NBA Career Rebound Leaders

[robertshaw_1]

1 Wilt Chamberlain
23,924

2 Bill Russell Boston
21,620

3 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
17,440

4 Elvin Hayes
16,279

5 Moses Malone
16,212

6 Karl Malone
14,967

7 Robert Parish
14,715

8 Nate Thurmond
14,464

9 Walt Bellamy
14,241

10 Wes Unseld
13,769

11 Hakeem Olajuwon
13,747

12 Buck Williams
13,018

13 Jerry Lucas
12,942

14 Bob Pettit
12,849

15 Charles Barkley
12,546

16 Paul Silas
12,357

17 Dikembe Mutombo
12,326

18 Charles Oakley
12,205

19 Dennis Rodman
11,954

20 Shaquille O'Neal
11,933

[iamgine]

aye, Rodman really best ever!

[Myth]

Your posts are quickly becoming tiresome.

[che guevara]

Thanks for posting all of this. I couldn't have looked it up myself. If only somebody would make a reference for basketball...

[Quizno]

Thanks for posting all of this. I couldn't have looked it up myself. If only somebody would make a reference for basketball...
har har

[godofgods]

Rodman is overrated.

[Bigsmoke]

Moses Malone is the greatest rebounder

[PistonsFan#21]

Moses Malone is the greatest rebounder

No way! He missed easy shots on purpose just to get more offensive rebounds

[Dasher]

No way! He missed easy shots on purpose just to get more offensive reboundsBut he still had to rebound those shots. Those shots that you refer to, were not easy shots. He purposely take tough shots, follow his own shot, which would lead to easy buckets.

[Mikaiel]

Career rebound percentage :

1. Dennis Rodman : 23.44%
2. Swen Nater : 21.39%
3. Dwight Howard : 20.51%
4. Moses Malone : 19.76%
5. Larry Smith : 19.30%
6. Mel Daniels : 19.26%
7. Ben Wallace : 19.12%
8. Dikembe Mutombo : 19.10%
9. Chris Dudley : 18.76%
10. Tim Duncan : 18.44%

Best season rebound percentage :

1. Dennis Rodman : 29.73% (1994-95)
2. Dennis Rodman : 26.56% (1995-96)
3. Dennis Rodman : 26.19% (1991-92)
4. Dennis Rodman : 25.99% (1992-93)
5. Dennis Rodman : 25.74% (1993-94)
6. Dennis Rodman : 25.61% (1996-97)
7. Dennis Rodman : 24.08% (1997-98)
8. Jayson Williams : 23.78% (1995-96)
9. Danny Fortson : 23.70% (1998-99)
10. Swen Nater : 23.48 % (1974-75 )

[97 bulls]

But he still had to rebound those shots. Those shots that you refer to, were not easy shots. He purposely take tough shots, follow his own shot, which would lead to easy buckets.
malone did have a reputation for padding his rebounding stats. and rodman is the greatest rebounder ever.

[Showtime]

What makes Rodman the best isn't his totals, but his rebounding rate. That is, the ratio of available rebounds to the rebounds he gets. During his peak, he was rebounding at a GOAT rate, even higher than Russell.

[97 bulls]

What makes Rodman the best isn't his totals, but his rebounding rate. That is, the ratio of available rebounds to the rebounds he gets. During his peak, he was rebounding at a GOAT rate, even higher than Russell.
not to mention he was 6'8 rebounding against 7"0 centers and great centers too. not scrubs

[JordanL]

Career rebound percentage :

1. Dennis Rodman : 23.44%
2. Swen Nater : 21.39%
3. Dwight Howard : 20.51%
4. Moses Malone : 19.76%
5. Larry Smith : 19.30%
6. Mel Daniels : 19.26%
7. Ben Wallace : 19.12%
8. Dikembe Mutombo : 19.10%
9. Chris Dudley : 18.76%
10. Tim Duncan : 18.44%

Best season rebound percentage :

1. Dennis Rodman : 29.73% (1994-95)
2. Dennis Rodman : 26.56% (1995-96)
3. Dennis Rodman : 26.19% (1991-92)
4. Dennis Rodman : 25.99% (1992-93)
5. Dennis Rodman : 25.74% (1993-94)
6. Dennis Rodman : 25.61% (1996-97)
7. Dennis Rodman : 24.08% (1997-98)
8. Jayson Williams : 23.78% (1995-96)
9. Danny Fortson : 23.70% (1998-99)
10. Swen Nater : 23.48 % (1974-75 )

:roll:

Owned.

:applause:

[steve]

No way! He missed easy shots on purpose just to get more offensive rebounds
That's not exactly right. What Moses would do is miss fairly difficult shots to give himself better position for better shots. Using rebounding percentage isn't quite accurate considering that he can only reasonably go back so far. Also, if you're going to accuse Moses of padding his rebounding numbers then you can just as easily put that claim on Rodman as well. There's a story that Sean Elliot likes to tell about the '95 WCF where Rodman refused to go outside and guard Horry because he wanted to grab as many rebounds as possible.

[TryToBeUnbias]

The Worm = Goat Rebounder

[catzhernandez]

That's not exactly right. What Moses would do is miss fairly difficult shots to give himself better position for better shots. Using rebounding percentage isn't quite accurate considering that he can only reasonably go back so far. Also, if you're going to accuse Moses of padding his rebounding numbers then you can just as easily put that claim on Rodman as well. There's a story that Sean Elliot likes to tell about the '95 WCF where Rodman refused to go outside and guard Horry because he wanted to grab as many rebounds as possible.
Ah, everyone on that Spurs team hated Rodman though. Wouldn't expect them to say anything good about him.

[97 bulls]

Ah, everyone on that Spurs team hated Rodman though. Wouldn't expect them to say anything good about him.
exactly, i remember rodman calling robinson "soft" in so many words and that it frustrated him when the team would be loosing and theyd be on the sideline joken around.

[Abraham Lincoln]

He be in the top tier next to Barkley, Chamberlain, Russell, & Malone. Tis however foolish to engage in the usage of selective stats to declare a specialist in that department as a hands down superior to all.

[Kobe_6/8]

Yes he is GOAT rebounder...Rodman had electric energy & kept his mind on defense, not offense.

[oarabbus]

Rodman is unquestionably the GOAT.


For reasons which should become obvious shortly, I’ve split Part 1 of this series into sub-parts. This section will focus on rating Rodman’s accomplishments as a rebounder (in painstaking detail), while the next section(s) will deal with the counterarguments I mentioned in my original outline.

For the uninitiated, the main stat I will be using for this analysis is “rebound rate,” or “rebound percentage,” which represents the percentage of available rebounds that the player grabbed while he was on the floor. Obviously, because there are 10 players on the floor for any given rebound, the league average is 10%. The defensive team typically grabs 70-75% of rebounds overall, meaning the average rates for offensive and defensive rebounds are approximately 5% and 15% respectively. This stat is a much better indicator of rebounding skill than rebounds per game, which is highly sensitive to factors like minutes played, possessions per game, and team shooting and shooting defense. Unlike many other “advanced” stats out there, it also makes perfect sense intuitively (indeed, I think the only thing stopping it from going completely mainstream is that the presently available data can technically only provide highly accurate “estimates” for this stat. When historical play-by-play data becomes more widespread, I predict this will become a much more popular metric).

Dennis Rodman has dominated this stat like few players have dominated any stat. For overall rebound % by season, not only does he hold the career record, he led the league 8 times, and holds the top 7 spots on the all-time list (red bars are Rodman):

http://skepticalsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/081710_0019_3.png



Note this chart only goes back as far as the NBA/ABA merger in 1976, but going back further makes no difference for the purposes of this argument. As I will explain in my discussion of the “Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell Were Rebounding Gods” myth, the rebounding rates for the best rebounders tend to get worse as you go back in time, especially before Moses Malone.
As visually impressive as that chart may seem, it is only the beginning of the story. Obviously we can see that the Rodman-era tower is the tallest in the skyline, but our frame of reference is still arbitrary: e.g., if the bottom of the chart started at 19 instead of 15, his numbers would look even more impressive. So one thing we can do to eliminate bias is put the average in the middle, and count percentage points above or below, like so:

http://skepticalsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/081710_0421_1.png


With this we get a better visual sense of the relative greatness of each season. But we’re still left with percentage points as our unit of measurement, which is also arbitrary: e.g., how much better is “6%” better? To answer this question, in addition to the average, we need to calculate the standard deviation of the sample (if you’re normally not comfortable working with standard deviations, just think of them as standardized units of measurement that can be used to compare stats of different types, such as shooting percentages against points per game). Then we re-do the graph using standard deviations above or below the mean, like so:
http://skepticalsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/081710_0421_2.png



Read more at part 1 of this dudes series http://skepticalsports.com/the-case-for-dennis-rodman-part-14-a-rodman-v-jordan/

[Akrazotile]

5 rings.


Rodman = Kobe


Deal with it.

[nzahir]

Rodman didnt play as much earlier on and didnt play as many years. His rebounding percentage is what is astonishing and his prime years

[SouBeachTalents]

5 rings.


Rodman = Kobe


Deal with it.

Kobe > LeBron then?

[senelcoolidge]

Rodman/Chamberlain. Rodman pound for pound is the GOAT rebounder. For someone of his size to do what he did is amazing. Chamberlain if not #1 is #2. He took more pride in rebounding than in scoring and we all know how many scoring records he has.

[TheCorporation]

Only guy to ever win 7 consecutive rebounding titles. That won't ever happen again.

[TheBigVeto]

Hell no. He's overrated.

[Svendiggity]

Rodman was very athletic, yes, but he was leading the league well into his 30's when the speed a leaping were declining. Dude just wanted it more than anyone else. I've seen players that work just as hard as Dennis, but not for every rebound like he did. He's the best rebounder I've ever seen.

"I go out there and get my eyes gauged, my nose busted, my body slammed. I love the pain of the game. "

"I'm hungrier than those other guys out there. Every rebound is a personal challenge."

[Round Mound]

I Think Barkley at 6`4 5/8 ft Is Inch Per Inch The GOAT Rebounder. No To Mention He Was Averaging That Many Rebounds While Scoring 25 PPG and Shooting 60% FG In His Prime. Rodman Technique Wise Is The Best I Have Seen But He Did Not Have To Do Things On Both Ends Like Chuck Did.

[Svendiggity]

I Think Barkley at 6`4 5/8 ft Is Inch Per Inch The GOAT Rebounder. No To Mention He Was Averaging That Many Rebounds While Scoring 25 PPG and Shooting 60% FG In His Prime. Rodman Technique Wise Is The Best I Have Seen But He Did Not Have To Do Things On Both Ends Like Chuck Did.

you're right, but that's why Rodman got so many rebounds. He didn't have to do anything else really. I think that's what allowed him to focus so much on every single rebound and do it better than anyone else.

[Round Mound]

you're right, but that's why Rodman got so many rebounds. He didn't have to do anything else really. I think that's what allowed him to focus so much on every single rebound and do it better than anyone else.

True...But Tecnique Wise Rodman Is The GOAT Rebounder. The Dude Was Barely 6`7 ft and 225 lbs. He Was Like 90s Bill Russell

[Marchesk]

Wilt led the league in rebounding 11 times to Rodman's 7. People earlier in the thread were talking about Rodman having the highest rebounding percentage. I didn't see that calculated from before mid 70s, so you can't use that to make the case that he's better than Russell or Chamberlain. You need to show their rebounding rates as well.

Wilt also led the playoffs in rebounding 9 times to Rodman's 2 (going off averages - for total it would be 4 for Rodman).

[Psileas]

you're right, but that's why Rodman got so many rebounds. He didn't have to do anything else really. I think that's what allowed him to focus so much on every single rebound and do it better than anyone else.

Τrue. It's telling that many of the all-time 20+% rebounding rate seasons belong to role players whose role consisted of just hunting down rebounds. Is peak Reggie Evans a better rebounder than anyone except peak Rodman? Was Chris Dudley an all-time great? Omer Asik? Varejao? Was old Camby a better rebounder than Wilt or Russell? Are prime Hakeem/Kareem/Garnett/Robinson/Duncan not among the very greatest rebounders who have ever played, as suggested by their usually not league leading rebounding %'s?

[Paul George 24]

Wilt led the league in rebounding 11 times to Rodman's 7. People earlier in the thread were talking about Rodman having the highest rebounding percentage. I didn't see that calculated from before mid 70s, so you can't use that to make the case that he's better than Russell or Chamberlain. You need to show their rebounding rates as well.

Wilt also led the playoffs in rebounding 9 times to Rodman's 2 (going off averages - for total it would be 4 for Rodman).
WILT AGAINST 6 FEET PLAYERS :lol