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

Best rebounder in Phoenix Suns history: Shawn Marion

As mentioned in the intro, rebounding is in many ways an unheralded aspect of basketball, which makes the fitting that Shawn Marion made his way onto this list. Nicknamed “The Matrix”, Marion was a player that embodied the saying “jack of all trades, master of none”, as his combination of size, skill and athleticism made him a vital cog in the “Six Seconds or Less” Phoenix Suns in the mid-2000’s.

At his peak, Marion could handle the ball and create his own shot, space the floor as a competent shooter despite an unorthodox push shot and guard multiple positions. He also possessed a jump-out-the-gym vertical leap, which allowed him to dunk on unsuspecting defenders and clean the glass for a Suns team that didn’t have a dominant rebounder.

In parts of nine seasons with the Suns, Marion averaged 10.0 rebounds per game, which is good for third on the franchise’s all-time list. This was anchored by four seasons where he brought in at least 10.2 boards per night. In terms of cumulative stats, Marion holds the all-time team records for offensive and defensive rebounds.

Of course, one could point to the Suns’ rapid pace for that era as a contributing factor to Marion’s totals. However, Suns forward Amar’e Stoudemire played in the same system for roughly the same time and he has over 2,000 fewer rebounds than Marion does, despite playing a more rebounding-friendly position.

In many ways, those mid-2000’s Suns teams were ahead of their time. Marion fits into that category, too. His myriad of talents would have made him even more valuable now than he was during his prime. Marion excelling at rebounding to the degree that he did was a bit surprising, but not really, since he was good at pretty much everything else.