Months after leaving the Chicago Bulls in free agency, a 31-year-old NBA center has declared himself the best rebounder in the history of the sport.
Chicago knew they were losing some significant value on the glass when Andre Drummond departed for the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency. After two seasons in Chicago, Drummond decided to sign a two-year, $10 million deal with Philadelphia this summer.
Drummond participated in media day with the 76ers on Monday and took the opportunity to make a controversial claim about his game that is sure to become a huge talking point in league circles this week.
Drummond called himself the best rebounder ever.
“I’m the best rebounder to ever play the game,” Drummond told reporters. “You wanna record that? Yeah, I’m the best rebounder ever.”
Drummond has averaged an impressive 12.4 rebounds per game in 864 regular season games so far in his career.
In terms of total rebounds, Drummond is No. 33 in league history with 10,671 rebounds entering the 2024-25 season. Wilt Chamberlain tops the list with 23,924 rebounds, followed by Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Other notable players in the top ten are Tim Duncan at No. 6 and Kevin Garnett at No. 9.
Given the above numbers, it’s difficult to argue that Drummond is the best rebounder in NBA history. Then again, total rebounds aren’t the sole barometer for determining history’s greatest rebounder (though it may be the most important metric).
Drummond certainly has the argument of modernity on his side, meaning that it’s arguably more impressive that he’s been such a dominant rebounder in the modern NBA, where players are far bigger, stronger, and more athletic than during the days of Chamberlain and Russell.
Even so, it’s hard to imagine many players, coaches, and fans beyond Drummond himself signing off on the premise that Drummond is the GOAT rebounder.
Ultimately, you can’t hate on the confidence from Drummond. He’s still got a lot of basketball left in his career to keep building upon his rebounding resumé.
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