Former Los Angeles Lakers and current Chicago Bulls center Andre Drummond has put himself in rarified air. Drummond recently appeared on The Comfortable Pod and referred to himself as the NBA’s greatest rebounder to ever play.
“Ever. Ever. I was the best rebounder ever,” said Drummond. That is a bold claim to make for someone who is not even on the NBA’s all-time list of top 25 rebound leaders. However, Drummond’s limited playing time in recent years could also be attributed to that. He’s averaged less than 20 minutes per game in the last four seasons.
Drummond has led the NBA in rebounds per game in four different seasons throughout his career, averaging 12.7 per game in his 11 years as a pro. From 2017-2020, Drummond averaged 15 or more rebounds in three consecutive seasons.
His reign as the league’s best rebounder propelled him to two All-Star appearances and an All-NBA selection in 2015-16.
Drafted with the No. 9 overall pick by the Detroit Pistons out of the University of Connecticut, Drummond has established himself as an elite rebounder. However, has he done enough to merit being ahead of legends such as Dennis Rodman, Wilt Chamberlain, or Bill Russell as the NBA’s greatest rebounder ever?
Russell and Chamberlain each averaged over 22 rebounds per game throughout their distinguished careers while Rodman led the league in seven straight seasons from 1991-1998 during his time with the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, and Chicago Bulls.
Rodman averaged over 18 rebounds per game in his final two seasons with the Pistons, meaning there is a case that Drummond isn’t even the greatest rebounder in Pistons history, let alone NBA history.
