List of NBA single-game rebounding leaders

This is a list of National Basketball Association players who have had 38 or more rebounds in a single game and a list of players who have had 30 or more rebounds in a single game since the NBA/ABA merger in 1976.

Multiple occurrences: Wilt Chamberlain 29 times (four times in the playoffs) and Bill Russell 23 times (seven times in the playoffs).

The NBA did not record rebounds until the 1950–51 season.

Single-game leaders

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Key
^ Active NBA players
* Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration[a]
Occurred in playoff competition
Single-game leaders
Rebounds Player Team Date Opponent Notes
55 Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia Warriors November 24, 1960 Boston Celtics Record set in a losing effort; grabbed 31 rebounds in one half; scored 34 points.
51 Bill Russell* Boston Celtics February 5, 1960 Syracuse Nationals Set a then-record for rebounds in a game; set a still-standing record for rebounds in a winning effort.
49 Bill Russell* Boston Celtics November 16, 1957 Philadelphia Warriors Set a then-record for rebounds in a game; set a still-standing record of 32 rebounds in a single half.
Bill Russell* Boston Celtics March 11, 1965 Detroit Pistons
45 Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia Warriors February 6, 1960 Syracuse Nationals Single-game record for a rookie; scored 44 points; the fourth quadruple double-double in NBA history.
Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia Warriors January 21, 1961 Los Angeles Lakers Scored 56 points; the fifth quadruple double-double in NBA history.
43 Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia Warriors November 10, 1959 New York Knicks Set a then-record for a rookie; scored 39 points.
Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia Warriors December 8, 1961 Los Angeles Lakers Triple overtime; Chamberlain also scored a then-record 78 points in the game; the sixth quadruple double-double in NBA history.
Bill Russell* Boston Celtics January 20, 1963 Los Angeles Lakers
Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia 76ers March 6, 1965 Boston Celtics
42 Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia Warriors January 15, 1960 Boston Celtics Rookie season; scored 44 points; the second quadruple double-double in NBA history.
Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia Warriors January 25, 1960 Detroit Pistons Rookie season; Chamberlain also scored a rookie record 58 points in the same game; the third quadruple double-double in NBA history.
Nate Thurmond* San Francisco Warriors November 9, 1965 Detroit Pistons
Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia 76ers January 14, 1966 Boston Celtics Scored 37 points.
Wilt Chamberlain* Los Angeles Lakers March 7, 1969 Boston Celtics Overtime.
41 Bill Russell* Boston Celtics February 12, 1958 Syracuse Nationals
Wilt Chamberlain* San Francisco Warriors October 26, 1962 Detroit Pistons Overtime; scored 50 points; the seventh quadruple double-double in NBA history.
Bill Russell* Boston Celtics March 14, 1965 San Francisco Warriors
Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia 76ers April 5, 1967 Boston Celtics Game 3 victory in the Eastern Division finals.
40 Bill Russell* Boston Celtics March 23, 1958 Philadelphia Warriors Game 3 victory in the Eastern Division finals.
Bill Russell* Boston Celtics December 12, 1958 Cincinnati Royals Overtime.
Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia Warriors November 4, 1959 Syracuse Nationals Set a then-record for a rookie; third game of career; scored 41 points; the first quadruple double-double in NBA history.
Bill Russell* Boston Celtics March 29, 1960 St. Louis Hawks NBA Finals record (tie)
Bill Russell* Boston Celtics February 12, 1961 Philadelphia Warriors
Bill Russell* Boston Celtics April 18, 1962 Los Angeles Lakers NBA Finals record (tie); game 7 overtime victory; Russell's 19 rebounds in a single quarter is the most of any NBA quarter — regular season or playoffs; scored 30 points.
Jerry Lucas* Cincinnati Royals February 29, 1964 Philadelphia 76ers His rookie season.
Wilt Chamberlain* San Francisco Warriors November 22, 1964 Detroit Pistons Scored 50 points; the eighth and final quadruple double-double in NBA history.
Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia 76ers December 28, 1965 Boston Celtics Scored 31 points.
39 Neil Johnston* Philadelphia Warriors December 4, 1954 Syracuse Nationals Set a then-record.
Bill Russell* Boston Celtics January 25, 1959 Detroit Pistons
Bill Russell* Boston Celtics December 19, 1959 New York Knicks
Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia Warriors December 28, 1959 Cincinnati Royals Rookie season; scored 39 points.
Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia Warriors January 13, 1960 Syracuse Nationals Rookie season; scored 42 points.
Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia Warriors January 29, 1960 Boston Celtics Rookie season; scored 43 points.
Bill Russell* Boston Celtics March 19, 1960 Philadelphia Warriors
Bill Russell* Boston Celtics March 23, 1961 Syracuse Nationals
Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia Warriors November 4, 1961 Detroit Pistons Scored 58 points.
Bill Russell* Boston Celtics December 21, 1961 New York Knicks
Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia 76ers April 6, 1965 Boston Celtics Scored 30 points.
38 Maurice Stokes* Rochester Royals January 14, 1956 Syracuse Nationals Rookie season; triple-double, scored 26 points with 12 assists.
Bill Russell* Boston Celtics February 23, 1958 Philadelphia Warriors
Bill Russell* Boston Celtics December 4, 1959 New York Knicks
Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia Warriors November 29, 1960 Los Angeles Lakers Scored 44 points.
Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia Warriors December 18, 1960 Cincinnati Royals Scored 32 points.
Bill Russell* Boston Celtics April 11, 1961 St. Louis Hawks Scored 30 points
Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia Warriors November 25, 1961 Chicago Packers Scored 39 points.
Bill Russell* Boston Celtics February 21, 1963 San Francisco Warriors
Wilt Chamberlain* San Francisco Warriors February 21, 1963 Boston Celtics Scored 40 points.
Bill Russell* Boston Celtics April 16, 1963 Los Angeles Lakers
Wilt Chamberlain* San Francisco Warriors April 24, 1964 Boston Celtics
Bill Russell* Boston Celtics January 30, 1965 New York Knicks
Bill Russell* Boston Celtics March 3, 1965 Los Angeles Lakers
Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia 76ers March 2, 1967 San Francisco Warriors Triple-double, scored 24 points with 13 assists.
Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia 76ers April 16, 1967 San Francisco Warriors Triple-double, scored 10 points with 10 assists; 26 rebounds in one half, setting the NBA Playoffs record.
Wilt Chamberlain* Philadelphia 76ers December 20, 1967 Seattle SuperSonics Scored 53 points.
Wilt Chamberlain* Los Angeles Lakers March 9, 1969 Baltimore Bullets

Since NBA/ABA Merger (1976)

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Single-game leaders
Rebounds Player Team Date Opponent Notes
37 Moses Malone* Houston Rockets February 9, 1979 New Orleans Jazz Scored 33 points.
35 Charles Oakley Chicago Bulls April 22, 1988 Cleveland Cavaliers
34 Dennis Rodman* Detroit Pistons March 4, 1992 Indiana Pacers Overtime.
Rony Seikaly Miami Heat March 3, 1993 Washington Bullets
33 Swen Nater Milwaukee Bucks December 19, 1976 Atlanta Hawks Scored 30 points.
Kevin Willis Atlanta Hawks February 19, 1992 Washington Bullets Overtime.
Charles Barkley* Houston Rockets November 2, 1996 Phoenix Suns
32 Robert Parish* Golden State Warriors March 30, 1979 New York Knicks Scored 30 points.
Swen Nater San Diego Clippers December 14, 1979 Denver Nuggets
Moses Malone* Houston Rockets February 11, 1982 Seattle SuperSonics Scored 38 points.
Dennis Rodman* Detroit Pistons January 28, 1992 Charlotte Hornets Overtime.
Dennis Rodman* San Antonio Spurs January 22, 1994 Dallas Mavericks
31 Larry Smith Golden State Warriors March 28, 1981 Denver Nuggets His rookie season.
Kevin Willis Atlanta Hawks December 3, 1991 Dallas Mavericks
Dennis Rodman* Detroit Pistons March 14, 1992 Sacramento Kings
Dikembe Mutombo* Denver Nuggets March 26, 1996 Charlotte Hornets Double overtime.
Kevin Love^ Minnesota Timberwolves November 12, 2010 New York Knicks Scored 31 points; youngest player to record 30+ rebounds in a single game.
Jusuf Nurkić^ Phoenix Suns March 3, 2024 Oklahoma City Thunder
30 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* Los Angeles Lakers February 3, 1978 New Jersey Nets Overtime; scored 37 points.
Swen Nater Buffalo Braves March 4, 1978 New Jersey Nets
Michael Cage Los Angeles Clippers April 24, 1988 Seattle SuperSonics
Dennis Rodman* San Antonio Spurs February 21, 1995 Houston Rockets
Andrew Bynum Los Angeles Lakers April 11, 2012 San Antonio Spurs
Dwight Howard Charlotte Hornets March 21, 2018 Brooklyn Nets Scored 32 points.
Enes Kanter Freedom Portland Trail Blazers April 10, 2021 Detroit Pistons

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ A player is not eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame until he has been fully retired for three calendar years.
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