Andre Drummond is one of the best rebounders in the NBA, that much is a fact. This season alone, he grabbed an average of 15.2 per game and for his career, he’s up to 13.8.
Besides just an abundance of talent and God-given genes, how is it that he’s been able to grab do many boards? As he admitted himself, he’s not afraid to use his hands.
“I’ve put my hands on my teammates before,” Drummond said on the Mickstape Podcast. “It doesn’t matter who. It was in Detroit, he’s actually one of my really close friends, too.
“I had to put my hands on him when we first got him. I told him to do something and he didn’t do it. I gave him a warning and he still didn’t do it.”
If you're a teammate of @AndreDrummond's… Just let him grab the rebound. Save yourself the headache.
Full episode: https://t.co/Fs0QUW0ddN
Watch: https://t.co/4xYAkkwqBw pic.twitter.com/p6GZUuuXcj
— Mickstape (@MickstapeShow) May 19, 2020
You don’t grab Drummond’s rebound — some have learned that lesson the hard way.
“I punched him in the head,” Drummond said. “He didn’t do it again. It happened more than once too. It was because of rebounds.
“He’s a rebounding player too, as a guard. He kept coming to take my rebounds, so I pulled him aside during a timeout and said, ‘Yo bro, you don’t see me trying to go for 50 every night, don’t try to come in for rebounds.’”
Drummond knows his role, and he does it well. On offense, there are a lot of limitations to how he can score. But when it comes to rebounding or putting back missed shots, that’s where he makes his money.
This part of his game alone has earned him a lot of recognition over the years for being one of the game’s best big men. It should serve the Cavaliers well, too, when they take the court again next season.
