Moussa Diabaté leads the NBA with 5.2 offensive rebounds a game, and only Andre Drummond has finished a season higher in the last 28 years

Moussa Diabaté has 47 offensive rebounds in nine games for the Hornets, 5.2 a game. That leads the NBA by 1.3. Rudy Gobert of the Timberwolves and Domantas Sabonis of the Kings are next at 3.9, and Portland’s Donovan Clingan is fourth at 3.6.

Basketball-Reference has Diabaté at 5.22 a game. Since Jayson Williams and Dennis Rodman in 1997-98, only one NBA player has finished a season higher: Andre Drummond, three times, with 5.43 in 2013-14, 5.35 in 2018-19 and 5.33 in 2014-15. The past five rebounding leaders on the offensive glass all finished between 4.51 and 4.59.

moussa gets UPPPP 🫎 pic.twitter.com/6pj6LBoDxC
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) October 23, 2026

Diabaté early in the Hornets’ home game against Atlanta on Oct. 23. Video: Hornets on X.

The numbers that stand out

Diabaté has more offensive rebounds (47) than defensive rebounds (35). No other player with at least 60 total rebounds this season has more on the offensive end
He is playing 28.8 minutes a game, which works out to 6.5 offensive rebounds per 36 minutes. Basketball-Reference puts his offensive rebound percentage at 18.8, up from 16.5 last season
His 11 offensive rebounds against Washington on Oct. 26 are the most by any player in a game this season. He also had seven in Washington four nights later
He has at least four offensive rebounds in seven of his nine games
The Hornets lead the league at 15.0 offensive rebounds a game. Diabaté has 47 of the 129 they grabbed in the games he played, or 36%

A jump from last season

Diabaté averaged 3.7 offensive rebounds in 26.0 minutes over 73 games last season, and 2.6 in 17.5 minutes the season before, his first in Charlotte. He is scoring 8.9 points a game, shooting 63.5% from the field, and has not attempted a three.

Season	Player	Team	Offensive rebounds a game
2017-18	Andre Drummond	Pistons	5.12
2018-19	Andre Drummond	Pistons	5.35
2019-20	Andre Drummond	Pistons and Cavaliers	4.39
2020-21	Clint Capela	Hawks	4.71
2021-22	Steven Adams	Grizzlies	4.59
2022-23	Mitchell Robinson	Knicks	4.53
2023-24	Clint Capela	Hawks	4.59
2024-25	Walker Kessler	Jazz	4.59
2025-26	Donovan Clingan	Trail Blazers	4.51
2026-27	Moussa Diabaté	Hornets	5.22 (so far)

Season leaders in offensive rebounds per game, from Basketball-Reference’s yearly leaders list. The current season is through Nov. 11.

Only six NBA seasons on Basketball-Reference’s list have topped 6.0 a game, and they belong to Moses Malone, Dennis Rodman and Jayson Williams. Malone holds the record at 7.16 in 1978-79. Williams’ 6.82 in 1997-98 is the most recent.

The two games he missed

Diabaté sat out the Hornets’ last two games with right quadriceps tendinopathy. Charlotte grabbed 19 offensive rebounds in a loss to Boston on Nov. 6 and 17 in a 124-112 win over Cleveland on Nov. 9, when Ryan Kalkbrenner had 10. Kalkbrenner is averaging 3.1 offensive rebounds in 18.8 minutes. The Hornets averaged 14.3 a game in the nine games Diabaté played.

Two games is a small sample, but it suggests Charlotte’s rebounding is not only about one player. Diabaté still leads the league comfortably, and the next-closest players have each played at least one more game than he has.

What to watch

Diabaté is listed as probable for Thursday’s game in Phoenix. The Suns are last in the league at 39.7 rebounds a game and are allowing 14.1 offensive rebounds a game, tied for the third-most. The Hornets are 4-7. Leaders in every category are on the WhyNBA stats pages.