Ranking the 5 best rebounders in the 2023 NBA Draft

1. C Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky

Oscar Tshiebwe may be one of the best rebounders in college basketball history. He’s certainly the best rebounder in the 2023 NBA Draft class. And yet, there’s a non-zero chance that his name is never called on Thursday night.

Seriously, just have a look at his numbers this past season. He averaged a whopping 13.7 rebounds per game, near impossible to do at the college level. His rebound percentage was above 25 percent. Nothing and nobody stops Tshiebwe from getting his boards.

The year before this past one, he averaged even more rebounds, 15.2 per game (guess he was slacking a bit as a senior). He led the nation in rebounds in each of the past two years and ranks 9th in SEC history in total career rebounds – and that’s having spent only two years at Kentucky after starting his career at West Virginia.

How could a player that dominant on the boards potentially go undrafted?

For starters, his lengthy career in college means that his ceiling already may not be far off. The big man is already halfway to his 24th birthday. There are certainly players in recent history that get off to a late start in the pros and still boom, but it’s a trickier path.

And speaking of “big” men, Tshiebwe’s relentless motor hides the fact that he’s not particularly big. In fact, he may be one of the shorter centers in the league next season if he maintains that position, standing just 6-foot-7, though the 7-foot-4 wingspan doesn’t hurt.

His offensive game is also limited. He’s been working on his shooting during the pre-draft process, but it’s far from refined.

So the best rebounder in the draft class is considered a fringe second-round draft pick and could wind up hitting the market as an undrafted free agent. Go figure.