Brook Lopez ranks among the Brooklyn Nets’ all-time leading rebounders in franchise history.
The Brooklyn Nets have invested lofty draft capital on versatile players over the years. Many have put in strong work on the boards, despite housing some undersized bigs. Here’s a look at the top five rebounders in the franchise’s history:
The Nets’ runaway franchise leader in career rebounds, Buck Williams also ranks 16th all-time in league history in this category. The well-rounded big man was also a highly capable scorer and excellent defensive presence, but his work on the boards, particularly during his Nets tenure, was a study in consistency. Williams averaged between 12.0 and 12.5 rebounds per contest over his first six seasons after the Nets selected him third overall in the 1981 NBA draft. Williams’ prowess on the boards helped fuel his NBA Rookie of the Year honors in 1982, as well as his three career All-Star selections, all which came during his time with the Nets.
Brook Lopez is the only active player on the list, as the highly versatile big man is still impressing at age 36 while holding down the starting center gig with the Milwaukee Bucks. However, Lopez laid the foundation for his prolific career with the Nets, which made him the 10th overall pick in 2008 after an impressive college tenure at Stanford. Lopez’s early-career durability – playing in 239 out of a possible 246 regular-season games over his first three seasons – helped him get a jump start on piling up rebounds. Even with injury-shortened campaigns in both 2011-12 and 2013-14, Lopez still clawed his way to runner-up status in New Jersey/Brooklyn history.
Derrick Coleman was the first overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft, following a memorable college career at Syracuse and subsequently parlayed the momentum into Rookie of the Year honors at the end of the 1990-91 campaign. Coleman was a highly productive offensive weapon in New Jersey – he never averaged less than 18.4 points per game. He also contributed double-digit rebounding averages in all but one of his Nets campaigns. Coleman had several more productive tenures with the likes of the 76ers and Hornets after moving on from New Jersey, but his formative years were arguably his best.
Gminski was a contemporary of Williams, preceding the franchise rebounding leader by one season when he was selected with the seventh overall pick in 1980 following an exemplary college career at Duke. The 6-foot-11 Gminski’s journey into the top five wasn’t as linear as those of his franchise mates – he didn’t start a single game as a rookie yet still pulled down an impressive 7.5 boards per contest. In fact, Gminski would only log seven starts overall in his first three seasons, yet made up for lost time by averaging between 7.8 to 9.4 rebounds per game once he became a regular member of the first unit over his last four Nets seasons.
Before becoming head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, Jason Kidd was originally drafted by the team in 1994 as the second overall pick. Kidd had a noteworthy six-plus-season Nets tenure that began with a June 2001 trade from the Phoenix Suns. Kidd’s skills as a facilitator earned him more accolades, but the versatile guard averaged between 6.3 and 8.2 rebounds per contest during his time in New Jersey. That includes 8.1 boards per contest during his final 51 games in the 2007-08 season before a trade to the Mavericks for his second tenure as a player in Dallas.
