We’ve defined and ranked the 10 best big men heading into the 2024-25 season
One of the defining characteristics of the modern NBA is its lack of traditional positions. Sure, we still put a designation next to every player’s name, from point guard through center, but those little letters on a lineup card have never meant less.
Most of the best players are working well outside traditional boxes, making an impact across the positional spectrum not just from matchup to matchup, but, at times, possession to possession. Point guards play off the ball, for instance, and off-guards play on. As such, it’s generally a more accurate representation of role to apply broader designations. Combo guards. Wings. Bigs.
For the purposes of this positional breakout from our top 100 NBA players list, we’re going to focus on the latter. Who are the 10 best big men in the NBA? Generally speaking, big men are centers and power forwards, fives and fours as they are commonly categorized, but it gets tricky with the fours.
Zion Williamson is listed as a power forward, for instance, but is he a big man? He’s only 6-foot-6 and he operates mostly from a perimeter starting point, often as a play initiator. You can damn near call him New Orleans’ point guard sometimes. We feel more comfortable labeling Williamson as a wing. A powerful one who can punish you in the post — the same way that Jalen Brunson can punish his positional counterparts with his back to basket — but a wing nonetheless.