List of NBA career rebounding leaders

This article provides two lists:

A list of National Basketball Association players by total career regular season rebounds recorded. ^[a]

A progressive list of rebound leaders showing how the record has increased through the years. ^[1]

Rebounding leaders

This is a list of National Basketball Association players by total career regular season rebounds recorded.

Statistics accurate as of December 16, 2024.

Wilt Chamberlain has the most rebounds in NBA history and the most rebounds in a single season.

Bill Russell held the career rebounding record from 1963 to 1972.

George Mikan held the record from 1952 to 1955.

Dolph Schayes held the record from the league's inaugural season to 1952 and again from 1955 to 1963.

^	Active NBA player
*	Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
†	Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration [b]

Rank	Player	Pos	Team(s) played for (years) [c]	Total rebounds	Games played	Rebounds per game average [d]
1	Wilt Chamberlain *	C	Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors (1959–1965) Philadelphia 76ers (1965–1968) Los Angeles Lakers (1968–1973)	23,924	1,045	22.9
2	Bill Russell *	C	Boston Celtics (1956–1969)	21,620	963	22.5
3	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar *	C	Milwaukee Bucks (1969–1975) Los Angeles Lakers (1975–1989)	17,440	1,560	11.2
4	Elvin Hayes *	PF/C	San Diego/Houston Rockets (1968–1972, 1981–1984) Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets (1972–1981)	16,279	1,303	12.5
5	Moses Malone *	C	Buffalo Braves (1976) Houston Rockets (1976–1982) Philadelphia 76ers (1982–1986, 1993–1994) Washington Bullets (1986–1988) Atlanta Hawks (1988–1991) Milwaukee Bucks (1991–1993) San Antonio Spurs (1994–1995)	16,212	1,329	12.2
6	Tim Duncan *	PF/C	San Antonio Spurs (1997–2016)	15,091	1,392	10.8
7	Karl Malone *	PF	Utah Jazz (1985–2003) Los Angeles Lakers (2003–2004)	14,968	1,476	10.1
8	Robert Parish *	C	Golden State Warriors (1976–1980) Boston Celtics (1980–1994) Charlotte Hornets (1994–1996) Chicago Bulls (1996–1997)	14,715	1,611	9.1
9	Kevin Garnett *	PF	Minnesota Timberwolves (1995–2007, 2015–2016) Boston Celtics (2007–2013) Brooklyn Nets (2013–2015)	14,662	1,462	10.0
10	Dwight Howard †	C	Orlando Magic (2004–2012) Los Angeles Lakers (2012–2013, 2019–2020, 2021–2022) Houston Rockets (2013–2016) Atlanta Hawks (2016–2017) Charlotte Hornets (2017–2018) Washington Wizards (2018–2019) Philadelphia 76ers (2020–2021)	14,627	1,242	11.8
11	Nate Thurmond *	C	San Francisco/Golden State Warriors (1963–1974) Chicago Bulls (1974–1976) Cleveland Cavaliers (1976–1977)	14,464	964	15.0
12	Walt Bellamy *	C	Chicago Packers/Zephyrs/Baltimore Bullets (1961–1965) New York Knicks (1965–1968) Detroit Pistons (1968–1970) Atlanta Hawks (1970–1974) New Orleans Jazz (1974)	14,241	1,043	13.7
13	Wes Unseld *	C	Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets (1968–1981)	13,769	984	14.0
14	Hakeem Olajuwon *	C	Houston Rockets (1984–2001) Toronto Raptors (2001–2002)	13,748	1,238	11.1
15	Shaquille O'Neal *	C	Orlando Magic (1992–1996) Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2004) Miami Heat (2004–2008) Phoenix Suns (2008–2009) Cleveland Cavaliers (2009–2010) Boston Celtics (2010–2011)	13,099	1,207	10.9
16	Buck Williams	PF	New Jersey Nets (1981–1989) Portland Trail Blazers (1989–1996) New York Knicks (1996–1998)	13,017	1,307	10.0
17	Jerry Lucas *	PF	Cincinnati Royals (1963–1969) San Francisco Warriors (1969–1971) New York Knicks (1971–1974)	12,942	829	15.6
18	Bob Pettit *	PF	Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks (1954–1965)	12,849	792	16.2
19	Charles Barkley *	PF	Philadelphia 76ers (1984–1992) Phoenix Suns (1992–1996) Houston Rockets (1996–2000)	12,546	1,073	11.7
20	Dikembe Mutombo *	C	Denver Nuggets (1991–1996) Atlanta Hawks (1996–2001) Philadelphia 76ers (2001–2002) New Jersey Nets (2002–2003) New York Knicks (2003–2004) Houston Rockets (2004–2009)	12,359	1,196	10.3
21	Paul Silas	PF	St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks (1964–1969) Phoenix Suns (1969–1972) Boston Celtics (1972–1976) Denver Nuggets (1976–1977) Seattle SuperSonics (1977–1980)	12,357	1,254	9.9
22	Charles Oakley	PF	Chicago Bulls (1985–1988, 2001–2002) New York Knicks (1988–1998) Toronto Raptors (1998–2001) Washington Wizards (2002–2003) Houston Rockets (2004)	12,205	1,282	9.5
23	Dennis Rodman *	PF/SF	Detroit Pistons (1986–1993) San Antonio Spurs (1993–1995) Chicago Bulls (1995–1998) Los Angeles Lakers (1999) Dallas Mavericks (2000)	11,954	911	13.1
24	Kevin Willis	PF/C	Atlanta Hawks (1984–1994, 2004–2005) Miami Heat (1994–1996) Golden State Warriors (1996) Houston Rockets (1996–1998, 2001–2002) Toronto Raptors (1999–2001) Denver Nuggets (2001) San Antonio Spurs (2002–2004) Dallas Mavericks (2007)	11,901	1,424	8.4
25	Patrick Ewing *	C	New York Knicks (1985–2000) Seattle SuperSonics (2000–2001) Orlando Magic (2001–2002)	11,607	1,183	9.8
26	Dirk Nowitzki *	PF	Dallas Mavericks (1998–2019)	11,489	1,522	7.5
27	Elgin Baylor *	SF	Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers (1958–1971)	11,463	846	13.5
28	LeBron James ^	SF	Cleveland Cavaliers (2003–2010, 2014–2018) Miami Heat (2010–2014) Los Angeles Lakers (2018–present)	11,377	1,516	7.5
29	Pau Gasol *	PF/C	Memphis Grizzlies (2001–2008) Los Angeles Lakers (2008–2014) Chicago Bulls (2014–2016) San Antonio Spurs (2016–2019) Milwaukee Bucks (2019)	11,305	1,226	9.2
30	Dolph Schayes *	PF	Syracuse Nationals (1949–1950) [e] Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers (1950–1964)	11,256	932	12.1
31	Bill Bridges	PF	St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks (1963–1971) Philadelphia 76ers (1971–1972) Los Angeles Lakers (1972–1974) Golden State Warriors (1975)	11,054	926	11.9
32	Andre Drummond ^	C	Detroit Pistons (2012–2020) Cleveland Cavaliers (2020–2021) Los Angeles Lakers (2021) Philadelphia 76ers (2021–2022, 2024–present) Brooklyn Nets (2022) Chicago Bulls (2022–2024)	10,851	885	12.3
33	Jack Sikma *	C	Seattle SuperSonics (1977–1986) Milwaukee Bucks (1986–1991)	10,816	1,107	9.8
34	DeAndre Jordan ^	C	Los Angeles Clippers (2008–2018) Dallas Mavericks (2018–2019) New York Knicks (2019) Brooklyn Nets (2019–2021) Los Angeles Lakers (2021–2022) Philadelphia 76ers (2022) Denver Nuggets (2022–present)	10,545	1,067	9.9
35	David Robinson *	C	San Antonio Spurs (1989–2003)	10,497	987	10.6
36	Ben Wallace *	C/PF	Washington Bullets/Wizards (1996–1999) Orlando Magic (1999–2000) Detroit Pistons (2000–2006, 2009–2012) Chicago Bulls (2006–2008) Cleveland Cavaliers (2008–2009)	10,482	1,088	9.6
37	Tyson Chandler	C	Chicago Bulls (2001–2006) New Orleans Hornets (2006–2009) Charlotte Bobcats (2009–2010) Dallas Mavericks (2010–2011, 2014–2015) New York Knicks (2011–2014) Phoenix Suns (2015–2018) Los Angeles Lakers (2018–2019) Houston Rockets (2019–2020)	10,467	1,160	9.0
38	Dave Cowens *	C	Boston Celtics (1970–1980) Milwaukee Bucks (1982–1983)	10,444	766	13.6
39	Bill Laimbeer	C	Cleveland Cavaliers (1980–1982) Detroit Pistons (1982–1993)	10,400	1,068	9.7
40	Otis Thorpe	PF	Kansas City/Sacramento Kings (1984–1988, 1998) Houston Rockets (1988–1995) Portland Trail Blazers (1995) Detroit Pistons (1995–1997) Vancouver Grizzlies (1997–1998) Washington Wizards (1998–1999) Miami Heat (1999–2000) Charlotte Hornets (2000–2001)	10,370	1,257	8.2
41	Zach Randolph	PF	Portland Trail Blazers (2001–2007) New York Knicks (2007–2008) Los Angeles Clippers (2008–2009) Memphis Grizzlies (2009–2017) Sacramento Kings (2017–2019)	10,208	1,116	9.1
42	Shawn Marion	SF/PF	Phoenix Suns (1999–2008) Miami Heat (2008–2009) Toronto Raptors (2009) Dallas Mavericks (2009–2014) Cleveland Cavaliers (2014–2015)	10,101	1,163	8.7
43	Johnny Kerr	C	Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers (1954–1965) Baltimore Bullets (1965–1966)	10,092	905	11.2
44	Bob Lanier *	C	Detroit Pistons (1970–1980) Milwaukee Bucks (1980–1984)	9,698	959	10.1
45	Sam Lacey	C	Cincinnati Royals/Kansas City(-Omaha) Kings (1970–1981) New Jersey Nets (1981–1982) Cleveland Cavaliers (1982–1983)	9,687	1,002	9.7
46	Nikola Vučević ^	C	Philadelphia 76ers (2011–2012) Orlando Magic (2012–2021) Chicago Bulls (2021–present)	9,684	925	10.5
47	Dave DeBusschere *	PF/SF	Detroit Pistons (1962–1968) New York Knicks (1968–1974)	9,618	875	11.0
48	Marcus Camby	C	Toronto Raptors (1996–1998) New York Knicks (1998–2002, 2012–2013) Denver Nuggets (2002–2008) Los Angeles Clippers (2008–2010) Portland Trail Blazers (2010–2012) Houston Rockets (2012)	9,513	973	9.8
49	A.C. Green	PF	Los Angeles Lakers (1985–1993, 1999–2000) Phoenix Suns (1993–1996) Dallas Mavericks (1996–1999) Miami Heat (2000–2001)	9,473	1,278	7.4
50	Kevin Love ^	PF	Minnesota Timberwolves (2008–2014) Cleveland Cavaliers (2014–2023) Miami Heat (2023–present)	9,469	943	10.0

Progressive list of rebounding leaders

This is a progressive list of rebounding leaders showing how the record increased through the years. ^[1]

Statistics accurate as of December 16, 2024.

^	Active NBA player
*	Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
†	Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration [f]

Team abbreviations

Team(s) listed is the one player was on when he established the record.

ATL	Atlanta Hawks	FTW	Fort Wayne Pistons	NOP	New Orleans Pelicans	SDR	San Diego Rockets
BKN	Brooklyn Nets	HOU	Houston Rockets	NYK	New York Knicks	SFW	San Francisco Warriors
BOS	Boston Celtics	IND	Indiana Pacers	ORL	Orlando Magic	STL	St. Louis Hawks
BUF	Buffalo Braves	LAC	Los Angeles Clippers	PHI	Philadelphia 76ers	SYR	Syracuse Nationals
CAP	Capital Bullets	LAL	Los Angeles Lakers	PHW	Philadelphia Warriors	SFW	San Francisco Warriors
CHO	Charlotte Hornets	MIL	Milwaukee Bucks	PHX	Phoenix Suns	UTA	Utah Jazz
CHI	Chicago Bulls	MIN	Minnesota Timberwolves	ROC	Rochester Royals	SYR	Syracuse Nationals
CLE	Cleveland Cavaliers	MLH	Milwaukee Hawks	SAC	Sacramento Kings	WAS	Washington Wizards
DEN	Denver Nuggets	MNL	Minneapolis Lakers	SAS	San Antonio Spurs	WSB	Washington Bullets
DET	Detroit Pistons	NOJ	New Orleans Jazz	SDC	San Diego Clippers

Progressive leaders and records for total rebounds

Season	Year-by-year leader	REB	Active leader	REB	Career record	REB	Single-season record	REB	Season
1950–51	Dolph Schayes*000 SYR	1,080	Dolph Schayes*000 SYR	1,080	Dolph Schayes*000 SYR	1,080	Dolph Schayes*000 SYR	1,080	1950–51
1951–52	Mel Hutchins 000 MLH Larry Foust 000 FTW	880		1,853		1,853			1951–52
1952–53	George Mikan*000 MNL	1,007	George Mikan*000 MNL	2,831	George Mikan*000 MNL	2,831			1952–53
1953–54	Harry Gallatin*000 NYK	1,098		3,859		3,859	Harry Gallatin*000 NYK	1,098	1953–54
1954–55	Neil Johnston*000 PHW	1,085	Dolph Schayes*000 SYR	4,530	Dolph Schayes*000 SYR	4,530			1954–55
1955–56	Bob Pettit*000 STL	1,164		5,421		5,421	Bob Pettit*000 STL	1,164	1955–56
1956–57	Maurice Stokes*000 ROC	1,256		6,429		6,429	Maurice Stokes*000 ROC	1,256	1956–57
1957–58	Bill Russell*000 BOS	1,564		7,451		7,451	Bill Russell*000 BOS	1,564	1957–58
1958–59		1,612		8,413		8,413		1,612	1958–59
1959–60	Wilt Chamberlain* 000 PHW 1959–62 000 SFW 1962–63	1,941		9,372		9,372	Wilt Chamberlain*000 PHW	1,941	1959–60
1960–61		2,149		10,332		10,332		2,149	1960–61
1961–62		2,052		10,771		10,771			1961–62
1962–63		1,946	Bill Russell*000 BOS	11,398	Bill Russell*000 BOS	11,398			1962–63
1963–64	Bill Russell*000 BOS	1,930		13,328		13,328			1963–64
1964–65		1,878		15,206		15,206			1964–65
1965–66	Wilt Chamberlain* 000 PHI 1965–68 000 LAL 1968–69	1,943		16,985		16,985			1965–66
1966–67		1,957		18,685		18,685			1966–67
1967–68		1,952		20,136		20,136			1967–68
1968–69		1,712		21,620		21,620			1968–69
1969–70	Elvin Hayes*000 SDR	1,386	Wilt Chamberlain*000 LAL	19,333					1969–70
1970–71	Wilt Chamberlain*000 LAL	1,493		20,826					1970–71
1971–72		1,572		22,398	Wilt Chamberlain*000 LAL	22,398			1971–72
1972–73		1,526		23,924		23,924			1972–73
1973–74	Elvin Hayes*000 CAP	1,463	Walt Bellamy* 000 ATL 1973–74 000 NOJ 1974–75	14,236					1973–74
1974–75	Bob McAdoo*000 BUF	1,155		14,241					1974–75
1975–76	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*000 LAL	1,383	Nate Thurmond* 000 CHI 1975 000 CLE 1975–77	14,090					1975–77
1976–77		1,090		14,464					1976–77
1977–78	Truck Robinson 000 NOJ	1,288	Elvin Hayes* 000 WSB 1977–81 000 HOU 1981–84	11,977					1977–78
1978–79	Moses Malone*000 HOU	1,444		12,971					1978–79
1979–80	Swen Nater 000 SDC	1,216		13,867					1979–80
1980–81	Moses Malone* 000 HOU 1980–82 000 PHI 1982–83	1,180		14,656					1980–81
1981–82		1,188		15,403					1981–82
1982–83		1,194		16,019					1982–83
1983–84	Bill Laimbeer 000 DET	1,003		16,279					1983–84
1984–85	Moses Malone*000 PHI	1,031	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*000 LAL	15,627					1984–85
1985–86	Bill Laimbeer 000 DET	1,075		16,105					1985–86
1986–87	Charles Oakley 000 CHI	1,074		16,628					1986–87
1987–88		1,066		17,106					1987–88
1988–89	Hakeem Olajuwon*000 HOU	1,105		17,440					1988–89
1989–90		1,149	Moses Malone*000 000 ATL 1989–91 000 MIL 1991–93 000 PHI 1993–94 000 SAS 1994–95	14,483					1989–90
1990–91	David Robinson*000 SAS	1,063		15,150					1990–91
1991–92	Dennis Rodman* 000 DET 1991–93 000 SAS 1993–94	1,530		15,894					1991–92
1992–93		1,132		15,940					1992–93
1993–94		1,367		16,166					1993–94
1994–95	Dikembe Mutombo*000 DEN	1,029		16,212					1994–95
1995–96	David Robinson*000 SAS	1,000	Robert Parish* 000 CHO 1995–96 000 CHI 1996–97	14,626					1995–96
1996–97	Dikembe Mutombo*000 ATL	929		14,715					1996–97
1997–98	Dennis Rodman*000 CHI	1,201	Buck Williams 000 NYK	13,017					1997–98
1998–99	Dikembe Mutombo*000 ATL	610	Hakeem Olajuwon*000 HOU	12,677					1998–99
1999–00		1,157		12,951					1999–00
2000–01	Ben Wallace*000 DET	1,052		13,382					2000–01
2001–02	Tim Duncan*000 SAS	1,042	Karl Malone* 000 UTA 2001–03 000 LAL 2003–04	13,973					2001–02
2002–03	Ben Wallace*000 DET	1,126		14,601					2002–03
2003–04	Kevin Garnett*000 MIN	1,139		14,968					2003–04
2004–05		1,108	Kevin Willis 000 ATL	11,893					2004–05
2005–06	Dwight Howard †000 ORL	1,022	Dikembe Mutombo*000 HOU	11,639					2005–06
2006–07		1,008		12,127					2006–07
2007–08		1,161		12,326					2007–08
2008–09		1,093	Shaquille O'Neal* 000 PHX 2008–09 000 CLE 2009–10 000 BOS 2010–11	12,566					2008–09
2009–10		1,082		12,921					2009–10
2010–11	Kevin Love^000 MIN	1,112		13,099					2010–11
2011–12	Dwight Howard †000 ORL	785	Kevin Garnett* 000 BOS 2011–13 000 BKN 2013–14	13,313					2011–12
2012–13	Ömer Aşık 000 HOU	956		13,843					2012–13
2013–14	DeAndre Jordan^000 LAC	1,114		14,201					2013–14
2014–15		1,226	Tim Duncan*000 SAS	14,644					2014–15
2015–16	Andre Drummond^000 DET	1,198		15,091					2015–16
2016–17		1,115	Dwight Howard † 000 ATL 2016–17 000 CHO 2017–18 000 WAS 2018–19 000 LAL 2019–20 000 PHI 2020–21 000 LAL 2021–22	12,089					2016–17
2017–18		1,247		13,101					2017–18
2018–19		1,232		13,184					2018–19
2019–20	Rudy Gobert^000 UTA	916		13,691					2019–20
2020–21		960		14,271					2020–21
2021–22	Nikola Jokić^000 DEN	1,019		14,627					2021–22
2022–23	Domantas Sabonis^000 SAC	973	LeBron James^000 LAL	10,667					2022–23
2023–24		1,120		11,185			2023–24
2024–25	Karl-Anthony Towns^000 NYK	334		11,377			2024–25
Season	Year-by-year leader	REB	Active player leader	REB	Career record	REB	Single-season record	REB	Season

See also

• Basketball statistics
• NBA records
• Basketballportal
• Sportsportal

Notes

1. The National Basketball Association did not record rebounding statistics until the 1950–51 season.
2. A player is not eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame until he has been fully retired for three calendar years.
3. American Basketball Association (ABA) teams other than those admitted into the NBA in 1976 are not included; each year is linked to an article about that particular NBA season.
4. Average is rounded to the nearest tenth.
5. Rebounds were not yet recorded during the player's tenure with this team and season(s).
6. A player is not eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame until he has been fully retired for three calendar years.

References

1. "NBA Progressive Leaders and Records for Total Rebounds". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports-Reference LLC. Retrieved 10 April 2015.

External links

• Basketball-Reference.com enumeration of NBA career leaders in total rebounds
• National Basketball Association official website enumeration of NBA career leaders in total rebounds