NBA rebounding leader best bet: Which big will dominate the glass?

While point guards are often evaluated on assist or point totals, centers are assessed largely on their rebounding prowess.

There's no official award for the NBA's rebounding king, but the player is still acknowledged as the statistical leader for the season. Domantas Sabonis earned the title last year.

Since Andre Drummond led the league in three straight seasons from 2017-2020, there's been a different winner in each of the last three campaigns.

Let's find out who's most likely to earn the distinction this season.

Rebounds per-game leader odds

Unsurprisingly, the guys who led the league in rebounding last year are atop the oddsboard this year. Rebounding isn't a statistic with much year-to-year variance. The players who collect the most boards are centers or forwards because they're under the basket when a shot goes up on offense or defense.

Those players' roles don't change much, so they'll all be in contention to win this season.

Anthony Davis averaged the most rebounds last year despite Sabonis winning the title. To qualify as an NBA leader in any statistical category, a player must play at least 70% of his team's games - 58 of 82. Davis only played in 56 contests last year.

He could be a worthy bet this season assuming he stays healthy. However, reports from Lakers training camp indicate his 3-pointer, which was so abysmal over the last three years that he largely shied away from taking those shots, has improved, and head coach Darvin Ham is encouraging him to shoot more.

Davis will still be a rebounding machine, but if he's hanging out on the perimeter more, his offensive rebounding numbers could take a hit. He grabbed 3.5 offensive boards per game last season.

Steven Adams also failed to reach the threshold. He would have been in contention but only played 42 games.

Giannis Antetokounmpo's height and athleticism make him one of the NBA's best rebounders. He led the league in defensive rebounds last season, and part of that was by design. The 6-foot-11 point forward often served as the initiator of the Bucks' offense, which led to him bringing the ball up the floor and leading the transition break.

The other Bucks players often cleared out so Antetokounmpo could grab the rebound and push it, rather than have someone else snag the rebound - like center Brook Lopez - and outlet it. This is part of the reason Lopez only averaged 6.7 rebounds per game last season.

However, with Damian Lillard's arrival and a new coach, the team will likely want to get the ball in Lillard's hands to begin each possession, which could lead to a decrease in Antetokounmpo's defensive rebounds.

After Rudy Gobert won the rebounding crown in 2021-22 averaging 14.7 rebounds with the Jazz, his numbers dipped in his first year with the Timberwolves. Playing alongside bigs Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid doesn't help.

Sabonis' role as both a back-to-the-basket and face-up big makes him a prime threat to grab an abundance of boards. He showed it last season when he led the league, which was a huge part of the Kings' success. He's a prime candidate to repeat with the same core and same system, but he's tough to back as the favorite.

Nikola Jokic doesn't seem like a dominant rebounder. He's not overly athletic, but his body resembles a tree trunk and he's incredibly long. He doesn't grab offensive rebounds as frequently as some of the other guys previously discussed, but he's always in the perfect position to snatch the ball off the defensive glass.

It's hard for an opposing player to shake past him for an offensive putback. In 2021-22 he averaged 13.8 rebounds, second only to Gobert. At +360, it's worth a worthwhile wager to make in hopes Jokic can get back to similar numbers this season, which should be enough to lead the league.

Pick: Jokic to lead the league in rebounding +360 (bet $10 to win $36)

Sam Oshtry is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @soshtry for more betting coverage.