Bulls’ Andre Drummond records 9th career game with 25+ rebounds, the most by an NBA player since 2000

Chicago Bulls center Andre Drummond notched his ninth career game with at least 25 rebounds, the most by an NBA player since 2000, during Wednesday night’s 132-123 double-overtime win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The two-time All-Star ended his performance with 17 points, a season-high 26 rebounds, one assist, and three blocks in 36 minutes as a starter. He finished 8-of-12 (66.7%) shooting from the field.

Dwight Howard registered eight such games across his 18-year career. Five other players each posted three such games — Ben Wallace (2000-07), Tim Duncan (2002-10), Tyson Chandler (2012-16), DeAndre Jordan (2014-17), and Rudy Gobert (2016-21).

Tonight was Andre Drummond’s 9th career game with 25+ rebounds, which is now the most since 2000 💪#NBA ⎹ #Bulls pic.twitter.com/qhiWTwgSVK

— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) February 29, 2024

Moreover, DeMar DeRozan closed out his outing with a game-high 35 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists against Cleveland. Nikola Vucevic added 24 points and 13 boards. The Bulls set an NBA high in rebounds this season with 74.

“It just speaks to this team, we continue to fight,” Drummond said. “We gave a good fight. Yesterday, we let our guard down a little bit. We knew what we did wrong. Tonight, we played a team that was very high in the standings and came out ready to play.”

Chicago Bulls center Andre Drummond grabbed a season-high 25 rebounds against Atlanta Hawks

Through 59 games (10 starts) this season, the 12-year veteran is averaging 8.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.0 steal, and 17.2 minutes per game while shooting 56% from the floor and 57.4% at the foul line.

Drummond, 30, is averaging a total rebound percentage of 29%, just second to last season (29.6%).

In Chicago’s 118-113 victory against the Atlanta Hawks on Dec. 26, the 6-foot-11 center posted a season-high 24 points, 25 boards, one assist, three steals, and two blocks in 38 minutes of action.

DON’T FORGET ABOUT DRE.@NBCSChicago | @AndreDrummond pic.twitter.com/27I0IF2d9i

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) February 29, 2024

Bulls coach Billy Donovan praised the UConn product during an interview in January.

“I also think for him, the things that he does do are valuable on any team,” Donovan told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “If he can really rim protect, if he can rebound, and then be an elite roller to the basket, there is a place in the game for him. He doesn’t need to be a stretch-five.”

Furthermore, Drummond has led the league in total rebounds four times (2016, 2018-20) in his career. In his 12th season, he ranks 11th in total rebounds (528), 18th in rebounds per game, and third in offensive rebounds (205).