Dirk Nowitzki ranks 1st on Dallas’ all-time rebounding list. 

Dallas’ list of top five rebounders in franchise history is an eclectic one, as multiple positions are represented. It also includes a top superstar in today’s game, who could well be at the top of the list by the end of his playing career:

1. Dirk Nowitzki, (1998-2019) – 11,489 rebounds

Dirk Nowitzki put together an unforgettable 21-year stay with the Mavericks, the only NBA team he ever played for in his career. The versatile big man’s seemingly endless list of accolades includes 14 All-Star nods, one NBA championship, one NBA Finals MVP, one NBA MVP and four All-NBA First Team selections. Nowitzki’s elite offensive talent arguably garnered him his most success, considering his ability to confound opponents with an ability to drain shots from the perimeter as a legitimate 7-footer. Yet, that size and his unparalleled durability also predictably resulted in a prolific amount of rebounds, with Nowitzki averaging 7.5 boards per contest for his career and getting there with the help of eight consecutive double-digit rebound averages from the 2001-02 season through the 2008-09 seasons.

2. James Donaldson, (1985-91) – 4,589 rebounds

James Donaldson is a distant second to Nowitzki on this list, but the big man put in plenty of strong work on the glass in a tenure that was less than a third the length of his successor’s. The England-born Donaldson arrived in Big D six years after the Seattle Supersonics had invested a fourth-round pick in him. In his seven Mavericks seasons, Donaldson averaged 9.5 boards per contest, posting tallies of 10.8 and 11.9 rebounds per game in the 1988-89 and 1986-87 seasons, respectively. At 7-foot-2, Donaldson was a fixture on the first unit (467 starts in 484 Mavericks games), and his height enabled him to also record 1.3 blocks per game during his time in Dallas.

3. Sam Perkins, (1984-90) – 3,767 rebounds

Sam Perkins parlayed a standout college career at North Carolina and a spot on the 1984 Olympic gold-medal-winning U.S. men’s basketball team into a fourth overall selection in the 1984 NBA Draft by the Mavericks. The 6-foot-9 Perkins wasted no time making his presence felt on the boards, pulling down 7.4 rebounds per game over 82 games (42 starts) as a rookie and never averaging under 7.5 rebounds in any of his subsequent five seasons with Dallas. Perkins notably complemented his stalwart presence on the glass with highly efficient shooting and a suffocating defensive presence, making him one of the Mavericks’ best all-around players of the team’s first decade.

4. Luka Doncic, (2018-present) – 3,472 rebounds

Luka Doncic is fully expected to own most of the Mavericks’ individual records if he remains with the franchise over the long term, considering he’ll enter the 2024-25 season as a mere 25-year-old. The Slovenian superstar has already ascended to the upper echelon of the NBA in his first six seasons, quickly earning five All-Star nods and All-NBA First Team honors following a stellar EuroLeague career. The do-it-all star has excelled across the stat sheet, and although his scoring and assists have arguably earned him the most attention, Doncic has also proven a highly active rebounder. Luka has averaged 8.7 rebounds per game over his first 400 NBA regular-season contests, already finishing three seasons with at least 9.1 boards per game.

5. Shawn Bradley (1997-2005) – 3,340 rebounds

Shawn Bradley’s NBA career started off auspiciously enough, courtesy of his selection by the Philadelphia 76ers with the second overall pick in the 1997 draft. Blessed with a towering 7-foot-6 frame, Bradley also was saddled with low body weight relative to those dimensions early on. After mixed results in his first five NBA seasons with the Sixers and the then New Jersey Nets, Bradley arrived in Dallas in 1996. He’d go on to put together some productive seasons in Big D, including a 1996-97 debut campaign, when he averaged a career-high 14.6 points. As might be expected, Bradley’s rebounding production was reliable at his height, as he pulled down at least 8.0 boards per contest in each of his first three Mavs seasons – along with 6.5 and 7.4 over another two campaigns.