The NBA Draft over the last two decades has seen a rapid evolution in the kinds of players targeted atop the Draft. The early 2000s saw teams look for big centers while the 2010s saw teams hunt for athletic guards. However, the one constant across the decades is that White American centers have struggled to find a foothold in the league.
Skip Bayless recently appeared on the ‘All The Smoke’ Podcast and slammed White American centers over the last two decades.
“I’ve been so hard over the last 20 years, over White American centers being taken in the lottery, anyone who is 7-foot or above. I can show you that they’ve been disasters. Do you know why? Because they’re classic stiffs. All they’ve got is they are 7’1″, but they can’t play basketball.”
“Do you remember Myers Leonard? That’s one I got into trouble with on draft day because the rumors said he would go late lottery, I said, ‘No, bad idea. Really bad idea,’ and I said on air that it’s because he’s White and American.”
Bayless made it a point to shout out Chet Holmgren for bucking that trend and becoming the first American center to firmly establish himself as one of the bright young stars in the NBA.
“European centers are fine, but the point is that the White American centers have been a disaster until I saw this video of this kid up in Minnesota… This kid named Holmgren, he could quickly jump, he was long and bean-pole skinny but he could run. His shot is textbook, pure stroke, a pretty stroke, you couldn’t teach a kid any better. And he shoots it like he means it, with conviction. I’m saying, ‘Hey, that kid can play.’ And the Thunder wind up with him.”
Since the 2000 NBA Draft, we’ve seen our fair share of White American centers drafted within the top 15 that have not lived up to the hype, with some examples being Joel Pryzbella, Jason Collier, Curtis Borchardt, Robert Swift, Spencer Hawes, Byron Mullens, Cole Aldrich, and Bayless’ already mentioned name, Meyers Leonard.
This span has seen very few White American centers establish themselves in the NBA, with some examples being Brad Miller, Chris Kaman, Mason Plumlee, Zach Collins, and most recently, Walker Kessler and Chet Holmgren.
Bayless has always highly regarded Holmgren’s ability, likening him to a 7’1″ Larry Bird in interviews he’s done earlier.
“This will be the best White American player since Larry Bird. 7’1″, moves like a guard, jumps out of the gym, can shoot pull-up threes, but also dominates the paint blocking shots,”
The 2024 NBA Draft saw two White American centers be picked in the lottery with Zach Edey going to the Memphis Grizzlies and Donovan Clingan going to the Portland Trail Blazers. Edey is considered among the favorites to win Rookie of the Year while Clingan has been impressing in the limited minutes he’s received so far.
The NBA has not seen standout white centers who weren’t European in decades, but Holmgren is promising to change that by emerging as one of the best players of his generation.
The OKC Thunder star was averaging 16.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks this season before suffering a pelvis fracture which will see him miss a large chunk of this season.
Holmgren is still just 22 years old and on a contending roster, so his name will be mentioned a lot over the next decade if things pan out well for him.
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