Patrick Ewing vs Rik Smits (71, 42-29 Ewing)
David Robinson vs Vlade Divac (51, 28-23 Robinson)
Rudy Gobert vs Nikola Jokic (50, 27-23 Gobert)
David Robinson vs Hakeem Olajuwon (48, 32-16 Robinson)
Vlade Divac vs Hakeem Olajuwon (48, 26-22 Divac)

The cut-off is the start of 1989-1990. 7 teams have been added since 1988. There were actually more prolific center rivalries in the 80s because of fewer teams (Parish, Laimbeer, Eaton, Moses, etc.)

I excluded hybrid PF/Cs like Duncan, KG, etc. Use the tool below to find their H2Hs.

We’ve had a generational center rivalry right under our noses for over a decade.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/teammates_and_opponents.fcgi

Alexcox95 | Heat

88 | 5 hours ago

Helps when they’ve been in the same division the entire time they’ve played.

bringbackpologrounds

52 | 5 hours ago

No doubt that is key to racking up so many meetings. But it does take a lot of durability and excellence as well.

This rivalry should get more attention, imo. It’s a huge part of their careers. 3X MVP and 4X DPOY.

Colorapt0r | Bucks

13 | 4 hours ago

Except that Gobert neither of them really guard each other because that’s not how either of them are really used

bringbackpologrounds

16 | 3 hours ago

Well, the most common matchup for Jokic is Gobert. The most common matchup for Gobert is Jokic. And it’s not even close.

https://databallr.com/matchups/203999/nikola-jokic/203497/rudy-gobert/2019/2026

Gobert guards Jokic about 35 possessions per game (allowing 32 points per 75). Jokic guards Gobert about 42 possessions per game (allowing 12 points per 75).

I’d say they guard each other plenty.

Odoaiden | Timberwolves

13 | 4 hours ago

Ya Gobert was lockdown on defense tonight but if you looked at Jokic’s stats you’d think he got murdered

Tight_Ad2788

39 | 4 hours ago

Kinda cool for Gobert considering he doesn’t get the respect he deserves most of the time

MddlingAges | Knicks

15 | 4 hours ago

I remember Robinson vs Hakeem so much better than anyone and Vlade.

Tight_Ad2788

3 | 4 hours ago

Sneaky one of the best rivalries in the league?? Not too many top players going head to head while playing the same position

Hendo8888 | IND

16 | 4 hours ago

Does Horford count as a center? He has played Brook Lopez 59 times

bringbackpologrounds

9 | 3 hours ago

Great pull. 37-22 Horford, and they split 18 playoff games.

They face off tomorrow night, so I’ll probably create a new post to mark their 60th meeting.

Colorapt0r | Bucks

5 | 4 hours ago

Jesus

jakekerr | Lakers

8 | 4 hours ago

Man, that Olajuwon dude musta been a bum. Couldn’t beat any other center.

/s OF COURSE

Successful-Sky4411

8 | 4 hours ago

What do you mean Robinson has a winning record over Hakeem?

bringbackpologrounds

17 | 4 hours ago

22-16 before Duncan showed up. Olajuwon scored 150 more points on 250 more FGA in those 38 meetings. Admiral was more efficient and matched him in rebounds, steals, assists, and blocks.

It is an enduring myth that Olajuwon dominated Robinson. He did in the WCF, but generally was outplayed more often.

LegateDamar13

5 | 3 hours ago

Thus should be posted more often. Admiral getting too much shit these days for what he was.

penguin_torpedo | Nuggets

6 | 3 hours ago

Jokic’s 40 point game on Rudy game 5 of the 2024 series gotta be my favorite game ever. He brought out his full bag for that game. Made it all the more heartbreaking when they lost game 7.

CatalystMamba

5 | 3 hours ago

Dirk isn’t a center, but he and Duncan also matched up a ridiculous 90 times across 20y. Same division and 6 playoff series

bringbackpologrounds

2 | 3 hours ago

One of the greatest rivalries of all time, without question.

The only 100 I’ve seen from a post-merger pair is John Stockton and Hakeem Olajuwon (52-48 Stockton). I wonder if there are any more after the merger. Parish and Karl Malone don’t have a 100.

Schayes and Cousy have the record with 159, and this is unbreakable.

Fearless_Call_4964

3 | an hour ago

159 cannot be repeated because of more teams playing obviously. Even another 100 is extremely unlikely, they added a lot of teams in the 90s and 00s.

Basically, 2 guys would have to be in the same division for 18 years and meet in the playoffs at least once every 3 years to reach 100ish. That’s insanely unlikely with all the free agency and trading happening nowadays

FeeNegative9488

6 | 4 hours ago

42-29 Ewing vs Smits. Just another reminder that Reggie Miller’s success versus the Knicks is vastly over-exaggerated. It’s the one of the few rivalries where the two teams faced off 3 times in the ECF and the team that went 1-2 is considered to have won the rivalry.

bringbackpologrounds

5 | 4 hours ago

Smits and Miller won the playoff games 16-12 and split the series 3-3.

NY banked a lot of early regular season wins. After the 1994 ECF, it was 27-9 Ewing against Smits. Smits went 20-15 after that. Once the Pacers came of age, they held the slight edge (Ewing’s injuries played a role as well).

Truly a great rivalry, and anyone suggesting one side dominated the other is inaccurate.

Jay_at_Section13 | Pacers

2 | an hour ago

I think you missed a “before”.

I remember a Knicks-Pacers game in about 91 or 92 in MSA… a buddy took binoculars and this was the classic era of post play. Smits was still a foul machine and Ewing had success but knew he was working for it. And then Dreiling would come in the game and Ewing had a FEAST.

All the way through Starks head butting Reggie, that rivalry wasn’t yet competitive. So only Pacers and Knicks fans remember those early days and after that, it was on.

Smits dominated as well he could a particular Game 1 that was almost certainly going to be a Knicks win in the Garden until Reggie hit a three, stole the ball (poor Greg Anthony was really clumsy, Reggie didn’t push him 😜) hit another three instantaneously and you know the rest… But that was the Rik Smits coming out party and he was a monster from then on.

ClickElectronic | Mavericks

3 | 4 hours ago

DeAndre Jordan and Marc Gasol played 52 times.

Odoaiden | Timberwolves

1 | 4 hours ago

Did they start for all of them because I bet that’s what this is counting

bringbackpologrounds

2 | 3 hours ago

Nope, starts don’t matter. As long as they played against each other in the same game, it counts.

I simply forgot about the 2010s centers after Dwight, so I missed this pair and Horford-Lopez.

bringbackpologrounds

1 | 3 hours ago

Excellent pull. I’ll create a new post with updates at a later time. 27-25 Marc overall.

Akipella | Warriors

1 | 3 hours ago

Admiral vs. Hakeem wow

119pete

1 | an hour ago

lol wtf. rudy still hasnt even gotten past clint yet.

ppl love to bring up playoff chokers and dudes always a huge playoff liability vs most teams but i understand its reddits guy so

WesMontgomeryFuccboi

0 | 4 hours ago

Cool

Nikola Jokic and Rudy Gobert battled for the 50th time, including playoffs (27-23 Gobert). This is now the 3rd-most prolific center rivalry since the 90s began.