Questions the Trail Blazers Need to Answer in 2025-26: Rebounding

In about a month the Portland Trail Blazers will embark on their 2024-25 regular-season campaign. Hopes are high in Portland because of the appearance of major changes in the roster. On paper, that seems valid. The Blazers ditched two of their main players this summer: long-time scorer Anfernee Simons and second-chance center DeAndre Ayton. They also brought on major veterans in Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard with rookie center Yang Hansen rounding out the field of newcomers.

Whether those moves actually change Portland’s fortunes remains to be seen. Acknowledging that, we’re beginning our look at the new season by examining some of the questions the Blazers will need to answer before we can trust in a potential Renaissance. First we looked at the halfcourt offense through the lens of three-point shooting. Then we examined the transition game. Now we’ll talk about an area that could impact both: rebounding.

Last season the Blazers ranked second in the NBA in offensive rebounding percentage. That impressive achievement made up for their relatively low offensive output and percentages. 13.4 offensive boards per game gave Portland extra chances at missed shots. There were plenty.

On the flip side, Portland ranked 28th in defensive rebounding percentage. That not only muted their advantage—allowing opponents to score extra points too—it hampered their ability to get out and run. If you can’t secure the ball decisively it’s hard to get it down the floor before the opposing defense sets up.

Overall, that left the Blazers with a middling 14th ranking in total rebounding rate. They weren’t bad, but they didn’t dominate by any stretch.

But there’s a catch.

Much has been made of Portland losing two top scorers in Anfernee Simons and Deandre Ayton over the summer. Little has been said about their rebounding ranks.

Here are the top four rebounders per game for the Blazers last year.

1. Deandre Ayton (10.2)
2. Donovan Clingan (7.9)
3. Deni Avdija (7.3)
4. Robert Williams III (5.9)

Here are the top four rebounders on a per-minute and per-possession basis:

1. Donovan Clingan
2. Deandre Ayton
3. Robert Williams III
4. Jabari Walker

Astute observers will note that two of Portland’s top four rebounders by minute/possession are gone. A third is Robert Williams who has not been able to take the floor for a significant number of games over the last couple of seasons because of injury.

The next batch of rebounders are all forwards. Avdija made the total rebounding list because of his minutes played. His rebounding numbers are good for a combo forward but not special compared to most of the NBA. After that it’s guys like Toumani Camara, Matisse Thybulle, and Jerami Grant…all mobile, all undersized for true rebounders, none dominant in the field or even close.

The story gets worse when you consider offensive rebounding. The highest per-minute/per-possession offensive rebounders for the Blazers last year were Clingan, Ayton, Williams, Duop Reath, and Walker. After that we’re down to Kris Murray and Camara who, while giving effort, were not changing the game with their offensive board work. Ayton is gone. Williams doesn’t play much. Reath doesn’t play much. Walker is gone.

The Blazers did draft 7-foot center Yang Hansen this year. Despite his size, he’s not known for his rebounding and did not show aptitude for it during his Summer League stint. It’s possible he will become a good rebounder, but he’ll need to develop that aspect of his game.

Long story short, the Blazers are putting a LOT of pressure on Clingan to generate rebounds for the team. Like, the entire team. The gap between him and everybody else is huge right now.

That’s not just a personal challenge for Clingan. As it stands, Portland will be all but forced to play the sophomore center big minutes lest they surrender the glass completely. That means chaining themselves to his style of play in the middle and hoping he’ll stay out of foul trouble—a serious issue for him during his rookie season.

There’s good news in all of this. Defensive rebounds tend to go in the “somebody’s going to get them” category. You’re likely to see rebounding stats of other players inflated, making up for the loss of Ayton and any continued absence of Williams organically. That doesn’t change the fact that those newly-minted defensive rebounders will need to head towards the defensive bucket instead of their own offensive end in order to secure the ball, hampering the break like we just said. But Portland probably won’t collapse on the defensive end. Nobody does. It’s just a matter of how many people and how much effort you need to get there.

Offensive boards are a completely different story. Portland will either have to find offensive rebounders or shift away from O-Rebs as an emphasis in their offense. If they do the former, can they get back in transition defense? If not, they’re giving away as many easy points as they’re generating with those extra offensive rebounds. If the deemphasize offensive rebounding, can they raise their percentage shooting, foul-shot attempts, and three-point scoring enough to make up for it? If not, an already-hurting offense could face serious pain.

Rebounders have been undervalued in the NBA in recent years, for somewhat good reasons. Even so, the Blazers could probably use another one in the regular rotation to make this aspect of the game a little easier.

There’s no need for Blazers fans to be fatalistic about this aspect of the game yet. It is an area the team will need to address with its new lineup. The big challenge will be shoring up the glass without leaking points or possessions in other ways as a natural result of doing so.