Category-by-Category Statistical Analysis for 2025 Fantasy Basketball
Welcome to “Weekly Stat Spotlight,” a deep-dive series exploring the primary statistical categories in fantasy basketball. Each week, we’ll dissect one statistical metric, providing comprehensive analysis that goes beyond surface-level numbers.
We’ll highlight elite performers capable of carrying your team in that category, break down lesser known options who can make a surprising impact, and warn against players who might sabotage your success. Lastly, we’ll provide specific matchups to look out for when optimizing your lineup decisions and transactions for category success.
The focus this week is rebounds, a deceptively complex category that warrants closer examination. While some fans may see rebounding as a simple counting stat, astute fantasy managers recognize its nuances. Factors such as offensive vs. defensive rebounding splits, contested rebound rates, and advanced metrics are worth considering to get the most out of your lineups.
Our analysis leverages CraftedNBA's Regularized Adjusted Offensive and Defensive Rebounding metrics, which isolate individual rebounding impact by accounting for teammates, opponent strength, and game context. Offensive and Defensive Rebound Quality blend Regularized Adjusted Defensive Rebounding with rebound percentage, the proportion of available rebounds a player grabs while on the floor. (Statistics as of February 7, 2025)
Top Performers
1. Domantas Sabonis
(C, Sacramento Kings)
14.3 TRB, 4.0 ORB
Sabonis has owned this category for some time now, leading the league in rebounds for the third-straight season, with steady increases year-to-year. Sabonis has benefited from volume, playing 36 MPG, second among centers behind Jokic.
It will be interesting to see whether Sacramento’s trade deadline addition of seasoned rebounder Jonas Valančiūnas has any impact on Sabonis’ sky-high totals. In their first game together, Valančiūnas logged just 17 minutes and Sabonis had a typical night with 14 boards.
2. Karl-Anthony Towns
(C, New York Knicks)
13.6 TRB, 3.2 ORB
Sabonis’ closest threat for the top rebounding spot, Towns is averaging a career-high in RPG, having already grabbed more total this season than all of last year. Sliding back over to center after two seasons playing PF alongside Rudy Gobert in Minnesota, Towns has never looked better for the surging Knicks, posting his highest career Win Shares Per 48 Minutes (.226).
Like Sabonis, who is the only other player averaging 10+ defensive rebounds per game, Towns locks down the defensive glass, grabbing over 30% of available defensive boards. Without significant competition for minutes at the big man spot for New York, expect his numbers to continue.
3. Nikola Jokic
(C, Denver Nuggets)
12.7 TRB, 3.0 ORB
Jokic regularly puts up historic scoring and assists numbers, so it can be easy to forget that he’s also one of the league’s best offensive and defensive rebounders. Among centers, Jokic trails only Clint Capela and Rudy Gobert in Regularized Adjusted Offensive Rebounding, while also ranking in the 98th percentile in Defensive Rebounding Quality.
Jokic is on pace to average a season-long triple-double for the first time, and doing so while averaging the second-highest RPG rate of his hall of fame career (13.8 RPG in 2021-22).
4. Ivica Zubac
(C, Los Angeles Clippers)
12.7 TRB, 3.8 ORB
With an uptick in responsibility, Zubac is having easily his best season as a pro and his rebounding prowess has been key to the Clippers’ success. The Bosnian seven-footer is second in rebound percentage among qualifying players, trailing only Andre Drummond, and particularly dominant on the defensive glass, ranking second in Regularized Adjusted Defensive Rebounding.
Zubac has thoroughly earned those rebounding numbers with the highest percentage of contested rebounds (48.5%) among the top-five rebounders per game.
5. Giannis Antetokounmpo
(PF, Milwaukee Bucks)
12.2 TRB, 2.3 ORB
Giannis’ 30.9% lowest contested rebound rate stands out as by far the lowest among the top-five rebounders. This may be largely attributable to his frontcourt teammate Brook Lopez, who has consistently posted low individual rebound totals throughout his career while excelling at boxing out to create rebounding opportunities for teammates.
While Giannis may not be as talented a rebounder as the raw numbers suggest, for fantasy purposes, he still makes the top-five.
Under-the-Radar Targets
1. Jusuf Nurkic
(C, Charlotte Hornets)
9.2 TRB, 1.8 ORB
Over the past three weeks, the Hornets traded the top-two centers on their depth chart, Nick Richards and Mark Williams, to the Suns and Lakers, respectively, and brought in Nurkic, a veteran double-double machine to fill the void.
Nurkic has played his worst offensive basketball since his early years in Denver, but remains a force to be reckoned with on the defensive glass. He's currently posting the highest Regularized Adjusted Defensive Rebounding mark in the league. With a clear opportunity for significant minutes on a struggling team, Nurkic is worth an add for rebound-needy squads.
2. Josh Hart
(SG, New York Knicks)
9.7 TRB, 2.2 ORB
Hart’s monster rebound numbers as a 6’4 perimeter player can be attributed to the unique way he goes about it. Unlike most bigs on the rebounding leaderboards, Hart travels great distances to chase the ball down. This season, he has grabbed more than 40% of his rebounds from 6+ feet away, including 16.8% of them from 10+ feet away.
In comparison, the league’s top rebounder, Sabonis, travels 6+ feet for a rebound 12% of the time and 10+ feet just 3.6% of the time. Combined with his elite efficiency and assist numbers, Hart is a category league superstar.
3. Walker Kessler
(C, Utah Jazz)
11.6 TRB, 4.4 ORB
Kessler, who leads the league in field goal percentage and ranks seventh overall in rebounds, doesn’t dominate the defensive boards, but leads the league on the offensive glass in just his third season. Kessler has been a force in the paint, averaging 3.4 contested offensive rebounds per game, and over half of his total rebounds coming in traffic (50.6%).
He has frequently converted offensive rebounds into points, ranking third in the league in putbacks (118), despite playing just 39 of 49 possible games.
4. Amen Thompson
(SF, Houston Rockets)
8.0 TRB, 2.7 ORB
Thompson has mesmerized fans of late with his astounding athleticism, offensive development, and remarkable defensive ability resulting in the Defensive Player of the Month award for January. With all of the recent praise he’s received, perhaps not enough has gone towards his rebounding.
Among players with over 1000 minutes played this season, Thompson ranks fourth in Regularized Adjusted Offensive Rebounding, putting his ridiculous bounciness to good use on the glass. Like Hart, Thompson is also an aggressive rebounder, traveling 6+ feet for 37% of his rebounds, including 10+ feet for 16.4% of them.
5. Kevon Looney
(C, Golden State Warriors)
6.9 TRB, 3.0 ORB
Looney (owned in just 2.2% of ESPN leagues) does not contribute much in any other statistical category and his per game rebounding numbers are not eye-catching, but the three-time champion leads the league in rebounds per 36 minutes at 15.2.
Additionally, he and Celtics center Luke Kornet are the only two players appearing in the top-15 in both Regularized Adjusted Offensive and Defensive Rebounding. With the Warriors’ addition of five-time All-Defensive Team selection Jimmy Butler, expect more available rebounds and consider slotting in Looney for a category boost.
Category Fades
1. Brook Lopez
(C, Milwaukee Bucks)
4.7 TRB, 1.1 ORB
Lopez has historically posted weak rebounding numbers for a seven-footer and this season is no different, as he ranks dead last in rebound percentage among players 6’10+. As mentioned in the Giannis section, Lopez may actually have a positive impact on team rebounding overall as one of the more skilled players at boxing out in the league.
Unfortunately, boxing out is irrelevant in fantasy, and starting Lopez will leave you with a major weakness at the center position.
2. Jaren Jackson Jr
(C, Memphis Grizzlies)
6.1 TRB, 1.4 ORB
Partly due to frequent lineups pairing Jackson Jr. with rookie center Zach Edey, only Lopez has a lower rebound percentage among starting centers. Jackson Jr. has always put up lower rebounding numbers than one might expect for a starting center and former Defensive Player of the Year.
However in combination with his lower block totals over the past two seasons, it may be time to consider swapping him out of your lineup for a center that can rebound at a higher clip.
3. Jerami Grant
(PF, Portland Trail Blazers)
3.3 TRB, 0.6 ORB
Among players 6’7+ playing 30+ MPG, Grant has the worst rebound percentage in the league at 4.8%. The advanced numbers back up his poor board work as he ranks in the 28th and 9th percentiles, respectively, in Offensive and Defensive Rebounding Quality. Grant is already having a challenging season shooting the ball, but if you needed another reason to keep him out of your PF slot, here it is.
4. Alex Sarr
(C, Washington Wizards)
6.6 TRB, 1.8 ORB
The second overall pick has struggled overall as a rookie, shooting sub-40% from the field, but his rebounding metrics are particularly worrisome for a seven-footer with a 7’4 wingspan. Sarr ranks 25th percentile in Offensive Rebounding Quality and fourth-lowest among starting centers in defensive rebound percentage (16.7%). Sarr’s rebounding will need to improve to have fantasy relevance in future seasons.
5. Kevin Durant
(PF, Phoenix Suns)
6.1 TRB, 0.4 ORB
No one starting Durant expects to see monster rebounding totals, but he has notably posted his lowest per game rate since his rookie season. Advanced metrics indicate defensive boards are a strength for KD (90th percentile Defensive Rebounding Quality).
Unfortunately he has long been highly ineffective on the offensive glass (9th percentile Offensive Rebounding Quality in 2024-25). It may be wise to slide him over to the SF slot and insert a PF who can do a better job beefing up your rebound totals.
Rebound Matchups to Target
New Orleans Pelicans, Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers
Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors
Rebound Matchups to Avoid
Orlando Magic, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks
Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets
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