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The 2021-22 NBA season commences in a few days as preseason games continue to take their course. The previous season had the Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner named the blocks champion, having recorded 3.4 blocks per game in 47 appearances and Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz finishing second with 2.7 blocks, although Gobert was the blocks leader with a total of 190 blocks.
The 2019-20 season blocks leader was Portland Trail Blazers center Hassan Whiteside with 196 blocks, with Gobert trailing in fourth place with 135 blocks. Although the NBA can be very unpredictable with circumstances possibly changing the course of things, below is a list of the probable top 5 block leaders in the 2021-22 NBA season.
The possible 5 blocks leaders in the 2021-22 NBA season
#5. Kristaps Porzingis
The New York Knicks No. 4 draft selection for the 2015 NBA draft, Kristaps Porzingis, is expected to finish the coming season placed in 5th position in total blocks made.
The former Knicks power forward successfully completed a career-high 134 blocks in his debut season in the NBA and was selected to the 2015-16 All-Rookie First Team.
After his third season with the Knicks, Porzingis was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, owing to an ACL injury. In his first season with the Mavs, he led the team in blocks and placed 7th in the league, while ranking 6th in blocks per game.
With the Mavericks acquiring the services of Jason Kidd and infusing some championship-experienced players on the roster, Porzingis is poised to make a comeback to his old Knicks form and put up good numbers in the coming season.
#4. Nerlens Noel
Nerlens Noel was the 6th overall pick by the New Orleans Hornets in the 2013 NBA draft and was later traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. His supposed debut season was marred by a knee injury that saw him miss the entire season.
However, he had his time in the 2014-15 season to prove himself as he was featured in 67 games for the 76ers with 62 starts. Noel recorded 142 blocks in his first season, leading the team in blocks, rebounds and steals.
Eraser, as he is fondly known, finished the previous season ranked in third place in total blocks and blocks per game, having completed 141 blocks and an average of 2.2 blocks per game. The coming season might see Noel drop down the rankings by a spot, giving rise to the next block leader on the list.
#3. Brook Lopez
Brook Lopez has spent 13 seasons this far in the NBA since being drafted by the Brooklyn Nets in the 2008 NBA draft, 9 seasons with the Nets, 3 seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks and a season with the L.A Lakers. He is projected to finish the 2021-22 NBA season as the third-best in the blocks, an upgrade from his past season record.
Lopez is an integral part of the Bucks team, and he was key to them winning the 2021-22 NBA championship title. Since his transition to the Bucks in the 2018-19 season, Lopez has led the team in blocks and is expected to do so again in the coming season.
He ranked 7th in the previous season having completed 103 blocks, his lowest record yet since joining the Bucks.
#2. Myles Turner
Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers is expected to finish in the same position he did the previous season. Although, he led the NBA in blocks per game, having registered 3.4 blocks in 47 appearances in the regular season.
He recorded a total of 159 blocks last season, and there's the argument that if he hadn't been sidelined in the last 18 games due to the injury sustained on his big toe, he probably would have recorded more blocks than Gobert.
Turner was the 11th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers and has since gone on to become a vital piece on the Pacers roster. In the 2018-19 NBA season, Samurai Myles was the blocks leader with a total of 199 blocks recorded, with Gobert and Lopez placing second and third respectively.
#1. Rudy Gobert
Rudy Gobert is the reigning blocks champion and the man to beat in the coming season. Gobert made his debut in the 2013-14 NBA season with the Utah Jazz, having been selected by the Denver Nuggets as the 27th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft and was later traded to the Jazz.
He featured in 45 games and made no starts while recording an average of 2.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game.
His sophomore season was a lot better as the Gobert we know today began to metamorphose. Gobzilla has since then gone on to lead his team in blocks and total rebounds. The 2021 blocks championship win wasn't Gobert's first rodeo as he was the blocks leader in the 2016-17 NBA season with a career-high 214 blocks.
The 2-time All-Star is expected to lead his team and the entire league in blocks in the coming season, and there's no stopping him, except he gets injured, which is highly unlikely.
