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Ranking The Top NBA Players By Age: Age 22

By Gerald Bourguet

Nov 27, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams (12) blocks a shot by Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) during the first quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 27, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams (12) blocks a shot by Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) during the first quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 29, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) during the second quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Andre Drummond

As the league-leader in rebounding at 15.0 boards per game, Andre Drummond is having one of the most prolific rebounding seasons the NBA has seen since the days of Dennis Rodman. Throw in the fact that he’s doing so at age 22 and the Dwight Howard comparisons early in his career don’t seem as silly anymore.

To be clear, Drummond and Dwight are very different players. But similar to the way D-12 thrived under Stan Van Gundy, Drummond has emerged as one of the league’s most unstoppable behemoths in an offensive system where he’s flanked with perimeter shooters, with the Detroit Pistons‘ center averaging a career-high 16.7 points per game on 52.3 percent shooting.

Drummond’s offensive game is still mostly limited to put-backs, layups, dunks and alley-oops, but his work with Reggie Jackson in the pick-and-roll makes the Pistons brutal to defend, especially as a constant lob threat around the basket. Drummond is also improving defensively, averaging 1.6 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.

The Pistons are currently fighting for the playoff lives, and they’re still probably a year or two away from being where they want to be. But with Josh Smith and Greg Monroe no longer clogging up the paint, Drummond is starting to live up to his massive potential.

More hoops habit: NBA: Ranking The League's Top 21-Year-Olds

Even if we were to cast his potential aside, however, there is no 22-year-old in the NBA right now that’s more dominant than Andre Drummond.