I actually once heard Pat Riley say ‘no rebounds, no rings’. To me, it’s true. If you can’t rebound, you will not win many ball games. We all talk about what makes a good scorer, defender, passer but what makes a good rebounder? Why do some ‘bigs’ play a lot of minutes and only pull down a couple of boards?
Toughness, courage, strength, heart, hard work, tenacity, competitor and willingness to pursue ball…all traits necessary to become a good rebounder.
Here’s my top 4 rebounders of all-time.
1-Wilt Chamberlain
2-Bill Russell
3-Moses Malone
4-Dennis Rodman
Here’s some thoughts on rebounding by Keith Ellis from the APBR.org forum.
First off, height does not make one a great Rebounder. Wilt Chamberlain too often is scoffed at for incredible Rebounding as a 7-footer, but way too many examples of Russells, Unselds, Danielses, Cages, Truck Robinsons, Barkleys, Ben Wallaces, & Dennis Rodmans exist to swallow the story that Wilt’s height awarded him caroms on the cheap. Simple girth doesn’t get boards, either, as the gargantuan Shaquille O’Neal has learned.
Chamberlain’s the greatest Rebounder. He snagged 55 boards on Russell! Moses Malone follows Wilt & Russ. Rodman’s an easy pick for fourth, w/ the proviso that nobody in earlier times would’ve let Rodman concentrate solely on Rebounding while non-Offending to such an extreme. Rodman playing his famed game in the Sixties & Seventies would’ve been named Clyde Lee.
Fifth? I like Hakeem, who exploded on the Off glass early on before settling into becoming the league’s best Defensive Rebounder before settling even further into becoming more of a scoring specialist a la Jabbar while never slacking on the boards as Kareem eventually did. Rebounding needs rhyme & reason as much as any other skill. Rodman-esque Rebounding for rebounds’-sake leads to the 1995 Spurs.
PLAY THE RIGHT WAY!
-Coach Finamore
Hoops135@hotmail.com
