The center position has been a bit of a revolving door during the beginning of the Warriors dynasty. Who is currently the best center on Golden State’s roster?
The Warriors have plenty of options at center, and Steve Kerr hasn’t been shy to shake things up every once in a while during his tenure in Golden State.
Each one of the Warriors’ centers brings something different to the table, which makes them difficult to compare to each other. However, Kerr will likely have to choose just one of these guys to possibly play in crunch time during the playoffs, so who should that be?
JaVale McGee
JaVale McGee always dominates in PER and he’s doing so again this season with a 20.5. However, he’s fallen out of the rotation a bit as he hasn’t played two or more games in a row since the middle of December.
McGee is a bit of a liability in pick-and-roll defense, but he always provides a spark when he comes off the bench. He fills an important role as an energy guy, but that’s probably all he’ll ever become with this team.
Kevon Looney
Kevon Looney has come on strong over the past couple of weeks, and he still has plenty of room to grow as he’s only 21 years old.
Looney only plays 11.1 minutes per game, but he’s averaging 2 blocks per 36 minutes this season which is a career high. Looney has showed enough promise for the Warriors to give him a chance at earning a spot as a center of the future alongside Jordan Bell.
Zaza Pachulia
Zaza has started 40 of the Warriors’ 50 games this season, but he’s currently only playing 14.6 minutes per game. Surprisingly that’s still enough to lead all of Golden State’s centers in minutes per game this season.
He’s averaging 5.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game with a player efficiency rating of 17.1. Even though Paculia often looks a bit clumsy, he gets the job done for the Warriors.
Jordan Bell
Jordan Bell is easily the most promising center on the team, but his recent ankle injury has stunted his growth a bit as a rookie. He was also in Steve Kerr’s doghouse for a while earlier this season, but Kerr knows how talented this kid is.
Bell averages 1.1 blocks per game in just 14.4 minutes, which extrapolates to 2.6 blocks per 36 minutes. Bell also averages 4.5 assists per 36 minutes as he’s shown flashes of being a Draymond Green-level facilitator as a rookie.
Bell may be the best center on the roster by the end of the year, but he currently sits behind a veteran who is playing out of his mind this year.
David West
David West leads all Warriors centers in games played, PER, and points per game, and he’s tied for the lead in blocks and assists with Jordan Bell.
West has been an incredibly valuable player off the bench this season, but i suspect he could be getting the most minutes among these centers during the playoffs. Jordan Bell may pass West up as the best center on the roster by the end of the year, but for now the wily old veteran is the Warrriors’ best option and Steve Kerr seems to trust him the most.