This offseason, we are bringing back our NBA How To series that we ran last year.  Looking at how things get done on the basketball court, we are going to start this year’s series of posts looking at offensive rebounding.

Offensive rebounding might be one of the most important actions that take place on the basketball court.  When a team gets an offensive rebound, they give themselves extra opportunities to score the basketball.  There are a few different ways to grab offensive rebounds, and we are going to look at them here, using some of the best offensive rebounders (in terms of offensive rebound rate) as an example:

Working For Position:

Kevin Love finished 7th in the NBA, posting an Offensive Rebound Rate of 13.6.  While not being the most athletic player or the highest jumper, Love is able to grab offensive rebounds by using body position.  Kevin Love is always working for position as the ball goes up in the air, and at times, he is even working for position before the shot goes up:

NBA players looking to secure the defensive rebound rarely box out anymore, and this allows a player like Love to establish rebounding position every single time the shot goes up and the basketball is in the air.  As defenders turn and stare at the rim waiting for the basketball to come off, Love is slipping in front of them.  Another thing that Love does is that he fills lanes well.  As one of his teammates attacks the rim, Love makes himself available for the pass, but if it doesn’t come he doesn’t give up, he simply uses the position that he got in to follow up the shot and secure the offensive rebound.

Boxing Out:

We know guys don’t box out anymore on the defensive end and it is even rarer on the offensive end.  Jeff Foster, who was 1st in the NBA with an offensive rebound rate of 19.1, is one of the few guys who primarily uses the box out to create offensive rebounding opportunities.  Jeff Foster is so good at it that he has made a career of doing this:

Jeff Foster goes about things in a similar way to Kevin Love, but instead of sneaking in like Love, Foster is much more in your face about it.  He not only puts himself to grab the offensive rebound, but he then pushes his defender out of position by boxing out his man.  After boxing out his man, Foster then does a great job of meeting the basketball and securing the offensive rebound.

Holding Position/Reading The Ball Off The Rim:

Unlike Jeff Foster and Kevin Love, Reggie Evans (2nd in the NBA with an ORR of 17.3) doesn’t really work to get around his man for the offensive rebound.  Instead, Evans likes to use his strength to hold his position, and quickly reading the basketball off of the rim, beating everyone to the basketball:

Evans is a strong man, and he is able to use that strength to his advantage.  If he can’t beat his man to get inside position, he doesn’t try to bully his way through him.  Instead, he simply leans on his defender, putting his weight and his strength on him, waiting for the ball to come off of the rim.  Evans then reads it and beats everyone to the basketball.  Another benefit of Evans putting his weight on his defender is that they can’t jump with a 200+ pound man leaning on them.  So it decreases the chances of Evans’ man grabbing the defensive rebound while increasing his chances at an offensive rebound.

Tapping The Ball Out:

Like Reggie Evans, Marcus Camby (6th with an ORR of 13.8) doesn’t really worry about working for inside position to secure the offensive rebound.  However, with his frame Camby can’t really use his strength, instead Camby likes to use his length.  Camby is long enough where he can get his hands on a lot of basketballs, however there are times where he can’t get both hands on it.  So what does he do?  Back tap it out to his teammates, volleyball style:

With his length and his jumping ability, Marcus Camby winds up the first one to the basketball at a very high rate.  However, with defenders boxing him out and getting in front of him by out-muscling him he doesn’t often find himself in position to secure the basketball (without fouling).  So instead of just giving up on the play, Camby loves to slap the basketball back towards halfcourt in the direction of his teammates.  If you don’t do this consistently, this could lead to some confusion, however, Camby does this so often that his teammates know it is coming and are often in position to corral the basketball.

Tapping The Ball To Yourself:

Like Kevin Love and Jeff Foster, Zach Randolph (4th in the NBA with and ORR of 14.2) isn’t really a jumper so he has to rely on positioning.  However, Randolph doesn’t really have the strength of a Love or Foster (in my opinion), which means it is harder for him to hold someone off with his body and grab the rebound at the same time.  So instead, Randolph is smart enough to tap the ball to himself, allowing him to gain control of the basketball that way:

Randolph isn’t the highest jumper, but that allows him to jump multiple times very quickly.  So as Randolph is using his body and one arm to hold of a defender, he is jumping up, tapping the ball to himself, then jumping up again quickly and controlling the basketball.

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As you can see offensive rebounding is much more than pushing a man in the back and hoping that the ball bounces to you.  There are a number of different strategies NBA players use to corral the offensive rebound, and the best offensive rebounders tailor their strategy to their skills and develop a game-plan that best fit their ability.