The NBA has been dominated by guard play for decades. The conversation around the most effective player has almost exclusively focused on guards or wing players. From the 1980s with Julius “Dr. J” Erving, George “Iceman” Gervin, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Isiah Thomas to the current landscape with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (“SGA”), Devin Booker, and Anthony Edwards – the game has largely been defined by dazzling play from guards.
That’s not to say post players (power forwards and centers) haven’t had their impact. Maybe prior to the 1984 NBA draft (where the first few picks have been long debated between Hakeem Olajuwon, Sam Bowie. and Michael Jordan), the commonly expressed draft priority was to draft a dominant low post player and build a championship roster from there. This wisdom was supported by the successes of, among others, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Dave Cowens, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Moses Malone. Then the successes of teams with wing players became more prevalent. That’s not to ignore the continued prominence of post players – Shaquille O’Neal, Olajuwon, Tim Duncan, Yao Ming and Kevin Garnett among them. However, a shift in draft priority had occurred. NBA teams showed a variety of approaches in building competitive teams, including building teams without offensive focal points and around guards and wing players.
This variety of approaches in the NBA has allowed for a resurgence of dominant play by post players. The emphasis on creating spacing on the floor has allowed for skilled post players to showcase their shooting abilities, full-court dribbling, and even traditional post movement. Since the 2019 NBA season, the MVP has been won exclusively by post players. In fact, the three MVP winners – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, and Joel Embiid – are widely considered the three overall best players in the league. Even the 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics benefitted from solid offensive play from their post players, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford.
The NBA is full of emerging talent at each position that will be on showcase beginning in late October. This includes post players, which is evident in the Southwest Division. The San Antonio Spurs are looking to regain their competitive heights from the Duncan era with a team featuring Victor Wembanyama. But they will have to contend with others in the Western Conference including the Oklahoma City Thunder, who also have a dynamic post player in Chet Holmgren and added Isaiah Hartenstein from the New York Knicks.
And there’s more within the same division as the Spurs! The Dallas Mavericks, fresh off a remarkable finals run, reach the mountain top and utilize Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford along the way. The New Orleans Pelicans are looking to become more competitive and this will hinge on the performances of Zion Williamson and Daniel Theis. The Memphis Grizzlies drafted Zach Edey from Purdue and will look to pair him with Jaren Jackson Jr. Lastly, the Houston Rockets also look to be in the playoff picture with strong performances from Alperen Șengün and Jabari Smith Jr. While the Mavericks are closest to a championship (based on last season’s run), this division could epitomize the resurgence of the post player in a league that has become dynamic and unpredictable.
It’s crazy how the dominant post players in the NBA today are all international players!
Yeah it’s wild how we haven’t seen more dominant American bigs in the league. We could say Bam and Chet but they aren’t dominating like the overseas bigs rn.