The 32 Greatest Olympic Basketball Centers of All Time

Gold-medal anchors share the paint here with Cold War giants and modern unicorns, drawn from both the men's and women's tournaments.

1. 1
   Arvydas Sabonis

   Dominant Lithuanian center who won 1988 gold with the USSR and two bronzes with Lithuania.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Lisa Leslie

   USA center who won four straight Olympic golds from 1996 to 2008.
   829pts
3. 3
   Victor Wembanyama

   French phenom who starred in the 2024 final as France took silver at home.
   584pts
4. 4
   Rudy Gobert

   French rim protector behind back-to-back Olympic silvers in 2020 and 2024.
   584pts
5. 5
   Walt Bellamy

   Center on the celebrated USA team that won gold at Rome 1960.
   584pts
6. 6
   Anne Donovan

   Hall of Fame USA center who won Olympic gold in 1984 and 1988.
   584pts
7. 7
   Bob Kurland

   Seven-footer who became the first two-time Olympic basketball champion, in 1948 and 1952.
   584pts
8. 8
   Bam Adebayo

   USA big man with Olympic golds in 2020 and 2024.
   524pts
9. 9
   Bill Russell

   Defensive pioneer who anchored the USA's 1956 Melbourne gold-medal team.
   524pts
10. 10
    Liz Cambage

    Australian center who won 2012 bronze and threw down the first dunk in women's Olympic history.
    454pts
11. 11
    Shaquille O'Neal

    Starting center on the USA's 1996 Atlanta gold-medal team.
    454pts
12. 12
    Vlade Divac

    Yugoslav center who won Olympic silver in 1988 and 1996.
    454pts
13. 13
    Dwight Howard

    Starting center for the 2008 'Redeem Team' that won gold in Beijing.
    454pts
14. 14
    Anthony Davis

    USA big man who won gold in 2012 and anchored the middle for gold again in 2024.
    454pts
15. 15
    Yolanda Griffith

    USA post player who won Olympic gold in 2000 and 2004.
    454pts
16. 16
    Lauren Jackson

    Australian great and the women's all-time leading Olympic scorer, with three silvers and two bronzes.
    372pts
17. 17
    David Robinson

    Three-time USA Olympian with 1988 bronze plus golds on the 1992 Dream Team and in 1996.
    372pts
18. 18
    Uljana Semjonova

    Towering Latvian center who led the USSR to Olympic gold in 1976 and 1980.
    372pts
19. 19
    Yao Ming

    China's flag bearer who led the team to the quarterfinals in 2004 and 2008.
    372pts
20. 20
    Patrick Ewing

    USA center who won gold in 1984 as a collegian and again with the 1992 Dream Team.
    372pts
21. 21
    Brittney Griner

    USA center with Olympic golds in 2016, 2020 and 2024.
    372pts
22. 22
    Tina Charles

    USA center who won three Olympic golds from 2012 to 2020.
    372pts
23. 23
    Sylvia Fowles

    USA center with three Olympic golds, from Beijing 2008 to Rio 2016.
    272pts
24. 24
    Pau Gasol

    Spain's big man and two-time Olympic scoring leader, with silvers in 2008 and 2012 and bronze in 2016.
    272pts
25. 25
    Nikola Jokić

    Serbian center with silver in 2016 and a bronze-winning Paris 2024 run.
    272pts
26. 26
    Joel Embiid

    Starting center for the USA's Paris 2024 gold-medal team.
    272pts
27. 27
    Andrew Bogut

    Australian center who played three Olympics, leading the Boomers' 2016 run to fourth place.
    272pts
28. 28
    A'ja Wilson

    USA post star with golds in 2020 and 2024, named MVP of the Paris tournament.
    272pts
29. 29
    Marc Gasol

    Spanish center who won Olympic silver in 2008 and 2012.
    0pts
30. 30
    Vladimir Tkachenko

    Ukrainian-born Soviet center who won Olympic bronze in 1976 and 1980.
    0pts
31. 31
    Alonzo Mourning

    Shot-blocking center on the USA's gold-winning team at Sydney 2000.
    0pts
32. 32
    Fabricio Oberto

    Center of Argentina's Golden Generation that won gold in 2004.
    0pts

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