Who has the most blocks in NBA history? We look at the Top 5 players!

Though the offense is more spectacular and is really taking over in the modern NBA, defense will continue to be arguably the most essential part of a championship team. Defense wins NBA championships. It's an old cliché, but it is a true one.

A big part of the defensive abilities of a team or an individual player can't really be measured, as intangibles might be even more important on the defensive end than anything else. However, the NBA does track defensive statistics, whether it is advanced (Defensive Rating or Defensive Win Shares) or simple numbers, such as the number of steals or blocks.

Throughout NBA history, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain are definitely two of the greatest top shot-blockers. However, there are no reliable statistics regarding their block totals, as the league has started to officially track down blocks since the 1973-74 NBA season.

We look at the Top 5 shot-blockers in NBA history!

LA Lakers' Elmore Smith was the first player to lead the NBA in blocks per game, with an average of 4.85 and 393 total blocks. Moreover, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mark Eaton and Marcus Camby led the NBA in blocks per game a record four times throughout their careers.

In this article, we will look at the top five shot-blockers in NBA history by numbers.

Without further ado, let us start.

#5 Tim Duncan

Tim Duncan #21 of the San Antonia Spurs.

The greatest power forward in NBA history to many, Tim Duncan, not only had a great offensive arsenal in the post, but he was also a great defender. Even though he never won an NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, Duncan was always among the best defenders in the league, both in advanced stats and traditional stats.

Duncan blocked 3,020 shots throughout his regular-season career and his career average was 2.2 blocks per game. 'The Big Fundamental' made the All-Defensive NBA team a record 15 times in his illustrious 19-year career and was the cornerstone of the San Antonio Spurs' five championships between 1999 and 2014.

Duncan is the all-time leader in blocks in the NBA Playoffs, with 568 blocked shots.

#4 Mark Eaton

Mark Eaton was a tremendous shot-blocker, arguably the best since the NBA started to track down the stats. Throughout his 11-year career with the Utah Jazz, Eaton made the All-Star Game once, and it all came behind his defensive prowess and his 7' 4'' frame.

A five-time All-Defensive player, Eaton won two NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards and led the NBA four times in blocks per game. Eaton also remains the record-holder for the highest average of blocks per game in league history, with a whopping 5.6 blocks per game in the 1984-85 season.

#3 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a legendary basketball icon and the NBA's all-time leading scorer. With his six NBA championships, six NBA MVPs and 38,387 points scored, it is easy to remember his offensive skills and his unstoppable skyhook.

However, Abdul-Jabbar was a great shot-blocker from his early days in the NBA. Kareem is third on the NBA's all-time list of blocked shots, with 3,189 throughout his 20-year career.

Abdul-Jabbar's total is higher given the NBA started tracking blocks in his fifth year in the league.

Kareem averaged 2.6 blocks per game in his career (eighth in NBA history) and was selected to the All-Defensive team 11 times (third-most in league history). Moreover, Abdul-Jabbar led the league in blocks per game four times throughout his career, tied with Mark Eaton and Marcus Camby for the record.

#2 Dikembe Mutombo

Dikembe's signature finger wag: Getty Images.

Dikembe Mutombo's finger wag after blocking shots became one of the most recognizable traits in his playing career, and we saw it often. Mutombo, a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year award winner (record), blocked 3,289 shots in his 18 years in the NBA.

Mutombo was an eight-time All-Star in his career, receiving six All-Defensive and three All-NBA selections and led the league in blocks per game three times.

His average of 4.49 blocks per game in the 1995-96 season was the most recent time a player averaged at least four blocks per game in a single season.

#1 Hakeem Olajuwon

Olajuwon fighting Patrick Ewing for a rebound.

Hakeem Olajuwon's offensive skills at the low post are well known by diehard NBA fans and they're definitely one of the greatest sets of footwork you can watch on a tape.

But what was arguably Hakeem's best asset was his incredible defensive skills, whether it was rim-protection or even going out to the perimeter and staying in front of a guard. Olajuwon is the all-time leader in blocks in NBA history with 3,830 in his 18-year career.

The two-time NBA champion and two-time Finals MVP retired as the second all-time leader in blocks in the NBA Playoffs, but Tim Duncan surpassed him and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the top step.

Olajuwon is one of five players to win the MVP award and Defensive Player of the Year in his career, alongside Michael Jordan, David Robinson, Kevin Garnett and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Hakeem won the Defensive Player of the Year award twice in his career and was also a two-time Finals MVP with the Houston Rockets (1994 and 1995).

In terms of blocks per game, Olajuwon averaged 3.1 in his NBA career (third-most in NBA history).