NBA Players with the Highest Rebounding Averages in Their Rookie Season

Explore the NBA players who delivered the best stats ever in a 1st NBA season, ranked by regular season rebounds per game. See how the all-time greats compare in this top-50 historical list.

Year:

1st

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Show: Season - Playoffs / Other Stats

Other Stats

Rebounds Per Game

3-Pointers Made Per Game

Total

Which NBA player averaged the most rebounds in the Regular Season in his rookie year?

Playing for the 1960 Philadelphia Warriors, Wilt Chamberlain averaged 27.0 rebounds in 72 games — the highest rebounds per game average by any NBA player in his 1st season.

Rebounds Per Game, Rookie Season

27.0 rpg
Wilt Chamberlain
(1960 Philadelphia Warriors)

Note: No game minimums were used for this list / = NBA champion in this season.

Rebounds Per Game in a Player's Rookie Season - Top 50

Regular Season

		Rebounds			Other stats
Rk	Player (Team)	Per Game	Total	Gms	Pts	Ast	Stl	Blk	3pm
1	Wilt Chamberlain (1960 Warriors)	27.0	1,941	72	37.6	2.3	-	-	-
2	Bill Russell (1957 Celtics)	19.6	943	48	14.7	1.8	-	-	-
3	Walt Bellamy (1962 Packers)	19.0	1,500	79	31.6	2.7	-	-	-
4	Wes Unseld (1969 Bullets)	18.2	1,491	82	13.8	2.6	-	-	-
5	Jerry Lucas (1964 Royals)	17.4	1,375	79	17.7	2.6	-	-	-
6	Elvin Hayes (1969 Rockets)	17.1	1,406	82	28.4	1.4	-	-	-
7	Maurice Stokes (1956 Royals)	16.3	1,094	67	16.8	4.9	-	-	-
8	Elmore Smith (1972 Braves)	15.2	1,184	78	17.3	1.4	-	-	-
9	Dave Cowens (1971 Celtics)	15.0	1,216	81	17.0	2.8	-	-	-
10	Elgin Baylor (1959 Lakers)	15.0	1,050	70	24.9	4.1	-	-	-

		Rebounds			Other stats
Rk	Player (Team)	Per Game	Total	Gms	Pts	Ast	Stl	Blk	3pm
11	Willis Reed (1965 Knicks)	14.7	1,175	80	19.5	1.7	-	-	-
12	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1970 Bucks)	14.5	1,190	82	28.8	4.1	-	-	-
13	Shaquille O'Neal (1993 Magic)	13.9	1,122	81	23.4	1.9	0.7	3.5	0.0
14	Bob Pettit (1955 Hawks)	13.8	994	72	20.4	3.2	-	-	-
15	Gus Johnson (1964 Bullets)	13.6	1,064	78	17.3	2.2	-	-	-
16	Mel Hutchins (1952 Hawks)	13.3	880	66	9.2	2.9	-	-	-
17	Ray Felix (1954 Bullets (1st))	13.3	958	72	17.6	1.1	-	-	-
18	Moses Malone (1977 more than 1 team)	13.1	1,072	82	13.2	1.1	0.8	2.2	-
19	Artis Gilmore (1977 Bulls)	13.0	1,070	82	18.6	2.4	0.5	2.5	-
20	Luke Jackson (1965 76ers)	12.9	980	76	14.8	1.2	-	-	-

		Rebounds			Other stats
Rk	Player (Team)	Per Game	Total	Gms	Pts	Ast	Stl	Blk	3pm
21	Bill Walton (1975 Trail Blazers)	12.6	441	35	12.8	4.8	0.8	2.7	-
22	George McGinnis (1976 76ers)	12.6	967	77	23.0	4.7	2.6	0.5	-
23	Buck Williams (1982 Nets)	12.3	1,005	82	15.5	1.3	1.0	1.0	0.0
24	Dikembe Mutombo (1992 Nuggets)	12.3	870	71	16.6	2.2	0.6	3.0	0.0
25	Larry Smith (1981 Warriors)	12.1	994	82	9.6	1.1	0.9	0.8	0.0
26	Blake Griffin (2011 Clippers)	12.1	989	82	22.5	3.8	0.8	0.5	0.1
27	Swen Nater (1977 Bucks)	12.0	865	72	13.0	1.5	0.8	0.7	-
28	Pete Cross (1971 Supersonics)	12.0	949	79	8.0	1.4	-	-	-
29	Spencer Haywood (1971 Supersonics)	12.0	396	33	20.6	1.5	-	-	-
30	David Robinson (1990 Spurs)	12.0	983	82	24.3	2.0	1.7	3.9	0.0

		Rebounds			Other stats
Rk	Player (Team)	Per Game	Total	Gms	Pts	Ast	Stl	Blk	3pm
31	Tim Duncan (1998 Spurs)	11.9	977	82	21.1	2.7	0.7	2.5	0.0
32	Hakeem Olajuwon (1985 Rockets)	11.9	974	82	20.6	1.4	1.2	2.7	0.0
33	Lloyd Neal (1973 Trail Blazers)	11.8	967	82	13.4	1.8	-	-	-
34	Ray Scott (1962 Pistons)	11.5	865	75	13.3	1.8	-	-	-
35	Sidney Wicks (1972 Trail Blazers)	11.5	943	82	24.5	4.3	-	-	-
36	Maurice Lucas (1977 Trail Blazers)	11.4	899	79	20.2	2.9	1.1	0.7	-
37	Sam Lacey (1971 Royals)	11.3	913	81	13.5	1.4	-	-	-
38	Larry Kenon (1977 Spurs)	11.3	879	78	21.9	2.9	2.1	0.8	-
39	Ralph Sampson (1984 Rockets)	11.1	913	82	21.0	2.0	0.9	2.4	0.0
40	Tom Boerwinkle (1969 Bulls)	11.1	889	80	9.8	2.2	-	-	-

		Rebounds			Other stats
Rk	Player (Team)	Per Game	Total	Gms	Pts	Ast	Stl	Blk	3pm
41	Larry Johnson (1992 Hornets)	11.0	899	82	19.2	3.6	1.0	0.6	0.1
42	Emeka Okafor (2005 Bobcats)	10.9	795	73	15.1	0.9	0.8	1.7	0.0
43	John Drew (1975 Hawks)	10.7	836	78	18.5	1.8	1.5	0.5	-
44	Victor Wembanyama (2024 Spurs)	10.6	755	71	21.4	3.9	1.2	3.6	1.8
45	Terry Cummings (1983 Clippers)	10.6	744	70	23.7	2.5	1.8	0.9	0.0
46	Rick Barry (1966 Warriors)	10.6	850	80	25.7	2.2	-	-	-
47	Clark Kellogg (1983 Pacers)	10.6	860	81	20.1	2.8	1.7	0.5	0.0
48	Clifford Ray (1972 Bulls)	10.6	869	82	7.0	3.1	-	-	-
49	Marques Johnson (1978 Bucks)	10.6	847	80	19.5	2.4	1.2	1.3	-
50	Bailey Howell (1960 Pistons)	10.5	790	75	17.8	0.8	-	-	-

* The NBA began recording rebounds in 1951, steals and blocks in 1974, and added the 3-point line in 1980.