This article lists the NBA All-Time Leaders in career rebounds: it includes each player’s total rebounds, rebounds per game, games played, and active period.
Among those NBA players ranked in the top twenty-five in career rebounds, two players grabbed more than 20,000 rebounds while averaging more than 22 boards per game. Total career rebounds for these twenty-five players range from 11,463 to 23,294. The range for rebounds per game for these players is 8.4 to 22.9. Fifteen of these players had careers lasting more than 15 years and six spent their entire careers with just one team. Three players on this list remain active.
After reading this article, return to the following links to read: “NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Points,” “NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Points Per Game (PPG),” “NBA All-Time Leaders: Career 3 Pointers Made,” “NBA All-Time Leaders: Career 3 Point Percentage,” “NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Free Throws Made,” “NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Free Throw Percentage,” “NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds Per Game (RPG) ,” “NBA Champions (1947-present),” “NBA Finals MVPs (1969-present),” and “NBA All-Star Game Scores (1951-present),” “NBA All-Star Game MVPs (1951-present).”
1. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Wilt Chamberlain
Total Rebounds: 23,294
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 22.9
Games Played: 1,045
Active Period: Philadelphia/S.F. Warriors (1959-1965); Philadelphia 76ers (1965-1968); Los Angeles Lakers (1968-1973)
2. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Bill Russell
Total Rebounds: 21,620
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 22.5
Games Played: 963
Active Period: Boston Celtics (1956-1969)
3. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Total Rebounds: 17,440
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 11.2
Games Played: 1,560
Active Period: Milwaukee Bucks (1969-1975); Los Angeles Lakers (1975-1988)
4. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Elvin Hayes
Total Rebounds: 16,279
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 12.5
Games Played: 1,303
Active Period: San Diego/Houston Rockets (1968-1972, 1981-1984); Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets (1972-1981)
5. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Moses Malone
Total Rebounds: 16,212
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 12.2
Games Played: 1,329
Active Period: Buffalo Braves (1976-1977); Houston Rockets (1976-1982); Philadelphia 76ers (1982-1986); Washington Bullets (1986-1988); Atlanta Hawks (1988-1991); Milwaukee Bucks (1991-1993); San Antonio Spurs (1994-1995)
6. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Karl Malone
Total Rebounds: 14,968
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 10.1
Games Played: 1,476
Active Period: Utah Jazz (1985-2002); Los Angeles Lakers (2002-2003)
7. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Robert Parish
Total Rebounds: 14,715
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 9.1
Games Played: 1,611
Active Period: Golden State Warriors (1976-1980); Boston Celtics (1980-1994); Charlotte Hornets (1994-1996); Chicago Bulls (1996-1997)
8. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Nate Thurmond
Total Rebounds: 14,464
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 15.0
Games Played: 964
Active Period: San Francisco/Golden State Warriors (1963-1974); Chicago Bulls (1974-1975); Cleveland Cavaliers (1975-1977)
9. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Walt Bellamy
Total Rebounds: 14,241
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 13.7
Games Played: 1043
Active Period: Chicago Zephyrs/Baltimore Bullets (1961-1965); New York Knicks (1965-1968); Detroit Pistons (1968-1970); Atlanta Hawks (1970-1974); New Orleans Jazz (1974)
10. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Wes Unseld
Total Rebounds: 13,769
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 14.0
Games Played: 984
Active Period: Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets (1968-1981)
11. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Hakeem Olajuwon
Total Rebounds: 13,748
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 11.1
Games Played: 1,238
Active Period: Houston Rockets (1984-2002)
12. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds– Shaquille O’Neal
Total Rebounds: 13,098
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 10.9
Games Played: 1,206
Active Period: Orlando Magic (1992-1996); Los Angeles Lakers (1996-2004); Miami Heat (2004-2007, 2007-2008); Phoenix Suns (2007-2008, 2008-2009), Cleveland Indians (2009-2010); Boston Celtics (2010-present)
13. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Buck Williams
Total Rebounds: 13,017
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 10.0
Games Played: 1,307
Active Period: New Jersey Nets (1981-1989); Portland Trail Blazers (1989-1996); New York Knicks (1996-1998)
14. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Jerry Lucas
Total Rebounds: 12,942
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 15.6
Games Played: 829
Active Period: Cincinnati Royals (1963-1969); San Francisco Warriors (1969-1971); New York Knicks (1971-1974)
15. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Bob Pettit
Total Rebounds: 12,849
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 16.2
Games Played: 792
Active Period: Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks (1954-1965)
16. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Charles Barkley
Total Rebounds: 12,546
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 11.7
Games Played: 1,073
Active Period: Philadelphia 76ers (1984-1992); Phoenix Suns (1992-1996); Houston Rockets (1996-2000)
17. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Kevin Garnett
Total Rebounds: 12,537
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 10.8
Games Played: 1,163
Active Period: Minnesota Timberwolves (1995-2007); Boston Celtics (2007-present)
18. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – DiKembe Mutombo
Total Rebounds: 12,359
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 10.3
Games Played: 1,196
Active Period: Denver Nuggets (1991-1995); Atlanta Hawks (1996-2001); Philadelphia 76ers (2001-2002); New Jersey Nets (2002-2003); New York Knicks (2003-2004); Houston Rockets (2004-2009)
19. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Paul Silas
Total Rebounds: 12,357
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 9.9
Games Played: 1,254
Active Period: St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks (1964-1969); Phoenix Suns (1969-1972); Boston Celtics (1972-1976); Denver Nuggets (1976-1977); Seattle SuperSonics (1977-1980)
20. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Charles Oakley
Total Rebounds: 12,205
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 9.5
Games Played: 1,282
Active Period: Chicago Bulls (1985-1988, 2001-2002); New York Knicks (1988-1998); Toronto Raptors (1998-2001); Washington Bullets (2002-2003); Houston Rockets (2003-2004)
21. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Dennis Rodman
Total Rebounds: 11,954
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 13.1
Games Played: 911
Active Period: Detroit Pistons (1986-1993); San Antonio Spurs (1993-1995); Chicago Bulls (1995-1998); Los Angeles Lakers (1999); Dallas Mavericks (2000)
22. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Kevin Willis
Total Rebounds: 11,901
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 8.4
Games Played: 1,424
Active Period: Atlanta Hawks (1984-1994, 2004-2005); Miami Heat (1994-1995); Golden State Warriors (1996); Houston Rockets (1996-1998, 2001-2002); Toronto Raptors (1998-2001); Denver Nuggets (2001); San Antonio Spurs (2002-2004); Dallas Mavericks (2007)
23. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Tim Duncan
Total Rebounds: 11,793
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 11.5
Games Played: 1,026
Active Period: San Antonio Spurs (1997-present)
24. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds – Patrick Ewing
Total Rebounds: 11,607
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 9.8
Games Played: 1,183
Active Period: New York Knicks (1985-2000); Seattle SuperSonics (2000-2001); Orlando Magic (2001-2002)
25. NBA All-Time Leaders: Career Rebounds– Elgin Baylor
Total Rebounds: 11,463
Rebounds Per Game (RPG): 13.5
Games Played: 846
Active Period: Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers (1958-1971)
Source(s):
“ALL-TIME LEADERS: TOTAL REBOUNDS,” NBA.com
