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

By Christopher Jeter

Patrick Ewing, New York Knicks (Photo credit should read MATT CAMPBELL/AFP via Getty Images)
Patrick Ewing, New York Knicks (Photo credit should read MATT CAMPBELL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
(Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Best rebounder in San Antonio Spurs history: Tim Duncan

As a franchise, the San Antonio Spurs have been a model of consistency for pretty much their entire existence. So it’s only fitting that their best rebounder (and best all-time) player is emblematic of the team’s longstanding success.

This isn’t much of a hot take, but the Spurs and Tim Duncan were the perfect fit for each other. This makes it all the more hilarious that the team only ended up with the former Wake Forest standout via dumb luck.

After a season-ending injury to David Robinson torpedoed the Spurs’ playoff hopes in 1996-97, the team ended up with the No. 1 overall pick thanks to the draft lottery, effectively making them the winners of the Tim Duncan sweepstakes.

San Antonio indeed took Duncan with the first pick in the 1997 NBA Draft. He along with Robinson propped the Spurs back up to championship contender status.

The team maintained that standard as Duncan became the focal point of the team alongside Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and later Kawhi Leonard, as his steady dominance on both ends of the floor netted him 15 All-Star appearances, three NBA Finals MVP awards and two NBA MVP trophies.

Duncan’s success as a rebounder also exemplified his steady overall production. Starting with his rookie season, Duncan averaged 10 or more boards per game for 13 straight years. With consistency like that, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to know that Duncan ranks first on the Spurs’ all-time list for offensive, defensive and total rebounds.

Sure there were players that averaged more per game, but no one was as good for as long as Duncan was. That’s as impressive as any attention-grabbing total.