Where does Ivica Zubac rank on your center list?

[clippertown]

All of the centers mentioned are #1 or #2 options on playoff bound teams. Zubac is at best a #3 option and that may be generous. He can score, but not really on his own. He is not great at the P&R either. He is great at rebounding, rim defense, footwork, intelligent passes and most importantly, his motor. The guy plays almost every game and well over 30 mins when needed. Consistency has value in today's NBA.

He is not a top 10 modern center, but he plays the traditional center position as the well as anybody in the league.

[DS17]

stupid magic johnson for trading zubac and giving a 2nd round pick for michael beasley, like wtf wrre you thinking of?

We drafted Zubac.. and we could have gotten alot more than a 2nd round pick for him if we really wanted to trade him. SIGH.

[DAWill1128]

Jerry West had such an eye for talent, he grabs this backup guy for pennies and he goes onto becoming a 17ppg 12rpg all-defensive team player.

[nomansland]

I have him in the top 5. Jokic and Wemby are the top 2. Then you have a handful of guys that could fit into the rest of the top 5, including him. He was really good in the playoffs last year.

[STAT_88]

Number 3.

Jokic
Wemby
Zubac
KAT
Sabonis

Bam had a pretty down year last year and has become quite overrated.

AD I’ve classified as a PF if he’s a C he’s 3rd and bumps Zu down to 4.


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[FrodoBaggins]

Dunks & Threes' Estimated Plus-Minus (EPM) likes him. He was ranked 10th for 2024-25 with a +4.1 EPM (+1.7 off; +2.4 def). Only Wemby (+5.5) and Jokic (+8.3) ranked higher. I like his game: two-way impact, rebounding, defense, efficient off-ball paint finishing, and turnover efficiency. I expect another big season now that he has Harden and CP3 to make entry & roll passes.

[ryguy613]

I think he's definitely in the argument for 2nd best center in the league. But it reminds me of certain previous eras, where the C position was weak and you'd get some really random guys elevated to All-NBA, 2nd/3rd best center in the league, just because it was a weak position. Andrew Bynum got a 2nd-team All-NBA one year. Al Jefferson and DeAndre Drummond got 3rd-team all-NBA. DeAndre Jordan was 1st-team!!!

Being the 2nd-best center in the league can still mean you're only the 23rd best player or whatever.

Jokic obviously #1; Embiid DQ'd until he can demonstrate health.

So in the running for 2nd are KAT (or is he a PF next to Robinson?) Zubac, Sabonis... there are a lot of guys who are PFs who probably play center a good deal - Wemby, AD, JJJ?

Is Wemby a full time center? If so he's definitely #2

Is 7'3 Wemby a full time center? I would say yes. he qualifies. lol. There's also a difference between a 5 who can slot into the 4, and a 4 who can slot into the 5. I wouldnt argue that just because a player can play either it means they're considered less of a center than someone who plays it all the time. To me KAT is a center. I think theyre going to start him and bring Mitchell off the bench, but we will see. There are other guys you're missing though. I would definitely put Sengun over Zu. Embiid is a literal MVP, I understand his ranking depends upon health but if we're just ranking by who is the BEST center, Embiid is far and away better than Zu. Those are somewhat obvious ones, but gun to my head I would probably put Myles Turner and Rudy Gobert over him. I think those two are more subjective, and are probably thrown into the tier that Zu falls into. So, I dont see any world where he ranks as 2nd... top 5 there is an argument.

31 points and 29 boards is what Zubac had when he faced Myles Turner Nov. 27, 2022.

I would take Ivica Zubac going forward over both Myles Turner and Rudy Golbert.

Ivica Zubac is only getting started.

I dont just judge a player's overall value based on a single great game matchup. That would be kind of an odd way to view things. I havent look but I'm guessing there are plenty of games where Turner won that matchup. Also, I've literally watched games where Zubac outplayed Jokic. I wouldnt use that to argue he's even in the same class. Some times players just have great games.

I certainly wouldnt argue Turner's ranking as a matter of fact. I just happen to like the skillset that he offers at his best compared to what Zubac offers. Both of them are good rim protectors, but in terms of overall defense, I would take Turner. I think hes a more versatile defender. Zubac is a better rebounder, but Turner is also a more versatile offensive weapon. Point being he can be used in more situations both offensively and defensively than Zubac. And you can say Zubac is "only getting started" but he and Turner are roughly the same age. Zubac is 28, Turner is 29. And whereas Zubac had more or less a breakout year last season, I've seen Turner play at a higher level for a handful of years now so I know I can trust it to be sustained. I think Zu will continue to be really good but I will take a player I've seen do it over time more than I do someone who had an impressive season.

Now, Gobert is more of a coin flip for me. He's 33 so I can see the argument that he's getting closer to the downslope of his career while Zu is now in his prime. All I can say is I've seen Gobert's defensive presence make a huge impact for multiple teams over multiple seasons containing multiple deep playoff runs. Theres a reason hes won DPOY 4 times...

[HMFFL]

Is 7'3 Wemby a full time center? I would say yes. he qualifies. lol. There's also a difference between a 5 who can slot into the 4, and a 4 who can slot into the 5. I wouldnt argue that just because a player can play either it means they're considered less of a center than someone who plays it all the time. To me KAT is a center. I think theyre going to start him and bring Mitchell off the bench, but we will see. There are other guys you're missing though. I would definitely put Sengun over Zu. Embiid is a literal MVP, I understand his ranking depends upon health but if we're just ranking by who is the BEST center, Embiid is far and away better than Zu. Those are somewhat obvious ones, but gun to my head I would probably put Myles Turner and Rudy Gobert over him. I think those two are more subjective, and are probably thrown into the tier that Zu falls into. So, I dont see any world where he ranks as 2nd... top 5 there is an argument.

31 points and 29 boards is what Zubac had when he faced Myles Turner Nov. 27, 2022.

I would take Ivica Zubac going forward over both Myles Turner and Rudy Golbert.

Ivica Zubac is only getting started.

I dont just a player's overall value based on a single great game matchup. That would be kind of an odd way to view things. I havent look but I'm guessing there are plenty of games where Turner won that matchup. Also, I've literally watched games where Zubac outplayed Jokic. I wouldnt use that to argue he's even in the same class. Some times players just have great games.

I certainly wouldnt argue Turner's ranking as a matter of fact. I just happen to like the skillset that he offers at his best compared to what Zubac offers. Both of them are good rim protectors, but in terms of overall defense, I would take Turner. I think hes a more versatile defender. Zubac is a better rebounder, but Turner is also a more versatile offensive weapon. Point being he can be used in more situations both offensively and defensively than Zubac. And you can say Zubac is "only getting started" but he and Turner are roughly the same age. Zubac is 28, Turner is 29. And whereas Zubac had more or less a breakout year last season, I've seen Turner play at a higher level for a handful of years now so I know I can trust it to be sustained. I think Zu will continue to be really good but I will take a player I've seen do it over time more than I do someone who had an impressive season.

Now, Gobert is more of a coin flip for me. He's 33 so I can see the argument that he's getting closer to the downslope of his career while Zu is now in his prime. All I can say is I've seen Gobert's defensive presence make a huge impact for multiple teams over multiple seasons containing multiple deep playoff runs. Theres a reason hes won DPOY 4 times...

I am taking 2024-25, Ivica Zubac, over Turner & Golbert. Zubac over Golbert going forward.

Myles Turner will have a career year with Giannis. His game has still not reaching it's ceiling.

[flintsky21]

I have him as top 7.

Jokic
Embiid
Wemby
Towns
Sabonis
Adebayo
Zubac
Sengun
Gobert
Turner

[OkcSinceSGA]

No

I edited the thread. Not how I meant to propose the question.

My bad.

No worries bud. A lot of trolling on the GB lately so when you ask if Zubac is the 2nd best C in the association behind Jokic, I thought for sure you had to be trolling. But I see now you have rephrased your question

Zubac is definitely underrated but I'm not sure I'd put him on my top 5 of centers. Off the top of my head: Jokic, Victor, Towns, Sabonis, and J. Allen are all guys I'd take ahead of him. Then if you consider guys that play F/C like AD, Chet, Adebayo, etc, that pushes him further down the list. I think he is the perfect C for a team that has star players on it already though

Anyone who truly watched Zu heavily last year wouldn’t disrespect him by picking Allen, Sabonis over him and honestly probably not Towns due to Zu being a DPOY tier center.

The only centers who were undoubtedly better were Jokic and Wemby. Bam in a vacuum is better but last year wasn’t to me really. In a fully healthy year with last year’s Zu he would probably rank 4-5 behind Jokic, Wemby, Embiid and Bam. He thoroughly dominated guys like Jafro.

I think some people don’t realize the leap Zu took last year. He’s the NBA’s most dominant hook shot, stupid efficient with minimal touches. DPOY top 5 worthy and a top 3 rebounder. The last 30 ish games of the season including the playoffs he became a 20/20 ish machine and started scoring even more. He DOMINATED Cleveland’s bigs, Sabonis and others.

Footage of Zu crushing Jafro and Mobley with 28/20.


https://youtu.be/Eujw9eOg7Z0?si=0LtVUYhdhIB8I4qu

[Johnny Bball]

C'mon, man. Have a useful reply, not this empty nonsense.

C'mon man, that was not a serious question, OP even rephrased the question because he knows Zubac is not the 2nd best C in the league and it's a silly thing to ask.

The better thing to do then would be not reply at all, or at least articulate the thought of WHY the question doesn't make sense as phrased.

The better thing to do is not moderate every single post.