Who is the only active NBA player in the top 25 for career blocks made?
In the NBA, it takes a certain type of precision and agility to make a block against an offensive player, especially when such a player is in motion. While blocks are mostly made at the low post, they can also be made anywhere on the floor.
Hakeem Olajuwon is the NBA's all-time leader in blocks, having registered a total of 3,830 career blocks in 1,238 appearances in the league. The Hall of Famer averaged 3.1 blocks every 35.7 minutes played on the floor. He featured in the NBA for a career-long 18 seasons, most of which were spent with the Houston Rockets, who selected him as the No. 1 overall pick in the 1985 NBA draft.
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Amongst the NBA's all-time top 25 list of players with the most career blocks, only one player is still active in the league. Let's take a look at who that player is.
Who is the only active NBA player in the top 25 for career blocks made?
Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard is the only active NBA player in the top 25 for career blocks. He is ranked 13th on the list with 2,192 blocks in 1,182 appearances, a step below Marcus Camby (2,331) and above Ben Wallace (2,137). The 8-time All-Star has a career average of 1.9 blocks per game played.
Superman, as he is fondly called, was selected by the Orlando Magic as the 1st overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft and has since then gone on to record 17 seasons of electric performance with tons of accolades to his name. In his debut season for the Magic, he led the team in rebounds and blocks and made it to the 2005 All-Rookie First Team.
Howard was the NBA blocks leader in 2009 and 2010 consecutively and has also led the league in rebounds five times (2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013). The 2020 NBA champion was named Defensive Player of the Year for three consecutive seasons (2009-2011) and was selected to the All-Defensive Team five times (2008-2012).
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The 36-year old made a return to the Lakers for the third time after a one-year stint at the Philadelphia 76ers, which might see him clinch his second NBA championship ring as the Lakers are favorites to win the title in the 2021-22 season.