Grade the take: Andre Drummond crowns himself the 'best rebounder' in NBA history at 76ers media day

They say confidence is key, and Andre Drummond isn't lacking in the confidence department. At the Philadelphia 76ers media day, Drummond proclaimed himself the greatest rebounder ever to play this game. Usually, others heap this type of praise onto athletes, but Drummond is as confident as they come and has grounds to stand on this claim.

Drummond will be one of the best backup centers in the league for the 76ers this year, but at his peak, he was an All-Star rebounding machine. From 2014 to 2020, Drummond dominated, averaging 15 points a game and 15 rebounds — unprecedented in the modern era. He averaged a mindboggling 16 boards in 2018 — since 1990, only Dennis Rodman has eclipsed that number.

Making the since 1990 distinction is key because many eras in the past played at a much higher pace. Pace is the number of possessions a team uses during a game over 48 minutes (unless overtime).

Here is each NBA decade pace:

• 1970s: 106.10
• 1980s: 101.54
• 1990s: 93.70
• 2000s: 91.30
• 2010s: 94.50
• 2020s: 99.08

Players in the past had many more possessions and more opportunities to gain rebounds. Wilt Chamberlin has the most rebounds of all time, with 23,924 career rebounds. He holds the NBA record 55 rebounds in a game and 11 rebounding titles (Drummond has 4, Rodman has 7). All of these incredible feats need context when you consider how many more chances Wilt (and greats from the past) had over Drummond and Rodman.

While Chamberlin had more opportunities, playing 48 minutes a game in a 48-minute game is a testament to his greatness, it doesn't bolster Drummonds's original point. The other greats in Chamberlin's era also cleaned the glass like there was no tomorrow.

List of players that averaged 20 rebounds per game:

• Wilt Chamberlin — 10x
• Bill Russell — 9x
• Nate Thurmond
• Bob Pettit
• Jerry Lucas

It actually makes it more impressive that Wilt could snag all those boards while dealing with this group of talent. There were only 12 NBA teams back then, so he played these centers more frequently than Drummond faces other board guzzlers.

Drummond can stand on the fact that he's not a 7-footer dominating the glass like this. He has a massive frame at 6-foot-11 and a knack for where the ball is going. I'd argue that Drummond would be an elite rebounder if he were 6-foot-6 because of how he tracks the ball when it comes off the rim. Drummond has impeccable positioning when in the paint battling for loose balls.

However, those traits also make up Dennis Rodman's GOAT rebounder case, and he was even smaller than Drummond at 6-foot-7. For my money, Rodman is actually the greatest rebounder of all time. Those eye-popping numbers, paired with his miniature stature compared to these bigs, leave me speechless. The Worm had the best knack for the ball I've ever seen.

Grade the Take: C+

I love it when players exude confidence in themselves. Those are the types of players you want to be in the foxhole with. Drummond and Rodman are the only players who played after 1990 to rank in the top 15 rebounds per game All-Time. That's nothing to sneeze at. That alone is good enough for him to feel like he's the best who has done it.

What Drummond has done in the modern era is to be commended, and he can stand on the fact that he's the best rebounder of the 2010s/2020s. But All-Time? I can't get there, even though he has the merit to feel like this.