50 50 as we all know the Maloofs have Emotional Ties to the Kings.
We all know that they are shopping the team, In the end The Maloofs are business men and are going to base their decision on the best return.
We should know a lot more in late Jan or around the All Star Break but until then we will hear a lot of rumors
Though I’m a 1979 kind of guy and I have a hard time putting Sleepy Sam above Sikma (who by the way looked very sleepy every time he shot a free throw), I freaking LOVED Sam Perkins. He was definitely the precursor to the way centers play today.
On a similar note, if you ask the average NBA fan who the first “point forward” was, 95% of them will tell you Scotty Pippen. However, we Sonics fans need to remind ourselves and the average NBA fan that our beloved John “J.J.” Johnson is the one who can legitimately claim that.
Holy crap we have a rich history.
Wish I was a few years older. All I know about the 79 team is nba classics and stories from my dad and older fans who were around for it. Wish I could have seen that 79 team more. JJ, again never got to see, but I think magic Johnson was also a point forward before Scottie.
Magic’s size made him seem like a point forward I suppose, but he was officially a point guard. One of the greatest to ever play the position.
Anyone that knows some of the sports columnists want to pass this along? Great read! Sam Perkins is one of my favorite Sonics of all time. I never really thought about how he is one the “pioneers” of bigs playing outside. Before long the Sonics will be back and hopefully we’ll see Big Smooth around time to time.
Perkins.was.awesome. also deadly on NBA2k and a cool guy to hang with.
News out of new Orleans that the hornets name is going back to charlotte. The current hornets will get a new name and identity. I love to hear about them making plans to move histories and colors. Maybe they realign divisions…it just all seems to me like they are reshuffling the deck this summer and that bodes well for us…
I heard New Orleans new colors are going to be a dark red, black and gold. Benson’s favorite colors. Can’t wait to see what the new name will be.
this is a great move. new orleans deserves a team that they can fully get behind. calling them the jazz would clearly be the most appropriate, wish it was possible.
It does make the most sense with them. We all know that Utah doesn’t allow music.
So would the bobcats become the charlottechornets again? I guess that crosses them off our wishlist. Dont think they would get the colors and name back if they where goin to move anytime soon. Whatever, i would personally love to see charlotte back as the hornets.
I’ve read that the new name for the New Orleans franchise will be “Pelicans” but I’m not sure if it’s true.
Anyways, that three headed center monster was “great”, especially us picking Mouhamed “Mo” Saer Sene at #10 in 2006, instead of guys like Rondo, Ronnie Brewer or even JJ Redick, who most folks had as the possible selections at the realgm Sonics forum.
The funniest thing about that Sene pick, to me, was Bob Hill telling everyone that Sene was NBA ready and wouldn’t ever be sent to the D-League…:rofl:
BTW: Sam Perkins was just great. Everytime we had a close game and George had him on the floor at the end of games you knew we had a chance with him hitting some big shots. Love that dude.
I loved Big Smooth. Great player and a great Sonic. I think Jack Sikma would do a lot of damage in today’s NBA. Like Kevin Love. The Sonics DO have a rich history, indeed. Which is why we ultimately need it back from the OKC “franchise”. Thanks for the article.
Great read Kevin! I grew up watching Big Smooth and he is definitely in my top 10 Best Sonics.
Never knew Haywood was a true center let alone a C-F. sikma was a C-F for much of his career and there shouldn’t be a debate on who was better, Sikma or Perkins. Count the all star appearances and who still may make the HOF some day.
Good to hear you on 710 this afternoon, Brian. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing everyone in Queen Anne next month.
As for Big Smooth, I remember when I was little, I would try to emulate his 3 pointers without the jump. That was one of the hardest things to do, let alone making them like he does.
Does anyone know where I can find video footage of Perkins’ 8-8 3point show? I have only heard it, never saw it.
I strongly disapprove of the Robert Swift dig at the end. Otherwise this was a solid ode to the Big Smooth.
My apologies. I did not realize you were such a fan.
Just kidding. He’s a big clumsy idiot.
LOL!
Memories of the Super Centers trio are running through my head.
I wanted to work in a Benoit Benjamin joke, but I’ll save that for later.
So excited for tomorrow’s arena drawings to come out. I feel like a kid the night before Christmas!
are you sure that its happening? there has been some confusion around this topic in the past.
and the push back begins in va beach. that didn’t take long!
http://hamptonroads.com/2012/11/lawmakers-react-va-beach-pitch-arena-funding
The NBA store is selling a new Sonics T-shirt http://bit.ly/Yuv9wm
Neat shirt, but wouldn’t that send money to Clay? I would assume that it was an official thing if it is one NBA store.
From the other blogs that have posted links to this shirt it seems like the money would go to Clay which is a shame because its actually not too bad of a shirt.
According to the Sacramento Bee the VB arena would be 90% publicly financed
http://sacb.ee/QPyPH9
This article is absolutely dead on imo. http://m.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fshar.es%2F6tiVA&h=fAQH-E3iT&s=1
Nice find hughc5
90% publicly financed for VB? Just goes to show how brilliant Hansen is.
“Sam Perkins in my mind is easily the best center in team history. Sure, he wasn’t a pure center like Sikma or Haywood.”
There are two problems with those statements. First, the writer doesn’t even know what position Spencer Haywood played — and knowing who the Sonics were is a prerequisite before we start deciding who their best players were. And the Perkins-Sikma comparison isn’t even close.
Perkins was an innovator, the first center who could both shoot 3-pointers while being effective at the other duties of a center, defense in particular (his rebounding however was very poor for a center).
Sikma couldn’t shoot 3-pointers like Perkins (though he became pretty good late in his career), but was better in every other aspect of the game. He was a good scorer, one of the better passing centers in the league, an excellent rebounder, and an outstanding defender. Sikma didn’t block many shots (though he blocked more than Perkins did) but he was outstanding at playing team defense, helping every other defender on the floor with his anticipation and mobility. The Sonics made it to the finals two years in a row due to their team defense. Perkins was very good at that — in fact I’d say that his ability to play defense was more important to the Sonics than his 3-pointers were — but Sikma was better.
Better defense, better offense, way better rebounding, 7 all-star games to none — it’s not even close. Perkins was a good center, and an underrated one, but he was no all-star. Sikma was an excellent center and as one of the commenters pointed out, a borderline hall of famer. Like Perkins he tends to be underrated because his contributions as a defender are usually underrated. So Sikma probably won’t get in, but he probably deserves to. Perkins was never close to being a hall of famer.
Perkins could torture opposing centers and spread the floor with his 3-pointers, but Sikma was an excellent outside shooter as well — plus better at passing and setting picks — so he also spread the floor, opening the lane for drives by Dennis Johnson and Gus Williams. And as innovative as Perkins was with his 3-pointers, Sikma was also innovative, indeed unique, with his herky-jerky jump shot. Google “sikma move”. Also for comparison google “perkins move” — there is no such thing.
Big games against top big men? Try facing hall of famers Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes in the finals two years in a row. Or bouncing Kareem out of the playoffs two years in a row. I still remember a game, Sonics down 1 with seconds left, Sikma puts up a jumper from around the free throw line but Kareem was right with him and blocked it. Undaunted, Sikma ran back, picked up the ball and dribbled back to the top of the circle, way farther out than Kareem was used to defending, and sank the game winning shot as time expired.
Bob Rule for any who can remember him. Check out his history, I don’t have enough time left in my lunch break. He was amazing.
Bob Rule 1967-68: Named to all-rookie team after averaging 18.1 points, 9.5 rebounds.
Sonics career: Rule was a great player, averaging more than 24 points and 10 rebounds the next two seasons. He was off to a hot start in 1970, but an Achilles tendon injury in the fourth game wiped out the rest of his season, and he was never the same. Rule was the last original Sonic to go, traded to Philadelphia during the 1971-72 season, and was done playing by 1974.
What does the author know of Haywood?? a center????
Yes Kareem moved to forward when he entered the game in his year w the Lakers championship team