In basketball, there has never been a single game, whether on the hardwood or the blacktop, that has finished with every single shot falling.
No, in all of these contests, there are air balls, rim shots, lip outs and the like, with those standing under the hoop to win the ball off the glass as important as the sharpshooters on the other end.
But in the storied history of the NBA, which players have stood tall above the rest to reel in the most rebounds in a game?
Consult the record books, and the answers are emphatic.
From Philly to the Bay Area, onto La-la Land and Bean Town, here is every instance an NBA player has recorded more than 40 rebounds in a single game.
| Player | Team | Opponent | Date | Rebounds |
| Wilt Chamberlain | Philadelphia Warriors | Boston Celtics | 24/11/1960 | 55 |
| Bill Russell | Boston Celtics | Syracuse Nationals | 5/2/1960 | 51 |
| Bill Russell | Boston Celtics | Detroit Pistons | 11/3/1965 | 49 |
| Bill Russell | Boston Celtics | Philadelphia Warriors | 16/11/1957 | 49 |
| Wilt Chamberlain | Philadelphia Warriors | Los Angeles Lakers | 21/1/1961 | 45 |
| Wilt Chamberlain | Philadelphia Warriors | Syracuse Nationals | 6/2/1960 | 45 |
| Wilt Chamberlain | Philadelphia 76ers | Boston Celtics | 6/3/1965 | 43 |
| Bill Russell | Boston Celtics | Los Angeles Lakers | 20/1/1963 | 43 |
| Wilt Chamberlain | Philadelphia Warriors | Los Angeles Lakers | 8/12/1961 | 43 |
| Wilt Chamberlain | Philadelphia Warriors | Boston Celtics | 15/1/1960 | 43 |
| Wilt Chamberlain | Philadelphia Warriors | New York Knicks | 10/11/1959 | 43 |
| Wilt Chamberlain | Los Angeles Lakers | Boston Celtics | 7/3/1969 | 42 |
| Wilt Chamberlain | Philadelphia 76ers | Boston Celtics | 14/1/1966 | 42 |
| Nate Thurmond | San Francisco Warriors | Detroit Pistons | 9/11/1965 | 42 |
| Wilt Chamberlain | Philadelphia Warriors | Detroit Pistons | 25/1/1960 | 42 |
| Bill Russell | Boston Celtics | San Francisco Warriors | 14/3/1963 | 41 |
| Wilt Chamberlain | San Francisco Warriors | Detroit Pistons | 26/10/1962 | 41 |
| Bill Russell | Boston Celtics | Syracuse Nationals | 12/2/1958 | 41 |
