2020 NBA Champion, Dwight Howard headlines Charlotte’s top five in single season rebounds per game.
The Charlotte Hornets franchise began in 1988-89. Despite their limited history in the NBA, they have seen some players produce some spectacular rebounding numbers. Let’s highlight their top five players in terms of rebounds per game for a single season.
Dwight Howard, 2017-18, 12.5 Rebounds Per Game
Howard played the first eight seasons of his career with the Magic. During his time with the team, he led the league in rebounds per game four times. He then led the NBA in rebounds per game with the Lakers in 2012-13. In his lone season with the Hornets, he averaged 30 minutes over 81 games in 2017-18. He turned his heavy workload into averages of 12.5 rebounds, 16.6 points and 1.6 blocks per game. Howard played for seven different franchises during his time in the NBA and averaged 11.8 rebounds per game for his career.
Anthony Mason, 1996-97, 11.4 Rebounds Per Game
The 1996-97 season was Mason’s first with the Hornets. He played 73 games and led the league by averaging 43 minutes per game. The added playing time helped him average 16.2 points, 11.4 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. He made All-Defensive Second Team and All-NBA Third Team that season. Across 236 career regular season games with the Hornets, Mason averaged 10.0 rebounds.
Larry Johnson, 1991-92, 11.0 Rebounds Per Game
The Hornets selected Johnson with the first pick in the 1991 Draft. He averaged 11.0 rebounds per game during his rookie season, which ended up being the highest mark of his career. He also averaged 19.2 points and 3.6 assists that season, which helped him win the Rookie of the Year award. Over five seasons with the Hornets, Johnson made two All-Star teams and averaged 9.2 rebounds per game. Johnson then spent five seasons with the Knicks before retiring from the NBA.
Emeka Okafor, 2004-05, 10.9 Rebounds Per Game
The then Charlotte Bobcats selected Okafor with the second pick in the 2004 Draft. He averaged 15.1 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks during his first season to win the Rookie of the Year award. Okafor would eventually average at least 10.0 rebounds per game in each of his first five seasons in the league. In 2006-07, he averaged a career high 11.3 rebounds per game. Okafor was a great offensive rebounder, averaging 3.2 offensive rebounds per game for his career.
Al Jefferson, 2013-14, 10.8 Rebounds Per Game
Jefferson played for the Celtics, Timberwolves and Jazz before joining the Bobcats prior to the 2013-14 season. In his first season with the franchise, he averaged 35 minutes across 73 games. It was an excellent campaign that saw him average 21.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. That helped him earn All-NBA Third Team honors and finish eighth in MVP voting. Jefferson played a total of 185 games for the Bobcats/Hornets franchise and averaged 8.9 rebounds.
