Hakeem Olajuwon is a two-time NBA champion and two-time Finals MVP.

The Houston Rockets have 34 playoff appearances, bringing home two championships along the way. The list of Hall of Fame players who have called Houston home over the years includes Hakeem Olajuwon and Moses Malone. Let’s look at the rebounding department and highlight the top five leaders in that category.

1. Hakeem Olajuwon, 13,382 Rebounds

Olajuwon played in the NBA for 18 seasons, 17 with the Rockets. He made 12 All-Star teams, was named Defensive Player of the Year twice and won the 1993-94 MVP award. He finished inside the top five in MVP voting six times. To begin his career, he had 10 straight seasons in which he averaged at least 11.4 rebounds per game. Following the 1988-89 season, Olajuwon became the first player to finish in the top 10 of the league for scoring (24.8 ppg), rebounding (13.5 rpg), steals (2.6 spg) and blocks (3.4 bpg).

2. Elvin Hayes, 6,974 Rebounds

Hayes is another Hall of Famer who spent seven years with the Rockets. He spent 16 seasons in the NBA, playing in at least 80 games in each of them. During his time with the Rockets, he averaged 36 minutes per game. He led the league in rebounding twice, including his first season with the Rockets (1971-72) when he averaged 14.6 rebounds per game.

3. Moses Malone, 6,959 Rebounds

Malone played two seasons in the ABA and 19 seasons in the NBA. In total, he played for nine different franchises. He appeared in 464 games for the Rockets, which was more than any other team that he played for. He won two MVP awards and led the league in rebounding three times with the Rockets. During the 1978-79 season, he averaged a career-high 17.6 rebounds per game. Malone was also a productive scorer, averaging at least 24.5 points per game in each of the seasons that he was named MVP in Houston. 

4. Rudy Tomjanovich, 6,198 Rebounds

Tomjanovich made five All-Star teams during his 11-year career with the Rockets. He played in at least 77 games in each of his first seven seasons in the league. In his second and third seasons in the league, he averaged 11.8 and 11.6 rebounds per game, respectively. He never averaged double-digit rebounds in a season again, but finished with an average of 8.1 rebounds per game for his career.

5. Otis Thorpe, 5,010 Rebounds

Thorpe played for eight different franchises over 17 seasons. He made his lone All-Star team as a member of the Rockets in the 1991-92 season, averaging 17.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. In six full seasons with the Rockets, he played in all 82 games five times. He averaged at least 10.3 rebounds in three of those seasons and never averaged fewer than 8.2 rebounds.