Palm Beach, Fla. ? You don’t have to like center Greg Ostertag because he’s a NBA basketball player.

You don’t have to like Ostertag because he’s played his entire nine-year career for the nice-guy Utah Jazz.

You don’t even have to like Ostertag, the former Kansas University standout, because he donated a kidney to his sister in June 2002.

But you should at least like the 7-foot-2-inch Texan’s brutal honesty when it comes to his career.

“As far as my personal career, I’ve had ups and downs,” he said. “Out of the nine years I may have had two good years, one mediocre year and the rest were just, they weren’t very good.”

It’s a stunning assessment that catches you off guard when you first hear it. Stunning enough that Ostertag had to be asked to clarify what he said.

So what you’re saying, Ostertag was asked, is most of your career has been bad?

“They were just poor years,” he said. “Whether it was not coming to camp in shape or just getting down on myself and then letting it go even further. Finally, I’m putting together a decent year, so it’s been fun.”

Ostertag was supposed to be better. The former Kansas standout blocks shots. He’s averaging 2.18 per game this season, the second-best total of his career. But he’s putting together career bests with 7.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, which aren’t exactly big numbers.

So, yes, you could say his personal career has been less than spectacular. That’s what you say about guys with career averages of 5.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.

Still, when you hear a pro athlete describe his career in such candid terms, it catches you off guard.

It’s not that he’s humble. Ostertag and coach Jerry Sloan butt heads almost every season. He already served a one-game suspension this season, and joked that it seems to be an annual occurrence. It’s just that Ostertag is honest, and that’s refreshing.

The key to his longevity?

“The big thing for me, knock on wood, is I’ve never had a serious injury that slowed me down,” he said. “I’ve had a broken hand and stress fracture in my ankle. But nothing that’s ever made me miss a large quantity of games.”

Ostertag is upbeat when talking about his career as a whole.

He played alongside John Stockton and Karl Malone, played for Sloan, played against Michael Jordan in two NBA Finals.

He was fifth in the league in blocks in 1998-99 at 2.73 per game. He, with many other players, even had a cameo role in the movie “Eddie,” which starred Whoopi Goldberg.

It’s been a good run.

After playing at Kansas he never figured he’d play for Utah.

“On draft night (in 1995) Utah never entered my mind,” he said. “I was born in Dallas. My dream was to play for Dallas. When they passed me by it broke my heart. But it’s worked out good for me.

“I can look back now, and had I gone to Dallas I wouldn’t have gotten to play with John Stockton, wouldn’t have gone to two NBA Finals, and probably be less of a player than I am now,” he said. “I’m not a great player. I’m middle-of-the-pack. I have good nights, I have bad nights. And I probably wouldn’t be half the player I am if I wasn’t in Utah.”

Something tells you however, he’d still be just as honest.