Cleveland Cavaliers' Best of the Century: Center

The center position has been a massive strength for a long time for the Cavaliers franchise. With a big star in the middle the team has consistently used its size to its advantage over the years.

While each of the players who made the cut after the jump has a very distinct style it's probably pretty clear who most people are going to favor in this race.

Anderson Varejao, 2004-2012: The Brazilian has won many fans in Cleveland based on his energetic style of play which exhibits relentless defense and hustle at all times. He has played just 444 games in his 8 seasons in Cleveland due to some unfortunate injuries. He has averaged 7.3 points and 7.2 boards in his career. 2011-2012 was his finest NBA season until he got injured as he averaged 10.8 points and 11.5 boards a night. His PER last season was 18.9 and for his NBA career it is exactly 15.0

Shaquille O'Neal, 2009-2010: In his lone season in Cleveland, O'Neal averaged over 12 points per game while nearly grabbing 7 rebounds per contest. Shaq only played 53 games that winter while shooting 57% from the field and almost 50% from the free throw line. Ultimately, his mission in Cleveland failed as the Cavaliers were bounced in the Easter Conference Semifinals by the Boston Celtics. His PER in his limited minutes was 17.9.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas, 1997-2010: Big Z played 777 games with the Cavaliers and averaged 13.8 points, 7.7 points, 1.2 assists and 1.6 blocks per game. Z's PER with the Cavaliers was 18.8 and he was a fan favorite throughout his tenure with the team. The Lithuanian played in 71 playoff games over 5 seasons and averaged 11.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in those fixtures. His playoff PER dipped a bit to just 16.2. He has returned to the front office of the Cavaliers as an assistant general manager after spending the 2010-2011 season on the roster of the Miami Heat.

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