Top Blocks Leaders In NBA History

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Next on our basketball series are the players with most blocks in NBA history. Blocks are as important as assists and points in the game of basketball. However, only one player ever made more blocks than points in the history of the NBA. His name is Manute Bol. Bol is also the tallest basketball player ever at 7ft 6in.

Centers and Power forwards are taller and are always near the basket. Because of this, they tend to make more blocks than other players on the field. There are some exceptions though but most of the players played in the center or power forward position. Here they are in a countdown.

Top 10 NBA Career Leaders and Records for Blocks

  1. Hakeem Olajuwon – 3830
  2. Dikembe Mutombo – 3289
  3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 3189
  4. Mark Eaton – 3178
  5. Tim Duncan – 3064
  6. David Robinson – 3020
  7. Patrick Ewing – 2954
  8. Shaquille O’Neal – 2894
  9. Tree Rollins – 2732
  10. Robert Parish – 2542

Hakeem Olajuwon

The Nigerian-American spent 18 years in the NBA playing for Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors. Olajuwon was a member of the Olympic gold medal-winning team for the USA in Atlanta in 1996. The two-time NBA Champion has been selected as one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history and was a 12-time NBA All-Star. He has also been inducted into the Basketball and FIBA Halls of Fame. He ranks first on the list of players with the most blocks in NBA history with an all-time record of 3,830 blocks.

Dikembe Mutombo

Dikembe Mutombo was born in Africa. He was born at Lepodville, DR Congo in 1966 before moving to the United States to further his education aged 21. He played college basketball at Georgetown before he was drafted into the NBA by in 1991 by Denver Nuggets. He went on to play till 2009 starring for Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, and Houston Rockets. He was an NBA all-star 8 times and retired with 3,289 blocks.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

No player has more points than Abdul-Jabbar in the history of the NBA. However, he ranks third on the list of the players with the most blocks in NBA history. He played college basketball before he was drafted into the NBA in 1969. He went on to play for Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers before retiring in 1989. He won the NBA championship with both teams and has a record of 3,189 blocks.

Mark Eaton

Eaton like Duncan was also a one-team man. The 7ft 4in center entered the NBA draft in 1982 when he was pocked by Utah Jazz. He retired in 1993 playing for no other team and donned the number 53 shirt throughout his career. Ewing was so good that he won the NBA blocks leader 4 times in his 13-year career. His number 53 Jazz was retired by the Jazz to honor his outstanding defensive performance for the team. He has a record of 3,064 blocks.

Tim Duncan

The top half of our list of basketball players with the most blocks in NBA history begins with Tim Duncan. He was the first overall pick in the first round of the 1997 NBA draft. His first and only team was the San Antonio Spurs. He enjoyed a highly successful 19-year career with the Spurs winning the championship five times before retiring in 2016. Duncan made 3,020 blocks and is currently an assistant coach with Spurs.

David Robinson

Robinson played college basketball while serving in the navy. The 7ft 1in the center was drafted into the NBA by the San Antonio Spurs in 1989 as the first overall pick in round 1. He retired from basketball in 2003 playing for the Spurs only. He had a relatively successful career winning the NBA championship twice and making the NBA all-star team 10 times. He made 2,954 blocks throughout his 14-year career. Robinson achieved the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade while serving in the navy.

Patrick Ewing

Ewing is number 7 on our list of basketball players with the most blocks in NBA history. The Jamaican-American who was born in Kingston was drafted into the NBA by New York Knicks in 1985 as the 1st overall pick in round 1. He also played for Seattle Supersonics and Orlando Magic before retiring in 2002. The 11-time NBA all-star never won a championship but did retire with 2,894 blocks to his name.

Shaquille O’Neal

With his achievements, O’Neal cannot but be considered as one of the greatest players in NBA history. He was drafted into the NBA in 1992 by Orlando Magic as a center before he retired in 2011. His 19-year career saw him star for Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics also. He won three of his four NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and retired with 2,732 blocks.

Tree Rollins

Wayne Rollins fondly called “Tree” or the Intimidator began his basketball career in 1977 and retired in 1995. He used to be further up the list of players with most blocks in NBA history before Shaquille O’Neal, Patrick Ewing, and co. Rollins was drafted into the NBA by Atlanta Hawks before he went on to play for Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, and Orlando Magic. He never made the all-star team but did retire with 2,542 blocks. He also coached from 1993-2015. His last coaching position was with Chicago Sky.

Robert Parish

The former center takes the tenth spot on the all-time list of players with most blocks in NBA history. He was selected by the Golden State Warriors as the 8th overall pick in the first round of the 1976 NBA draft. Parish would go on to play for about two decades starring for Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, and Chicago Bulls. He retired in 1997 a 4-time champion with 2,361 blocks

Related Posts:

Most assists in NBA history: Top 10

Top 60 NBA All-Time Blocks Leaders

RankPlayerTotal Blocks
1.Hakeem Olajuwon3830
2.Dikembe Mutombo3289
3.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar3189
4.Mark Eaton3064
5.Tim Duncan3020
6.David Robinson2954
7.Patrick Ewing2894
8.Shaquille O’Neal2732
9.Tree Rollins2542
10.Robert Parish2361
11.Alonzo Mourning2356
12.Marcus Camby2331
13.Dwight Howard2192
14.Ben Wallace2137
15.Shawn Bradley2119
16.Manute Bol2086
17.George Johnson2082
18.Kevin Garnett2037
19.Larry Nance2027
20.Theo Ratliff1968
21.Pau Gasol1941
22.Elton Brand1828
23.Jermaine O’Neal1820
24.Elvin Hayes1771
25.Artis Gilmore1747
26.Moses Malone1733
27.Serge Ibaka1719
28.Josh Smith1713
29.Kevin McHale1690
30.Vlade Divac1631
RankPlayerBlock
31.Herb Williams1605
32.Elden Campbell1602
33.Benoit Benjamin1581
34.Samuel Dalembert1546
35.Wayne Cooper1535
36.Caldwell Jones1517
37.Brook Lopez1515
38.Alton Lister1473
39.DeAndre Jordan1467
40.Andrei Kirilenko1461
41.Rasheed Wallace1460
42.Hot Rod Williams1456
43.Mark West1403
44.Erick Dampier1398
45.Clifford Robinson1390
46.Terry Tyler1342
47.Tyson Chandler1335
48.Zydrunas Ilgauskas1327
49.Anthony Davis1323
50.Julius Erving1293
 51.Greg Ostertag1293
52.Dirk Nowitzki1281
53.Shawn Kemp1279
54.Dale Davis1270
55.James Donaldson1267
56.Marc Gasol1254
57.Shawn Marion1233
58.Harvey Catchings1226
59.Rudy Gobert1220
60.Chris Webber1200

Top 60 NBA/ABA All-Time Blocks Leaders

RankPlayerTotal Blocks
1.Hakeem Olajuwon3830
2.Dikembe Mutombo3289
3.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar3189
4.Artis Gilmore3178
5.Mark Eaton3064
6.Tim Duncan3020
7.David Robinson2954
8.Patrick Ewing2894
9.Shaquille O’Neal2732
10.Tree Rollins2542
11.Robert Parish2361
12.Alonzo Mourning2356
13.Marcus Camby2331
14.Caldwell Jones2297
15.Dwight Howard2192
16.Ben Wallace2137
17.Shawn Bradley2119
18.Manute Bol2086
19.George Johnson2082
20.Kevin Garnett*2037
RankPlayerBlocks
21.Larry Nance2027
22.Theo Ratliff1968
23.Pau Gasol1941
 Julius Erving1941
25.Moses Malone1889
26.Elton Brand1828
27.Jermaine O’Neal1820
28.Elvin Hayes1771
29.Serge Ibaka1719
30.Josh Smith1713
RankPlayerBlock
31.Kevin McHale1690
32.Vlade Divac1631
33.Herb Williams1605
34.Elden Campbell1602
35.Benoit Benjamin1581
36.Samuel Dalembert1546
37.Wayne Cooper1535
38.Brook Lopez1515
39.Alton Lister1473
40.DeAndre Jordan1467
RankPlayerBlock
41.Andrei Kirilenko1461
42.Rasheed Wallace1460
43.Billy Paultz1457
44.Hot Rod Williams1456
45.Mark West1403
46.Erick Dampier1398
47.Clifford Robinson1390
48.Terry Tyler1342
49.Tyson Chandler1335
50.Zydrunas Ilgauskas1327
51.Anthony Davis1323
52.Bobby Jones1319
53.Greg Ostertag1293
54.Dirk Nowitzki1281
55.Shawn Kemp1279
56.Dale Davis1270
57.James Donaldson1267
58.Marc Gasol1254
59.Shawn Marion1233
60.Harvey Catchings122

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