# Who is the greatest rebounder in NBA history?

> 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?

*By YPB Team · Published September 5, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/who-is-the-greatest-rebounder-in-nba-history*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

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

Tags: sports, basketball, players, nba, legends