Greatest shot blocker in each NBA team’s history

Best shot blocker from Denver Nuggets history: Dikembe Mutombo

Dikembe Mutombo may be better remembered for his time with the Atlanta Hawks or even with the Philadelphia 76ers, where he contributed to the 2001 title run in which Philly stole a Game 1 from the Los Angeles Lakers at home. But his career started off with the Denver Nuggets after they selected him fourth overall in the 1991 NBA Draft.

The Nuggets, an atrociously bad defensive team at the time, desperately needed a shot blocker, and Mutombo was that guy from day one. There was no rookie orientation off the bench for him, as he averaged over 35 minutes in his rookie season, making an All-Star team in season one.

In his rookie season he averaged 3.0 blocks per game. By 1995-96, his final season as a Nugget, he averaged 4.5 blocks per game, which led the league (his third year in a row winning the blocks title).

Mutombo leads the franchise in blocks with 1,486, racking up 3.8 per game while in a Denver uniform.

While his prowess as a rim protector in Atlanta was covered in a previous slide within this article, Mutombo’s defensive brilliance was in its prime in Denver.

Honorable mention — Marcus Camby

Coming out of college as part of the legendary draft class of 1996, Marcus Camby had all the physical tools needed to become a dominant force on the defensive end. Needless to say, he took advantage of those gifts quite well.

Aside from being 6-foot-11, Camby’s reach stretched very far, with especially lanky arms that allowed him to reach even what appeared to be the farthest of shots. It was this combination of size and length that made Camby one of the best shot-blockers in the game, averaging 2.4 for his career and leading the league in blocks per game four times.

As a Nugget, Camby logged 3.0 blocks per game, impressive considering the franchise-leading Mutombo blocked 3.4 per game.

Even if it appeared his legs were too far away to make up the ground needed to get to the ball, Camby’s arms stretched so wide, he could take a single stride and get just a fingertip on the ball in order to knock it away.

On the other end of the floor, Camby wasn’t anything special offensively. In fact, he somewhat struggled to convert his looks, shooting just 46.2 percent in six seasons with the Denver Nuggets.

Nonetheless, his defense made up for his offensive deficiencies, providing an elite rim protector that allowed his perimeter teammates to pressure their guys. Opposing ball handlers knew that if they were to get by the perimeter defense, Camby was waiting near the bucket to send the shot back where it came from.

Camby’s career high in points per game was only 14.8, which came during his rookie season. The reason he lasted though, was because of what he did at the other end. The 2007 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Camby was an especially difficult man to score on, which is what helped in last 17 seasons in the NBA.

Editor’s note: Josh Wilson contributed to an edit of this slide