Rebounding

Rebounds are divided into two main categories: “offensive rebounds”, in which the ball is recovered by the offensive side and does not change possession, and “defensive rebounds”, in which the defending team gains possession. The majority of rebounds are defensive because the team on defense tends to be in better position (i.e., closer to the basket) to recover missed shots. Offensive rebounds give the offensive team another opportunity to score whether right away or by resetting the offense. A block is not considered a rebound.

A ball does not need to actually “rebound” off the rim or backboard for a rebound to be credited. Rebounds are credited after any missed shot, including air balls.

If a player takes a shot and misses and the ball bounces on the ground before someone picks it up, then the person who picks up the ball is credited for a rebound.

Rebounds are credited to the first player that gains clear possession of the ball or to the player that successfully deflects the ball into the basket for a score. A rebound is credited to a team when it gains possession of the ball after any missed shot that is not cleared by a single player (e.g., deflected out of bounds after the shot, blocked out of bounds, bounced directly off the rim out of bounds). A team rebound is never credited to any player, and is generally considered to be a formality as according to the rules of basketball, every missed shot must be rebounded whether a single player controls the ball or not.