Basketball Hall of Fame: Former Net Swen Nater was a rebounding force

Entering the NBA and its super-deep group of superstar centers

At the time Swen Nater entered the NBA in 1976, the odds were pretty good you were going to be going up against an all-time great center just about every night.

At the time of the merger, the league was dripping with eventual Hall of Fame big men.

There was Dave Cowens in Boston, Bob McAdoo in Buffalo, aging veteran Nate Thurmond was in Cleveland, Detroit had Bob Lanier, Kareem by that time had moved on to the Lakers, Bill Walton was in Portland, Robert Parish was a youngster with Golden State and Wes Unseld held down the middle in Washington.

That’s not including the trio of Hall of Fame bigs who came over from the ABA in Artis Gilmore, Moses Malone and Dan Issel.

Nater thinks that level of competition gets overlooked now that it’s so far back in the rear view mirror.

"“I don’t think the media is aware of just how many great centers were playing back then, centers that were specialized around the key area like Kareem, Lanier, (Wilt) Chamberlain. But there were many that were outside shooters as well, such as Alvan Adams, Cowens, McAdoo. “They didn’t shoot 3s, but they pulled the defensive center away from the hoop. Today, we have ‘centers’ that shoot most of their shots from outside. It’s effective, but they’re not rebounding. The old centers were rebounders. The team depended on that on both ends of the floor. Today, the offensive rebound, as a game strategy, has atrophied.”"

Offensive rebounding was something Nater did well and took pride in.

"“When you think about it, how much is an offensive rebound worth? It could be worth six points. It could be more valuable than a steal. Plus it makes them block you out, so they may keep more people down on the boards to get the defensive rebound, so that reduces their fast-break opportunities. “There’s also a psychological effect. The shot goes up and they are already anticipating going to the other end and all of a sudden, there’s a putback dunk or a tip-in. It really takes the wind out of their sails.”"

Nater owns the one of the top rebounding rates in NBA history among players with the necessary 400 games to qualify. He had 5,297 rebounds in 13,868 NBA minutes — an astonishing rate of 0.382 rebounds per minute.

Nater ranks 32nd in NBA history with an average of 10.8 rebounds per game. His 13.1 rebounds per game during his three ABA seasons placed him fourth all-time.

Among players with at least 400 NBA games, Nater ranks sixth with a total rebounding percentage of 20.9, trailing only Andre Drummond (24.4), Dennis Rodman (23.4), Reggie Evans (21.9), DeAndre Jordan (21.6) and Dwight Howard (20.9).

Notice that Nater’s rebounding rate is far ahead of anyone from his own era — the next closest are Malone and Walton at 19.8 percent.

Nater is also one of just eight players to score 30 points and grab 30 rebounds in the same game, turning the trick on Dec. 19, 1976, against the Atlanta Hawks, scoring 30 points and getting 33 rebounds — 15 on the offensive glass.

The other members of that club include Wilt Chamberlain, Moses Malone, Elvin Hayes, Jerry Lucas, Walt Bellamy and Nate Thurmond.

Rodman made the Hall of Fame primarily on the strength of his rebounding. Nater makes a compelling case to do the same.