Hall of Famer, Dikembe Mutombo is part of the top five in Nuggets’ single season rebounding history.
The Denver Nuggets have had a number of notable players suit up in the high altitude throughout their 59-year history in the NBA and ABA. Today, we’re taking a look at the players who produced the top five single season rebounds per game during their tenures in the Mile High City.
Spencer Haywood – 1970, 19.5 RPG
Haywood completely dominated his rookie year in 1969-70, which happened to be his lone season in the ABA as a member of the Denver Rockets. The 2015 Hall of Fame inductee led the league by averaging 30.0 points and 19.5 rebounds per game, both career-best figures, earning him the MVP, Rookie of the Year and an All-Star selection at just 20 years of age. Haywood led the ABA in games played (84), minutes per (45.3), field goals made (11.7), and offensive (6.3) and defensive rebounds (13.1). In his 13-year career, Haywood played for Denver, the Seattle Supersonics, New York Knicks, Washington Bullets and New Orleans Jazz, and won the 1980 NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Julius Keye – 1971, 17.5 RPG
Keye was selected by the Boston Celtics in both the 1968 and 1969 NBA Draft, but the forward-center spent his six active years as a pro in the ABA from 1969 to 1975. He played his first five seasons with the Denver Rockets before moving on to the Memphis Sounds for his final campaign. Keye’s best statistical season came in 1970-71 when he posted 14.7 points and 17.5 rebounds across 83 contests, resulting in his lone All-Star appearance at age 24. In 418 career games, the native of Toccoa, Georgia averaged 7.6 ppg, 11.0 rpg and 2.2 bpg while making back-to-back All-Defensive First Teams in 1973 and 1974.
Nikola Jokić – 2022, 13.8 RPG
A second round pick (41st overall) by the Nuggets back in 2014, Jokić has become one of, if not the, best basketball players in the world over the course of his ten years in the NBA. The three-time league MVP, which includes back-to-back honors in 2021 and 2022, tallied incredible averages of 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds (career-best), 7.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.9 blocks while leading all players in made field goals (10.3) that season. Across Jokić’s 74 starts in ‘22, he recorded 66 double-doubles and 19 triple-doubles, registering 33 games with 15 or more rebounds and four outings with 20-plus boards. ‘The Joker’ has posted career averages of 21.8 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 7.2 apg and 1.3 spg in his 745 appearances for the Nuggets.
Marcus Camby – 2008, 13.1 RPG
After being taken with the second overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors, Camby enjoyed a very productive 17-year career as a pro. The 2007 Defensive Player of the Year spent six seasons in the Mile High City, from 2002 to 2008, leading the league in blocked shots three consecutive years (‘06-’08) and making four All-Defensive Teams (two First, two Second) in the process. Camby averaged 9.1 ppg, a career-best 13.1 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.1 spg and 3.6 bpg across 79 outings during the 2007-08 campaign. ‘The Camby Man’ also spent time with the Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets before retiring in 2013.
Dikembe Mutombo – 1993, 13.0 RPG
Our second Hall of Famer on this list, Mutombo was inducted in the class of 2015 following a legendary 18-year career that spanned from 1991 to 2009. The four-time DPOY was a three-time blocks champ, all as a member of the Nuggets (1994-1996), and two-time total rebounding champ with the Atlanta Hawks (‘00) and Philadelphia 76ers (‘01). At age-26 in his sophomore season, Mutombo put up averages of 13.8 points, 13.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in 82 games, tallying three outings with 20-plus boards and 23 with five-plus swats.
