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Rebounding has always been seen as an important part of basketball, especially for NBA championship contenders. With the league becoming more guard-oriented, finding rebounders who can also run with the current game speed has been a challenge.
In the current NBA, there were only 10 players last season who had a double-digit rebounding average, and 30 players above 7.5 rebounds a night. Rebounding can be a team effort, but it is always good to have someone inside the paint who can guarantee crashing the boards.
With only a few trusted rebounders in the league, you will see the likes of Jarrett Allen, Rudy Gobert, Clint Capela and Ivica Zubac getting a big payday just for their rebounding ability.
Five NBA teams that need to improve their rebounding
Top rebounding teams such as the Milwaukee Bucks have been consistent playoff contenders and have multiple rebounders on their team like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis. These are prime examples of what teams are trying to replicate to improve their win-loss records.
There are seven NBA teams that badly need a rebounder heading into the 2023-24 season in no particular order:
#1, Brooklyn Nets
Aside from Nic Claxton who averages 9.2 rebounds per game, there is no other player who can give him the relief once the coach sits him on the bench. Ben Simmons is already the next-best rebounder for the Nets, and he would normally want to play more point guard than camp in the paint.
#2, Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers finished third to last in rebounding in the 2022-23 NBA season. Jusuf Nurkic has been their best rebounder but he is often injured and not even listed in the top 50 boards leader last year.
Next to Nurkic is Jerami Grant, who would like to play more on the perimeter than go inside against taller defenders. This team has not done much to improve its rebounding unless it trades Damian Lillard for a few pieces.
#3, Philadelphia 76ers
Hard to imagine that the Philadelphia 76ers are on this list despite having NBA MVP Joel Embiid in the paint. The Sixers were 25th in the league in rebounding, which means they need help in that department because P.J. Tucker is not enough for them to crash the boards. The shallow bench does not help as the team suffers if Embiid or Tucker sits down for rest.
#4, Dallas Mavericks
If your best rebounder is your playmaker, the team obviously has a problem with rebounding. Luka Doncic has been trying to do it all for Dallas as he leads the team with 8.6 rpg.
Now that second-best rebounder Christian Wood signed with the LA Lakers will need Dwight Powell to step up along with Grant Williams. This team also drafted Dereck Lively II from Duke University, but he is still unproven on the NBA stage and would need to marinate first before getting to where he wants to be.
#5, Miami Heat
On paper, you would wonder why the Miami Heat is on this list despite having Bam Adebayo and Kevin Love. Just by looking at the 2023 NBA Finals, you would already see that the Heat had problems getting rebounds against Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr.
Adebayo and Love are good rebounders, but when they rest, the team has to rely on newcomers Thomas Bryant and Haywood Highsmith to fill in the void.
