In basketball, a rebound is the act of gaining possession of the ball after a missed field goal or free throw. An offensive rebound occurs when a player recovers the ball after their own or a teammate's missed shot attempt, while a defensive rebound occurs when a player recovers the ball after an opponent's missed shot attempt. The National Basketball Association's (NBA) rebounding title is awarded to the player with the highest rebounds per game average in a given season. It was first recognized in the 1950–51 season, which was the second season after the league was created in 1949 by merger of the 3-year-old BAA and 12-year-old NBL. Players who earned rebounding titles before the 1973–74 season did not record any offensive or defensive rebounds because statistics on them were not recorded before that season. To qualify for the rebounding title, a player must appear in at least 58 games (out of 82). However, a player who appears in fewer than 58 games may qualify as annual rebounding leader if his rebound total would have given him the greatest average, had he appeared in 58 games. This has been the requirement since the 2013–14 season. The rebounding title was originally determined by rebound total through the 1968–69 season, after which rebounds per game was used to determine the leader instead.

Wilt Chamberlain holds the all-time records for total rebounds (2,149) and rebounds per game (27.2) in a season; both records were achieved in the 1960–61 season. He also holds the rookie records for total rebounds, with 1,941 in the 1959–60 season. Among active players, Andre Drummond has the highest season rebound total (1,247) and the highest season rebounding average (15.99), both achieved in the 2017–18 season. At 22 years, 130 days, Dwight Howard is the youngest rebounding leader in NBA history (achieved in the season), while Dennis Rodman is the oldest at 36 years, 341 days (achieved in the season).

Chamberlain won the most rebounding titles in his career, with 11. Dennis Rodman won a record seven consecutive rebounding titles. Moses Malone won six rebounding titles. Howard won five rebounding titles. Kevin Garnett and Bill Russell won four rebounding titles each. Drummond has won four rebounding titles. Elvin Hayes, Dikembe Mutombo, Hakeem Olajuwon, Ben Wallace, DeAndre Jordan, and Domantas Sabonis are the only other players who have won the title multiple times. Six players have won the rebounding title and the NBA championship in the same season: George Mikan in 1953 with the Minneapolis Lakers; Russell in 1959, 1964, and 1965 with the Boston Celtics; Chamberlain in 1967 and 1972 with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers, respectively; Bill Walton in 1977 with the Portland Trail Blazers; Malone in 1983 with the 76ers; and Rodman in 1996, 1997, and 1998 with the Chicago Bulls.

Key ^Denotes player who is still active in the NBA*Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame§1st time eligible for Hall of Fame in 2025‡Denotes player who won the Most Valuable Player award that yearPlayer (X)Denotes the number of times the player had been therebounding leader up to and including that seasonGGuardFForwardCCenter

Annual leaders

Season Player Pos. Team Gamesplayed Offensiverebounds Defensiverebounds Totalrebounds Reboundsper gameRef *F/CSyracuse Nationals 66 — — 1,080 16.36 CFort Wayne Pistons 66 — — 880 13.33 CMilwaukee Hawks 66 — — 880 13.33 *CMinneapolis Lakers 70 — — 1,007 14.39 *FNew York Knicks 72 — — 1,098 15.25 *CPhiladelphia Warriors 72 — — 1,085 15.07 ‡ *CSt. Louis Hawks 72 — — 1,164 16.17 *FRochester Royals 72 — — 1,256 17.44 ‡ *CBoston Celtics 69 — — 1,564 22.67 * (2)CBoston Celtics 70 — — 1,612 23.03 ‡ *CPhiladelphia Warriors 72 — — 1,941 26.96 * (2)CPhiladelphia Warriors 79 — — 2,149 27.20 * (3)CPhiladelphia Warriors 80 — — 2,052 25.65 * (4)CSan Francisco Warriors 80 — — 1,946 24.32 * (3)CBoston Celtics 78 — — 1,930 24.74 ‡ * (4)CBoston Celtics 78 — — 1,878 24.08 ‡ * (5)CPhiladelphia 76ers 79 — — 1,943 24.59 ‡ * (6)CPhiladelphia 76ers 81 — — 1,957 24.16 ‡ * (7)CPhiladelphia 76ers 82 — — 1,952 23.80 * (8)CLos Angeles Lakers 81 — — 1,712 21.14 *CSan Diego Rockets 82 — — 1,386 16.90 * (9)CLos Angeles Lakers 82 — — 1,493 18.21 * (10)CLos Angeles Lakers 82 — — 1,572 19.17 * (11)CLos Angeles Lakers 82 — — 1,526 18.61 * (2)FCapital Bullets 81 354 1,109 1,463 18.06 *CWashington Bullets 73 318 759 1,077 14.75 ‡ *CLos Angeles Lakers 82 272 1,111 1,383 16.87 *CPortland Trail Blazers 65 211 723 934 14.37 FNew Orleans Jazz 82 298 990 1,288 15.71 ‡ *CHouston Rockets 82 587 857 1,444 17.61 CSan Diego Clippers 81 352 864 1,216 15.01 * (2)CHouston Rockets 80 474 706 1,180 14.75 ‡ * (3)CHouston Rockets 81 558 630 1,188 14.67 ‡ * (4)CPhiladelphia 76ers 78 445 749 1,194 15.31 * (5)CPhiladelphia 76ers 71 352 598 950 13.38 * (6)CPhiladelphia 76ers 79 385 646 1,031 13.05 CDetroit Pistons 82 305 770 1,075 13.11 *FPhiladelphia 76ers 68 390 604 994 14.62 FLos Angeles Clippers 72 371 567 938 13.03 *CHouston Rockets 82 338 767 1,105 13.48 * (2)CHouston Rockets 82 299 850 1,149 14.01 *CSan Antonio Spurs 82 335 728 1,063 12.96 *FDetroit Pistons 82 523 1,007 1,530 18.66 * (2)FDetroit Pistons 62 367 765 1,132 18.26 * (3)FSan Antonio Spurs 79 453 914 1,367 17.30 * (4)FSan Antonio Spurs 49 274 549 823 16.80 * (5)FChicago Bulls 64 356 596 952 14.88 * (6)FChicago Bulls 55 320 563 883 16.05 * (7)FChicago Bulls 80 421 780 1,201 15.01 *FSacramento Kings 42 149 396 545 12.98 *CAtlanta Hawks 82 304 853 1,157 14.11 * (2)CAtlanta HawksPhiladelphia 76ers 75 307 708 1,015 13.53 *CDetroit Pistons 80 318 721 1,039 12.99 * (2)CDetroit Pistons 73 293 833 1,126 15.42 ‡ *FMinnesota Timberwolves 82 245 894 1,139 13.89 * (2)FMinnesota Timberwolves 82 247 861 1,108 13.51 * (3)FMinnesota Timberwolves 76 214 752 966 12.71 * (4)FMinnesota Timberwolves 76 183 792 975 12.83 *COrlando Magic 82 279 882 1,161 14.16 * (2)COrlando Magic 79 336 757 1,093 13.84 * (3)COrlando Magic 82 284 798 1,082 13.20 ^FMinnesota Timberwolves 73 330 782 1,112 15.23 * (4)COrlando Magic 54 200 585 785 14.54 * (5)CLos Angeles Lakers 76 251 694 945 12.43 ^CLos Angeles Clippers 82 331 783 1,114 13.59 ^ (2)CLos Angeles Clippers 82 397 829 1,226 14.95 ^ CDetroit Pistons 81 395 803 1,198 14.79 CMiami Heat 77 293 795 1,088 14.13 ^ (2) CDetroit Pistons 78 399 848 1,247 15.99 ^ (3) CDetroit Pistons 79 423 809 1,232 15.59 ^ (4) CDetroit Pistons Cleveland Cavaliers 57 250 614 864 15.16 ^CAtlanta Hawks 63 297 606 903 14.33 ^CUtah Jazz 66 241 727 968 14.67 ^CSacramento Kings 79 251 722 973 12.32 ^ (2)CSacramento Kings 82 294 826 1,120 13.66 ^ (3)CSacramento Kings 70 267 705 972 13.89 ^CDenver Nuggets 65 192 644 836 12.86

Multiple-time leaders RankPlayerTeamTimes leaderYears1Wilt ChamberlainPhiladelphia Warriors/San Francisco Warriors (4) / Philadelphia 76ers (3) / Los Angeles Lakers (4)11, , , , , , , , , , 2Dennis RodmanDetroit Pistons (2) / San Antonio Spurs (2) / Chicago Bulls (3)7, , , , , , 3Moses MaloneHouston Rockets (3) / Philadelphia 76ers (3)6, , , , , 4Dwight HowardOrlando Magic (4) / Los Angeles Lakers (1)5, , , , 5Andre DrummondDetroit Pistons (3) / Cleveland Cavaliers (1)4, , , Kevin GarnettMinnesota Timberwolves, , , Bill RussellBoston Celtics, , , 8Domantas SabonisSacramento Kings3, , 9Elvin HayesSan Diego Rockets (1) / Capital Bullets (1)2, DeAndre JordanLos Angeles Clippers, Dikembe MutomboAtlanta Hawks (1) / Philadelphia 76ers (1), Hakeem OlajuwonHouston Rockets, Ben WallaceDetroit Pistons,

See also NBA records List of NBA career rebounding leaders List of NBA annual scoring leaders List of NBA annual 3-point scoring leaders List of NBA annual assists leaders List of NBA annual steals leaders List of NBA annual blocks leaders

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