# Who is the greatest shot blocker in NBA history?

> Blocks were not an official statistic until 1973, so the argument reaches back through eyewitness accounts and forward through the era of highlight swats. Who protected the rim best?

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

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Hakeem Olajuwon** — score 1000/1000
   The official all-time blocks leader, with the footwork to guard the rim and the perimeter in the same possession.
2. **Kareem Abdul-Jabbar** — score 647/1000
   Ranks near the top of the official list despite the statistic only existing for the second half of his career.
3. **Wilt Chamberlain** — score 560/1000
   Contemporary accounts credit him with double-digit blocks in single games years before the league counted them.
4. **Bill Russell** — score 560/1000
   Blocks went unrecorded in his era, but teammates described a defender who turned shots into fast breaks instead of swatting them into the crowd.
5. **Manute Bol** — score 560/1000
   At 7-foot-7 he once blocked more shots in a season than he scored points.
6. **Bill Walton** — score 560/1000
   When healthy, the best defensive centre of the late 1970s and the anchor of Portland's title team.
7. **Rudy Gobert** — score 485/1000
   The modern standard for rim deterrence, with defensive ratings that reshaped how teams valued a centre.
8. **Tim Duncan** — score 485/1000
   Rarely spectacular, consistently in the right place, and near the top of the career blocks list.
9. **David Robinson** — score 485/1000
   Combined sprinter's speed with a centre's reach, leading the league in blocks and winning a scoring title.
10. **Shaquille O'Neal** — score 397/1000
   Deterrence more than volume — opponents changed their shots before they left the ground.
11. **Alonzo Mourning** — score 397/1000
   Twice led the league in blocks and made Miami's defence a wall for a decade.
12. **Mark Eaton** — score 291/1000
   Holds the single-season blocks record and built an entire career out of standing between the ball and the basket.
13. **Anthony Davis** — score 291/1000
   Blocks shots from the weak side as well as anyone since Robinson, from either frontcourt position.
14. **Dikembe Mutombo** — score 162/1000
   Four Defensive Player of the Year awards and a finger wag that became the sport's most recognisable taunt.
15. **Ben Wallace** — score 162/1000
   Blocked shots at centre height while giving up several inches to nearly everyone he guarded.
16. **Victor Wembanyama** — score 162/1000
   Arrived with a wingspan the league had never measured before and led it in blocks almost immediately.

Tags: sports, basketball, players, nba, legends