NBA: The best rebounder of all time from every NBA team

Best rebounder in Los Angeles Lakers history: Elgin Baylor

Much like the Houston Rockets, the Los Angeles Lakers history is filled with dominant big men, from George Mikan to Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Shaquille O’Neal. This makes it all the more amazing that a small forward leads the team in total rebounds. It’s even more fitting that it’s one that was ahead of his time like Elgin Baylor.

Drafted first overall by the then-Minneapolis Lakers in the 1958 NBA Draft, Baylor wowed fans with his athleticism long before the likes of Michael Jordan, Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady and others hit the scene. Aside from his prolific scoring and solid passing ability, Baylor was also a gifted rebounder.

At 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, Baylor used his superior physical gifts to grab rebounds that others at his position couldn’t. Because of this, Baylor averaged a double-double in 11 of his 14 seasons.

His best rebounding season came in 1960-61, when he hauled in 19.8 boards per night, which was good for fourth in the league that year. The players who finished ahead of him: Bob Pettit, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. That’s right. In his prime, Baylor’s rebounding prowess was on par with the three most dominant centers of the era.

Of course, Baylor, like plenty of his contemporaries, benefitted from the break-neck pace of the NBA during that time. For example, when Baylor put up those gaudy rebounding stats in 1960-61, the typical NBA team averaged 127.7 possessions per game and shot 41.5 percent from the field.

By comparison, the fastest paced team in the NBA this year, the Atlanta Hawks, average 106.7 possessions per night and shoot 45.3 percent from the field.

Baylor had more chances to get rebounds based on the possessions and the missed shots. But other players had those same chances and few of them compiled as many rebounds as Baylor. Hence why he is at the top of the Lakers all-time leaderboard for rebounds and on this list.