# 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.

*By YPB Team · Published October 29, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-32-greatest-olympic-basketball-centers-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Arvydas Sabonis** — score 1000/1000
   Dominant Lithuanian center who won 1988 gold with the USSR and two bronzes with Lithuania.
2. **Lisa Leslie** — score 829/1000
   USA center who won four straight Olympic golds from 1996 to 2008.
3. **Victor Wembanyama** — score 584/1000
   French phenom who starred in the 2024 final as France took silver at home.
4. **Rudy Gobert** — score 584/1000
   French rim protector behind back-to-back Olympic silvers in 2020 and 2024.
5. **Walt Bellamy** — score 584/1000
   Center on the celebrated USA team that won gold at Rome 1960.
6. **Anne Donovan** — score 584/1000
   Hall of Fame USA center who won Olympic gold in 1984 and 1988.
7. **Bob Kurland** — score 584/1000
   Seven-footer who became the first two-time Olympic basketball champion, in 1948 and 1952.
8. **Bam Adebayo** — score 524/1000
   USA big man with Olympic golds in 2020 and 2024.
9. **Bill Russell** — score 524/1000
   Defensive pioneer who anchored the USA's 1956 Melbourne gold-medal team.
10. **Liz Cambage** — score 454/1000
   Australian center who won 2012 bronze and threw down the first dunk in women's Olympic history.
11. **Shaquille O'Neal** — score 454/1000
   Starting center on the USA's 1996 Atlanta gold-medal team.
12. **Vlade Divac** — score 454/1000
   Yugoslav center who won Olympic silver in 1988 and 1996.
13. **Dwight Howard** — score 454/1000
   Starting center for the 2008 'Redeem Team' that won gold in Beijing.
14. **Anthony Davis** — score 454/1000
   USA big man who won gold in 2012 and anchored the middle for gold again in 2024.
15. **Yolanda Griffith** — score 454/1000
   USA post player who won Olympic gold in 2000 and 2004.
16. **Lauren Jackson** — score 372/1000
   Australian great and the women's all-time leading Olympic scorer, with three silvers and two bronzes.
17. **David Robinson** — score 372/1000
   Three-time USA Olympian with 1988 bronze plus golds on the 1992 Dream Team and in 1996.
18. **Uljana Semjonova** — score 372/1000
   Towering Latvian center who led the USSR to Olympic gold in 1976 and 1980.
19. **Yao Ming** — score 372/1000
   China's flag bearer who led the team to the quarterfinals in 2004 and 2008.
20. **Patrick Ewing** — score 372/1000
   USA center who won gold in 1984 as a collegian and again with the 1992 Dream Team.
21. **Brittney Griner** — score 372/1000
   USA center with Olympic golds in 2016, 2020 and 2024.
22. **Tina Charles** — score 372/1000
   USA center who won three Olympic golds from 2012 to 2020.
23. **Sylvia Fowles** — score 272/1000
   USA center with three Olympic golds, from Beijing 2008 to Rio 2016.
24. **Pau Gasol** — score 272/1000
   Spain's big man and two-time Olympic scoring leader, with silvers in 2008 and 2012 and bronze in 2016.
25. **Nikola Jokić** — score 272/1000
   Serbian center with silver in 2016 and a bronze-winning Paris 2024 run.
26. **Joel Embiid** — score 272/1000
   Starting center for the USA's Paris 2024 gold-medal team.
27. **Andrew Bogut** — score 272/1000
   Australian center who played three Olympics, leading the Boomers' 2016 run to fourth place.
28. **A'ja Wilson** — score 272/1000
   USA post star with golds in 2020 and 2024, named MVP of the Paris tournament.
29. **Marc Gasol** — score 0/1000
   Spanish center who won Olympic silver in 2008 and 2012.
30. **Vladimir Tkachenko** — score 0/1000
   Ukrainian-born Soviet center who won Olympic bronze in 1976 and 1980.
31. **Alonzo Mourning** — score 0/1000
   Shot-blocking center on the USA's gold-winning team at Sydney 2000.
32. **Fabricio Oberto** — score 0/1000
   Center of Argentina's Golden Generation that won gold in 2004.

Tags: basketball, olympics, athletes, centers