On The Rebound

The time of the 2009-2010 NBA season is slowly coming to a close. Within the next six to nine days, basketball season will be officially over and all we will have left to watch are two sports that are dominated by foreigners (baseball and fútbol). Luckily we still have a little bit of time to talk about sports that most Americans actually watch (and by most Americans, I mean myself).

In my opinion, I feel that the NBA is finally starting to become fun again. The playoffs have been very exciting and now that LeBron is a free agent (and by now, I mean July 1st), the league is actually getting some decent exposure. All I can say is that the NBA is on the rebound. So in honor of the league finally starting to become credible again, I thought I would list some of the greatest rebounders of all time (In no particular order, because I’m too lazy/uneducated to rank).

Charles Barkley

Before Sir Charles was the most ridiculous announcer on TV, he was the most ridiculous power forward in the league. Barkley was nicknamed “The Round Mound of Rebound” due to his fat frame and affluence on the boards. Remarkably, the dominating force stood at only 6’6″, making him one of the smallest Power Forwards since Frank and Langley played in the YMCA League.

Brad Pitt

Before Brad Pitt adopted half the population of Africa, he was just some heartthrob married to the girl from Friends (no, not like David Arquette). Brad and Jennifer Aniston had a storybook romance until the two split in 2005. Lucky for Brad, he was able to get the rebound from a girl that was just dumped by Billy Bob Thornton. And now “BrAngelina” are one of the biggest Hollywood power couples and Jennifer Aniston is single… Everybody Wins!

Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt is arguably the most dominant player to ever step on the court.  He holds the record for most career rebounds (23,924), led the league in rebounds for 11 seasons, and the guy once picked up 55 boards in ONE GAME! He didn’t really do much on the offensive side though… Only leading the league in scoring for 7 seasons and scoring 100 points in one game. But there is one thing Chamberlain does not succeed at… abstinence.

TYCO Rebound

Have you guys ever seen this toy!?! It was the only RC Car that you could completely flip over and it would keep driving upside down. The thing never stopped. And since the TYCO Rebound was easily the coolest remote control car of my childhood, it deserves to be on this list.

Dennis Rodman

Before becoming the winner of Celebrity Mole, Dennis The Menace was one of the best big men to ever play the game. He led the NBA in rebounds for a league-record 7 consecutive seasons and was known for his physical style and aggressive attitude. But his most dominant showing was in the 1996 NBA Finals, when Rodman recorded 11 offensive rebounds in back-to-back games, single-handedly taking over both of those games. Nowadays, he has been busy with such great VH1 shows as the Celebrity Rehab and Sober House… at least he is trying to rebound his life, I guess.

Martin Lawrence

Ironically, the movie Rebound was the poorest performing movie of Martin Lawrence’s life. It is about a basketball coach that leads a rag-tag middle school team and the rest is history. And by history, I mean Martin Lawrence’s career. After becoming one of the biggest comedians in the industry, he hasn’t been in a good movie since Blue Streak. Let’s hope Martin can rebound his career with Wild Hogs 2: Bachelor Ride.

Dwight Howard

This may be more of a future honor, but Superman is already putting himself in the record books for his defensive abilities. He is already the youngest player to record 6,000 rebounds and he doesn’t plan on stopping there. After leading the league in rebounds and blocks the past 2 seasons, look for this kid to become one of the greatest centers of all time… after Jeff Saturday, of course.