Pedro Oliveira
Over the years, rebounding has been a somewhat underrated statistic in the modern era of basketball. In its origins, it was one of the few statistics taken into account, and the stars of that era were the ones who dominated this area better than anyone else.
We bring you this list with the 5 players with the most rebounds in NBA history, having achieved more than anyone else so far, and we will briefly review their careers.
Moses Malone
One of the most underrated players in history, starting his career in the ABA and after joining the NBA would prove to be one of the most dominant players under the backboard in addition to maintaining a 21-year career at a superb level with a variety of teams, most notably the Houston Rockets and Philadelphia 76ers.
The 3-time league MVP finished his career averaging 12.3 rebounds lifetime, and accumulating a total of 16,212, ranking him fifth in the entire NBA and winning a title with the Sixers in the 1982-1983 season, where he was also voted Most Valuable Player of the Series. Among his other personal awards are 8 All-Star Game appearances and 6 times league rebounds leader.
Elvin Hayes
As the first pick in the 1968 draft, Hayes entered the league with immediate success, averaging 28.4 points and 17.1 rebounds in his first year as a professional for the San Diego Rockets.
His greatest successes came when he was traded to the Washington Bullets in 1972, and together with Wes Unseld, he would lead the capital city franchise to 3 NBA Finals (1975, 1978 and 1979), winning against the Seattle Supersonics in 1978 and breaking the record for offensive rebounds in a Finals game, with 11.
Hayes accumulated 16,279 rebounds during his 16 professional seasons, the fourth most rebounds in league history. In addition to these, he also earned 12 All-Star Game nominations, 2 rebounding championships and one as scoring champion.
3.- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Standing out more as a scorer and being the player with the most points scored in NBA history, Kareem had an extremely complete game. It was not enough for him to dominate the baskets, as under the hoop he was also a rebounding machine.
The 6-time MVP totaled 17,440 rebounds over a two-decade career, finishing with an average of 11.2 per game in his 625 games played. The 6-foot-2 center established his legacy with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, earning 6 championship rings (1 with Milwaukee and 5 more with the Lakers), and individually thanks to 19 All-Star Game appearances, 2 scoring championships, 4 blocking championshipsand many other awards.
Bill Russell
Considered by many to be the father of basketball, and the player with the most NBA titles, having won 11 championships with the Boston Celtics during his 13-year career, the 6-foot-8 center left his mark on the history of the sport and basketball in a way that would change its integrity forever.
Russell was one of the most dominant presences in the courts in the history of basketball, defining defensive fundamentals that today are a staple of elite play. In addition, Russell is the only one to win a championship as a player and coach at the same time (1968 and 1969 respectively). He would average 22.5 rebounds per game by the end of his career, along with 15.1 points and 4.3 assists.
Ranked second with 21,620 cumulative rebounds, Bill also won 5 MVP awards, 4 rebounding championships and 12 All-Star Game selections.
1.- Wilt Chamberlain
The man of records, Wilt, was a revelation and will remain a legend for the sport as perhaps the most dominant player in the history of a competition. Although his dominance did not transcend into collective success (winning only 2 championships in 6 finals played), Chamberlain holds records and statistical lines that may never be reached.
He is the only player in history to average more than 30 points and 20 rebounds lifetime (30.1 and 22.9 through 1045 games to be exact), while he is also the only player in history to score 100 points in a game. There is not enough space on this list to list all the records the 2.16-meter center broke during his career.
Wilt is the NBA’s all-time rebounding leader with a career total of 23,924 rebounds in a 14-year career, which he split between 3 teams: Philadelphia Warriors (currently Golden State), 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers. He won 11 rebounding championships, 7 scoring championships, one assist championship, 13 All-Star Game selections and 4 MVP awards.
