Best all time basketball rebounder? (offense and defense)

[D. Bergin]

Old School - Wilt Chamberlain, with Bill Russell nipping at his heels. Not sure how the Offensive/Defensive breakdown between those two were, as the stats aren't really there to corroborate.

70's to early 80's. - Moses Malone owned the offensive boards season after season. Not really any competition in that area. Defensive boards, which I don't think are quite as important, as they can be divied up easier among team-mates, especially if you have bigger or more aggressive guard play, is a bit trickier.

I'll leave that answer to somebody else, and just give Moses the title for that era.

Post Moses era - Rodman, most complete on both ends, with his offensive board skills and positioning, giving the biggest advantage to his teams.

Modern Day - I don't know. Could probably get a dozen different answers for this question. Andre Drummond? DeAndre Jordan? Dikembe Mutombo? Shaq (though he never actually led the league in rebounding)? Game has evolved. Ball gets spread around the floor more, the bigger men have been moved out of the box, and guards swarm the ball off the rim to try and get it up the floor quicker.

[TUM301]

Two players that got every inch out of their rebounding talents, "Tall Paul" Silas and one Wes Unseld. Not nearly the biggest or the best but man did they know the art of rebounding and turned it into long outstanding careers !

[JustinD]

In my opinion the best offense, defense, or two way is Rodman...all time. Weird or not, no one ever fought harder for every ball, he would sacrifice his body unquestionably every game.

[cardsagain74]

Originally Posted by JustinD

In my opinion the best offense, defense, or two way is Rodman...all time. Weird or not, no one ever fought harder for every ball, he would sacrifice his body unquestionably every game.

And as a 6'7 guy with a somewhat lean natural frame. His career as a rebounder shouldn't have even been physically possible. Not to mention how his passing (and the rest of his impact on the court) made teams so much better than they were without him.

Not only the most skilled rebounder in the history of the game, but also one of its greatest winners and champions.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Wes Unseld and the shortest big man of all time Charles Barkley.

[Shoeless Moe]

Dennis

[nolemmings]

Unseld

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by cardsagain74

And as a 6'7 guy with a somewhat lean natural frame. His career as a rebounder shouldn't have even been physically possible. Not to mention how his passing (and the rest of his impact on the court) made teams so much better than they were without him.

Not only the most skilled rebounder in the history of the game, but also one of its greatest winners and champions.

His near-psychopathic personality and behavior certainly detracted from the public's perception of him, but for a guy who didn't score a lot he was a force.

[icurnmedic]

Never cared for him but Rodman was a game changer,period!

[Exhibitman]

A classic example of how familiarity causes over-assessment of a player's impact. Wilt averaged 22.89 boards per game. Rodman averaged 13.12 boards per game. Not even in the same class. Hell, when Wilt was 36 and on his last legs he averaged 18.6 per game and led the league. Andre Drummond has a better career average than Rodman, as do Walt Bellamy and Dave Cowens. The only advantage Rodman has is that we all saw him on tv during the Bulls' run, where he fit in perfectly and made his name. The only guy close to Wilt is Bill Russell.

We need some images:



1961 photo of Chamberlain against the Celtics.



1960 Chamberlain team issue; with that kind of leaping, not a lot else matters...