“It’s Just the Want”: Andre Drummond Spills the Secret Behind Becoming One of the NBA’s Greatest Rebounders

With four rebounding titles to his name, Andre Drummond shares the fifth spot for most rebounding titles in NBA history with Hall of Famers Bill Russell and Kevin Garnett. His standing becomes even more impressive when you consider that he has played backup minutes for most of his career.

During an appearance on ‘Podcast P with Paul George’, the Philadelphia 76er shared his approach to crashing the glass. “I think it’s just the want,” the 31-year-old said.

“When I came in the league, I knew I wasn’t about to average 30 plus points, I wasn’t about to shoot a bunch of threes or even get any isos at that,” Drummond added.

Therefore, the talented center chose rebounds as a way to thrive in the NBA. Drummond recognized his potential early in his rookie campaign when he looked at the league leaders in rebounding.

“I seen that Dwight [Howard] was averaging like 12.5 [rebounds] or something like that… And I was averaging like 9 at the time, playing like 16 minutes as a rookie. So, I’m like, if I get more minutes, I can f**king be the best rebounder to ever play this game. So, I just set out to be the best,” he told George.

The Pistons saw his potential too, as Drummond’s minutes jumped from 20.7 in his first season to 32.3 during his sophomore year. With the increased touches, he began a streak of averaging double-doubles that ended 8 seasons later in 2021.

In 2015-16, he even made an All-NBA Team by averaging 16.2 points and 14.8 rebounds, winning the first of his four rebounding titles. While it’s hard to put him over Hall of Famers like Dennis Rodman, Drummond has certainly made a case for being the best rebounder of the past decade.

Effort on the glass will keep Andre Drummond employed

Despite lacking a bag of post moves or any noteworthy playmaking ability, Drummond knows that his NBA career is far from over. On Paul George’s podcast, he explained how his tenacity on the glass makes him a valuable specialist in the league.

“It’s not sexy either. I know nobody is like, trying to chase the rebounding title. No one is chasing that. So, I’m like, this is the lane that I can take and I’ll have a job forever because I mastered that art. And teams need guys who can rebound,” the two-time All-Star shared.

He is currently in the first season of a 2-year, $10 million contract with the 76ers. His value to the team is especially high with Joel Embiid’s unavailability and Drummond has continued to take advantage of that. In 27 appearances, he has corralled 10 or more rebounds eight times.

The veteran is currently averaging 7 points and 7.7 rebounds in just 19.2 minutes of play. In fact, in terms of efficiency, Drummond is a historically good rebounder. Among all players to garner at least 10,000 minutes in the NBA, he is the all-time leader in total rebounding percentage.

TRB adjusts a players rebounds to the total rebounds available when they were on the court. He leads the entire league with 25.1%. Dennis Rodman comes in third with 23.4%.

Of course, the statistic should be taken with a grain of salt. Particularly since it was introduced in 1970 and can’t account for players like Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. But it goes a long way to show that Andre Drummond, regardless of exactly where he stands, is one of the greatest rebounders in NBA history.