The NBA is a league filled with many unique players capable of displaying greatness in many ways. Some guys can drop 30 points without even breaking so much as a sweat, while others can prevent such a scoring outburst no matter who the opponent may happen to be.
Then there are the players who defend in a very specific way, namely, right at the rim. These are guys who are normally the last line of defense for their respective team. They are expected to keep the basket a no-entry zone, sending back anyone and anything that attempts to come close to their beloved hoop.
Some of these 30 players could do other things on the court besides block shots and protect the paint. Many were multiple-time All-Stars, others while would go on to win MVPs in both the regular and postseason.
However, when an opponent took the basketball and drove to the bucket with one of these NBA giants waiting for them, one could surmise just how well that would turn out for the ball handler more often than not.
Unfortunately, because this historic list won’t feature any one player twice, some teams won’t have the pleasure of being represented by their best interior presence. Nonetheless, this slideshow will look to do justice for a group of players who did the job not many were willing to do.
They took a physical beating next to guys of similar size and strength just to alter a single shot in the hope that it could swing the entire game. Here is the greatest shot blocker in each NBA franchise’s history.
Editor’s note: Josh Wilson contributed to edits of this article.