Who is the greatest rebounder in NBA history?

By YPB Team

Boards win games, and the men who owned the glass changed how their teams played. From the 1960s giants who pulled down 20 a night to the modern specialists who made rebounding a craft — who is the best there has ever been?

  1. Bill Russell — ranked #11
    Bill Russell
    Averaged 22.5 rebounds a game and turned defensive rebounding into the engine of Boston's fast break.
    1000pts
  2. Wilt Chamberlain — ranked #22
    Wilt Chamberlain
    Averaged 22.9 rebounds a game for his career and holds the single-game record with 55 against the Celtics in 1960.
    977pts
  3. Dwight Howard — ranked #33
    Dwight Howard
    Led the NBA in rebounding five times and anchored Orlando's run to the Finals.
    610pts
  4. Charles Barkley — ranked #44
    Charles Barkley
    At 6-foot-6 he led the league in rebounding and out-muscled centers half a foot taller.
    610pts
  5. Hakeem Olajuwon — ranked #55
    Hakeem Olajuwon
    Combined footwork and reach to control both glasses through Houston's championship years.
    553pts
  6. Ben Wallace — ranked #66
    Ben Wallace
    Undrafted, undersized for a center, and still a four-time Defensive Player of the Year on the strength of his rebounding.
    488pts
  7. Tim Duncan — ranked #77
    Tim Duncan
    Fundamentally perfect positioning made him the quiet anchor of San Antonio's defense for two decades.
    488pts
  8. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — ranked #88
    Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
    Pulled down more than 17,000 career rebounds across 20 seasons while carrying the scoring load too.
    413pts
  9. Jerry Lucas — ranked #99
    Jerry Lucas
    Averaged 15.6 rebounds a game across his career and out-rebounded bigger men through the 1960s and 1970s.
    325pts
  10. Elvin Hayes — ranked #1010
    Elvin Hayes
    Logged more minutes than almost anyone and rebounded at a high rate in every one of them.
    325pts
  11. Dennis Rodman — ranked #1111
    Dennis Rodman
    Led the league in rebounding seven straight seasons despite standing 6-foot-7, purely on timing and relentlessness.
    222pts
  12. Andre Drummond — ranked #1212
    Andre Drummond
    The modern era's rebounding leader, topping the league four times in a spread-out, three-point game.
    222pts
  13. Rudy Gobert — ranked #1313
    Rudy Gobert
    Turned rim protection and defensive rebounding into a system that carried top-ranked defenses.
    222pts
  14. Wes Unseld — ranked #1414
    Wes Unseld
    Built like a door and used it, firing outlet passes the instant the ball hit his hands.
    98pts
  15. Nate Thurmond — ranked #1515
    Nate Thurmond
    The one contemporary who could hold his own on the glass against both Chamberlain and Russell.
    98pts
  16. Kevin Garnett — ranked #1616
    Kevin Garnett
    Chased every loose ball for 21 seasons and rebounded like a guard who happened to be seven feet tall.
    98pts

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