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Top 5 centers in Detroit Pistons history

By Brandon Marlow

Apr 24, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) takes a shot against Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) during the second quarter in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 24, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) takes a shot against Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) during the second quarter in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Andre Drummond

Andre Drummond may very well go down as the best center in the Detroit Pistons’ history.

He’s certainly already in the top five, which is insane considering he is just 23 years old and big men usually don’t hit their peak until later in their career.

Drummond is an athletic freak of nature, who in Pistons history may only be matched by Ben Wallace.

For somebody who is just under seven feet tall and is listed at 279 pounds he is able to fly around the court with impressive speed.

He also possess a superb vertical leap, allowing him to finish almost any alley-oop pass thrown his way.

Perhaps most impressive is his ability to repeatedly go after rebounds.

It’s not uncommon to see Drummond pull in three or four rebounds in the space of ten seconds, which is tough to do considering how much leaping and having to contend with contact from other centers takes out of a player.

Despite having tremendous upside and potential, Drummond is not without his flaws.

Most glaring is his complete lack of a well-rounded offensive game.

Currently he has just a single post-move, a jump hook, which is incredibly easy to shut down if the opposing team has down at least five seconds of scouting on Drummond.

On the other end, he still struggles with being a consistent defender.

It’s also impossible for me to talk about Drummond and not mention his historically awful free throw shooting, which may seriously affect the ceiling of this current Pistons team.

However, he’s still young and despite these flaws he is still a game changer.

If Drummond is able to flesh out his post game a little and become a consistent defender there is no question he’ll be the best center in Pistons history by the end of his career.