"Greatest" rebounders of all time - where exactly do you think Larry Bird ranks?

[72-10]

:pimp:

[Marchesk]

Below Westbrook

Not really

Do you mean for small forwards, because Bird doesn't rate as a great rebounder compared to someone like Rodman, Malone or Wilt.

[superduper]

Best SF

[Round Mound]

Considering he could hardly leap he was almost as good as Russell and Rodman in terms of boxing out and reading the angles where the ball was going to land.

My top 10 picks for the best rebounders regarding the advantage of: height, strength, weight & leaping ability

1-Fat Lever
2-Russell Westbrook
3-Charles Barkley
4-Dennis Rodman
5-Wes Unseld
6-Ben Wallace
7-Dave Cowens
8-Larry Bird
9-Oscar Robertson
10-Bill Russell

[Dray n Klay]

Considering he could hardly leap he was almost as good as Russell and Rodman in terms of boxing out and reading the angles where the ball was going to land.

My top 10 picks for the best rebounders regarding the advantage of: height, strength, weight & leaping ability

1-Fat Lever
2-Russell Westbrook
3-Charles Barkley
4-Dennis Rodman
5-Wes Unseld
6-Ben Wallace
7-Dave Cowens
8-Larry Bird
9-Oscar Robertson
10-Bill Russell

LeBron?

[FKAri]

Considering he could hardly leap he was almost as good as Russell and Rodman in terms of boxing out and reading the angles where the ball was going to land.

My top 10 picks for the best rebounders regarding the advantage of: height, strengtht, weight & leaping ability

1-Fat Lever
2-Russell Westbrook
3-Charles Barkley
4-Wes Unseld
5-Dennis Rodman
6-Ben Wallace
7-Dave Cowens
8-Larry Bird
9-Oscar Robertson
10-Bill Russell
No Moses Malone? I guess the statpadding's hard to ignore but speaking of statpadding...Westbrook pretty high on your list. He has certain physical advantages for sure. If you are already accounting for that surely someone like Rondo or Kidd would compare favorably.

The art of little man rebounding is quite different from big man rebounding. The former more about darting to open spaces and having great hands to snatch it while the latter more about establishing favorable position with strength and using athleticism to secure it.

Also rebounding is very different in today's game and I don't think you can compare numbers 1:1 with past eras. The amount of long rebounds due to 3s plays a big role in inflated rebound numbers for little guys and deflated ones for bigger guys.

[Round Mound]

LeBron?

[B]6

[Round Mound]

No Moses Malone? I guess the statpadding's hard to ignore but speaking of statpadding...Westbrook pretty high on your list. He has certain physical advantages for sure. If you are already accounting for that surely someone like Rondo or Kidd would compare favorably.

The art of little man rebounding is quite different from big man rebounding. The former more about darting to open spaces and having great hands to snatch it while the latter more about establishing favorable position with strength and using athleticism to secure it.

Also rebounding is very different in today's game and I don't think you can compare numbers 1:1 with past eras. The amount of long rebounds due to 3s plays a big role in inflated rebound numbers for little guys and deflated ones for bigger guys.

[B]True the long rebounds after 3-point attempts has changed the dynamic of what a contested rebound is like. Rondo could have made the list but Fat Lever rebounded in an era where the paint was clogged (thats how you spell it?) and Kidd i could have had him up there but Oscar was an inch bigger but rebounded almost 9 rpg for his career in an era where it was even more clogged than the 80s & 90s. Good points though. Moses was 6

[ronniec]

Best SF

^^^^^^

THIS

If someone wants to argue Bird was actually a PF, then Bird is the best point forward ever.
Had enough touches but never ball hog, average 7 assist as a "PF", but then wouldn't disrupt PG's job.

[Champ]

Probably the greatest defensive rebounding small forward of all-time.

A mastery of technique and positioning allowed him to overcome his unremarkable speed and leaping ability. This is why he was such a good defensive rebounder. Always had great hands, too.

He often used his dominance of the defensive glass to kick-start the Celtics break, and he was an outstanding outlet passer because he was able to fuse his defensive rebounding and passing so well together - two facets of his game that seamlessly fed into each other.

YouTube is filled with highlights of Bird's full-court, quarterback-like passes.

He could certainly attack the offensive glass and did so with gusto early in his career, but that part of his game declined as he got older. But he always remained a superior defensive rebounder, and was better than both McHale and Parish in that respect for the balance of their careers together.

[Champ]

Also rebounding is very different in today's game and I don't think you can compare numbers 1:1 with past eras. The amount of long rebounds due to 3s plays a big role in inflated rebound numbers for little guys and deflated ones for bigger guys.


This is an excellent point and spot on! It's also why triple-doubles happen more often today.