"It's called basketball, not rebound-ball" - Andrea Bargnani dismissed rebounding criticism with an unapologetic take originally appeared on Basketball Network .
In 2018, Bleacher Report released a ranking titled "the 25 Saddest Rebounding Big Men Ever," naming Andrea Bargnani — who had retired following the 2016-17 season — as number one.
Though topping a list featuring Brad Sellers and Clifford Robinson in the top three wasn't exactly flattering, it's safe to say that Bargani didn't mind at all.
Why?
As Bleacher Report highlighted , the former seven-footer always had an unapologetic view of his rebounding — or lack thereof. In fact, they recalled him once shrugging off criticism by saying, "It's called basketball, not rebound-ball."
In earlier NBA eras, height dictated a player's role near the basket, with rebounding a vital task on both ends. Big men relied on size and physicality under the rim to dominate the glass, while smaller players spearheaded the offense.
As the league evolved and grew in popularity, so did the role of centers, who began expanding their offensive skills and adding scoring versatility.
Today's bigs— Karl-Anthony Towns , Al Horford , Kristaps Porzingis and Brook Lopez — are prime examples. They stretch defenses with reliable 3-point shooting, a key ingredient for NBA championship-contending teams.
Bargnani, the Toronto Raptors ' top pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, embodied this modern evolution by stepping away from the traditional bruiser role to become a scoring-focused big man who contributed far beyond just grabbing rebounds.
He proved it at times, averaging around 20 points per contest in the early 2010s — an unofficial mark of a skilled scorer.
Putting the ball in the basket was clearly a goal that Bargniani fully embraced. Yet, while his scoring-first approach is admirable, it doesn't excuse his glaring neglect of rebounding — a core responsibility for any big man, even in today's spacing-driven NBA.
Put simply, throughout his decade-long journey in the league, Bargnani's focus on shooting often came at the cost of rebounding. He averaged just 4.9 boards per game, rising only to 5.8 per 36 minutes — still low for a player of his size.
What's more, the Italian's rebound rate — the percentage of available boards secured while on the court — was shockingly low at 9.5 percent, dropping to a career-low 8.6 percent in his final season with the Brooklyn Nets .
Andreas' best performance on the glass came on January 11, 2010, against the Indiana Pacers , when he pulled down 17 boards — an outlier in an otherwise weak rebounding resume.
Compared to Bargnani, a two-time Italian Cup winner, players with similar skill sets like Nikola Mirotic and Kevin Love have consistently shown they can both stretch the floor and control the glass. They maintained a reliable balance between scoring and rebounding — something the 39-year-old, often remembered as one of the biggest draft busts ever, rarely managed to achieve.
That discrepancy sparked a definite "what if" question, especially among Raptors fans: What might have been if their former number one pick had focused less on "basketball" and more on "rebound-ball"?
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
