[suddsParticipant]

I was getting sick of the usual debate questions on here, and I thought this was a more wide open topic. Not who has had the most, but who (if they all played at the same time) would grab the most boards?

So who is it? Barkley? Rodman? They are my two fav choices. Wilt? Dwight? Unseld? Hayes? Jabbar? Russel? Duncan? Garnett? Olaujuwon? etc…

What do you guys think?

[6-6-6-lolParticipant]

Rodman

The guy is in the HOF because of rebounding alone

[ilike.panochasParticipant]

Dennis Rodman is the greatest rebounder. If you are inducted to the Hall of Fame averaging 7PPG, then you must be A HELL of a rebounder.

[MuggsyParticipant]

Yeah got to go with Rodman, like the above poster said, pretty much in HOF for rebounding, defense was good too but best known for rebounding.

[The_Juice11Participant]

yeah i gotta go with Rodman as well. He’s only like 6’7 but he grabbed boards like hell.

[BasterdInABasketParticipant]

Wilt was the most dominant…

Led the league 11 of 14 seasons…career average of 22.9. playoff avg of 24.5. A little different era playing against 6’6” white guys but still..

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

Best rebounder of all-time: Wilt

Runner-up: one of my favorites, Dennis Rodman

followed closely with Bill Russell at 3. Moses Malone at 4 and Kareem at 5.
Next five: Sir Charles (best rebounder at 6’4), Hakeem, Ben Wallace (had some great years),
Elgin Baylor (first great rebounding small forward), and Shaq (good rebounder, should have been great).

By the way, Wilt played against Bill Russell, Nate Thurmond, Kareem, and Willis Reed in his career. Good competition.

[NJHooper95Participant]

It was a toss up between Rodman and Barkley. Rodman was a specialist. Charles at 6’4 could grab 15 boards and get 25pts. I think if charles main goal was to just Rebound, then would have did what Rodman did. But Charles was also a scorer and at 6’4 I got to go with Charles. Wilt was great but he was 7 Feet and played against shrimps (no offense to Wilt), we are talking about 6’4. Ben Wallace comes to mind, but his job was to just rebound and block shots. Charles was a franchise player doing this. Even Russell wasnt the scorer charles was, though a great rebounder.Inch for Inch its Charles with Rodman a Close 2nd. We may have to add Kevin Love to this list 10years from now.

[TRC1991Participant]

rodman. he literally would look away from the basket when he had the ball in his hands

[JMCLDParticipant]

Moses Malone and his torpedo butt attacks. Wilt made a living grabbing rebounds over 6-2 white guys who drank scotch during timeouts. Rodman would be second because he managed to rebound well while also drinking scotch during timeouts. Third comes Chuck and his gigantic rear. Next is Russell, and then Wilt fifth because let’s face it, old Bill owned the Stilt whenever it mattered.

[lbj_6]

Rodman is a dinamyc rebounder.

[204ballerParticipant]

Even the great Shaq says, the person who he had the hardest time against rebounding and scoring on, was RODMAN, and hes a good 5 or 6 inches shorter then Shaq.

[adumParticipant]

You guys have to put Reggie Evans up there

[sixers12Participant]

Based on the fact that I have only been around to watch basketball since the 90’s, I have to say the best rebounder I have ever seen was Rodman.  If the shot was missed and he was on the floor there was a pretty good chance the rebound was going to him.  Wilt did play in a different era than what we are in now, but you can’t deny his numbers.  He was a very talented rebounder as well.

[The Scare Crow ReturnsParticipant]

Bill Russell played in the same era a holes…Wilt should not be looked at any less than new school players, Wilt would dominate these players today maybe even more than the ones playing back then, guys were shorter but they were some hard nosed sons of beaches…the players today would fold under Wilt’s gigantic legend…If Shaq dominated this league like he did in this era, Wilt who had skills beyond those of Shaq would be unstoppable…

[6-6-6-lolParticipant]

Wilt played in an era where the league’s overall talent is not what it became since the late 1980s. For the most part he was grabbing rebounds and scoring over relatively unathletic 6"6 centers. There were only a few good centers then such as Bill Russell.

[MJBrownParticipant]

There have been 7 foot centers in every era. Rodman rebounding over a 7 footer in the 90’s is synonymous with him rebounding over a seven footer in the 1830’s. Dennis Rodman, at 6’7, best rebounder of all time. No doubt. Should be a first ballot HOFer

[StF616Participant]

 I hate it when people downgrade Wilt’s accomplishments because he "played with 6’6 white guys"
During his Career He played against:
Bill Rusell (6’9)
Walt Bellamy(6’11)
Red Kerr(6’9)
Willis Reed(6’9)
Nate Thurmond(6’11)
Zelmo Beaty(6’9)
Darall Imhoff(6’10)
Clyde Lee(6’10) (Power Forward)
Elvin Hayes(6’9)(Power Forward)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (7’3)
Dave Cowens(6’9)
Bob Lanier(6’11)
Jim Fox(6’10)
Average Height:6’10
Wilt Played Against Guys who were on an average 6’10
Also he simply dominated the game on scoring or rebounding, or shot blocking and he was even a good passer
Yes the NBA was different back then. But if the only reasoning that he dominated the game because he was just taller than anybody else, why couldnt Yao do that he’s a foot taller than anybody in the nba?
That being said, my Top rebounder of all time is Wilt Chamberlain then Dennis Rodman Coming in Second 

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

StF616,

TRUE.  I pointed out some of the guys Wilt played against, thanks for the complete list.  Non-centers he competed against were Jerry Lucas, Elgin Baylor, and Oscar Robertson three of the best pound-for-pound rebounders ever.  Not only did he play against those great centers, the league was smaller so he played against GREAT centers and rebounders pretty much every night. 

I see 8 LEGIT big men on your list.  Since Wilt retired there haven’t been much more than that.  Since he retired I would count Bill Walton, Artis Gilmore, Darryl Dawkins, Moses Malone, Robert Parish, Bill Laimbeer, Ralph Sampson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Brad Daugherty, Shaq, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, Tim Duncan, Yao Ming, and Dwight Howard.  Those are 17 guys TOTAL since Wilt quit nearly 40 years ago compared to 8 LEGIT big men you listed (Russell, Thurmond, Kareem, Bob Lanier, Walt Bellamy, Willis Reed, Elvin Hayes, and Dave Cowens), plus Jerry Lucas, Elmore Smith, and the 5 other guys you mentioned, so 15 TOTAL. 

Wilt played against the most legit centers as any other guy in basketball.  Wilt also played against as many solid centers as have existed SINCE he quit.  

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

My All-Rebounding Teams:

1st Team:

PG: Magic Johnson
SG: Oscar Robertson
SF: Elgin Baylor
PF: Dennis Rodman
C: Wilt Chamberlain

2nd Team:

PG: Jason Kidd
SG: Michael Jordan
SF: Larry Bird
PF: Charles Barkley
C: Bill Russell

3rd Team:

PG: Rajon Rondo
SG: Kobe Bryant
SF: LeBron James
PF: Jerry Lucas
C: Moses Malone

Honorable Mention: Kareem (had some great rebounding years, longevity), Ben Wallace (had a few great years but not enough to put him on the All Rebounding Teams), Tim Duncan, Larry Johnson (in his prime one of the best rebounders in the league, and at 6’6 or so only Sir Charles was a better rebounder pound for pound), Wes Unseld (great rebounder, shorter center), Scottie Pippen (the best rebounder from the wing position NOT on this list), and Nate Thurmond (averaged 15 rebounds for his CAREER), Zach Randolph (a career 10 rebound guy, finally getting recognition, closest thing to Moses Malone), Dwight Howard (gets a ton of rebounds, slightly better than Shaq on the glass, moving up the all-time list).

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 You can’t really compare him to modern players.  We have no clue how he would do now.  If he travelled in a time machine to the modern day, he wouldn’t stand a chance against today’s players, of course.  He effectively played a different game.

[JoeWolf1]

 I think when talking about the best rebounders of all time, you need to mention Bob Pettit. It was a different era, but he averaged 16 on his career and his season high was almost 21 per game. He was really a great player that is often forgotten in conversations like this.  I don’t think he’s the greatest rebounder of all time, that I give to Bill Russell, but I thought he at least needed to be brought up in the conversation.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

B-Ball fan,

Wilt played against some of the best centers EVER.  And he played them more often (the league was half the size).  He probably played against 40 guys better than Joel Anthony and Kendrick Perkins (the GREATS that Tyson Chandler has had to go through).  Kareem and Russell are top 10 players ever.  Nate Thurmond, Willis Reed, and Elvin Hayes are top 50 ever with Dave Cowens, Bob Lanier, and Walt Bellemy being great centers with solid careers. 

In TODAY’s NBA Kevin Love averaged 20 points and 15 rebounds.  Why couldn’t Wilt average 30 points and 20 rebounds in today’s NBA?  Ok, say that Wilt is just a SLIGHTLY better scorer than Dwight Howard (who averaged around 20 points a game) with a 2 or 3 inch height advantage.  If Wilt scored 5 more points a night and grabbed two more rebounds he would be at 25 and 15 EASY.  Also put him down for 3 blocks and 3 assists a night (minimum) and he would be 1st team all-NBA and on the short list for MVP.  

Howard, Bynum, Tyson Chandler, and Andrew Bogut might be able to slow him down but he would DESTROY most teams.  I could see him scoring 40-50 points numerous times with perhaps a couple of triple doubles thrown in there. 

Back in the day Wilt had 100 against the Knicks.  Who are the Knicks starting at center these days?  Jared Jeffries?  Who is that gonna work out for them?

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

Neither is a bad choice.

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 If we are talking about him playing in today’s NBA without any change in his physique or skills to compensate, he couldn’t be a star because he would be too weak, plain and simple.  He was skinnier than any center in today’s game, and post defenders weren’t as physical or strong back then.  You can’t say the center’s were better at that time, because they weren’t.  They were better relative to the rest of the league at that time.  Wilt played in an era where teams shot low percentages from the field and played at a pace that would make the modern day Suns seem slow.  There were many more misses.  I once read that Wilt’s 50 ppg season would translate to under 40 ppg per the number of possessions most NBA teams play today.

On the other hand, Rodman had 7 of the 8 greatest rebounding years ever statistically since rebounding rate has been kept track (Kevin Love has the 2nd best).  What he did was unprecedented.  He didn’t have a guy like Wilt did in Russell challenging him so much for the rebounding title.  

[JMCLDParticipant]

JoeWolf, that is an awesome point and I’m angry I didn’t make it myself… on the Wilt-Russell topic, you also can’t forget that they played in an up-tempo, set shot era where there were simply more rebounds to get. When everybody is shooting 30 percent it wasn’t too hard for the great ones like Wilt and Russell to get 25 boards in a game. I’m not saying that the both of them wouldn’t be successful in a later era but no matter who you are you have to admit those stats were inflated.

[JJeff6Participant]

Kevin Love will go down as one of the great fundamental players and rebounders of all time.  Its rare to see a 40%+ 3pt shooter and a 15+ rebounder.  I’m just hoping this season wasn’t a fluke.

[aamir543Participant]

Dennis Rodman by a mile. As a 39 year old, he managed to haul in 14 a game for 12 games playing 32 minutes a game. Shaq could barley get 5 in 20 minutes at the same age. Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudamire struggle to get 10, and Dirk has never gotten double digits. While it may have only been for 12 games, that is still outstanding. I like the idea of this thread, but a different criteria would be nice, because if someone does not say Rodman, they are going to get negged. Just ask Memphis Madness.

[rileymcshea3Participant]

 Are yall high Dennis Rodman REALLY? its only Wilt and Bill Russel and no one comes close to those 2 

 

 

THE END 

[r377Participant]

Rodman was so good the crowd actually used to tally up his boards….

Rodman is a HOF because he concentrated on the dirty work no one like to do (rebound and defend) and made a masterpiece out of it

[ItsVictorOladipoParticipant]

Dennis Rodman without a doubt in my mind. Yes Wilt was statistically superior but he played in a different era with a much faster pace and a far higher opportunity for rebounds.

This article puts it better than I ever could: http://chasing23.com/making-a-case-for-the-worm/

An excerpt:

"To put this in perspective, Wilt Chamberlain averaged an NBA record 27.2 rebounds per game in 1961 when the average game consisted of 73.2 total rebounds. Dennis Rodman averaged a career high 18.7 rebounds in 1992 when the average game consisted of only 43.6 totals rebounds…Wilt Chamberlain had nearly 30 more rebounding opportunities per game than Dennis Rodman did, yet only averaged 8.5 more rebounds. Given that Rodman pulled down  43% of all rebounds per game in 1992, I think that it is  fair to say had Rodman played in 1961, based on normalized statistics adjusting for pace, he would have averaged approximately 31.4 rebounds per game, or more 4 rebounds per game than Chamberlain’s NBA record."

Adjusted for pace Moses Malone is actually almost on par with Russell and Chamberlain as well.

When all is said and done I think Dwight Howard, Kevin Love and Blake Griffin will also be considered among the greatest rebounders ever as well.

[Author]

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