The Chicago Bulls pulled off a thrilling double-overtime victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night, and they couldn’t have done it without the exploits of Andre Drummond. The veteran big man put up 17 points and a whopping 26 rebounds in 36 minutes of action in the 132-123 win.
Drummond typically comes off the bench, but he has started 10 games this season due to Nikola Vucevic missing a handful of games and Billy Donovan’s decision to occasionally start both players together. That’s what happened Wednesday against the Cavs’ Jarrett Allen-Evan Mobley frontcourt, and Drummond only beefed up his historic numbers as a starter. The Bulls center is now averaging a ridiculous 17.9 rebounds per game in those 10 starts, the most by a starter since Dennis Rodman in 1995.
Rodman, of course, is a Bulls legend, but those 1995 numbers came when he was a member of the San Antonio Spurs. That season, Rodman grabbed 16.8 rebounds per game in 49 appearances, but he was at a ridiculous 19.4 boards per game as a starter (26 games).
Andre Drummond is only playing 17.2 minutes per game on the season (he’s still grabbing 8.9 boards per game overall in those limited minutes), but he has really stepped up when called upon as a starter. Several big performances have helped the Bulls grab some improbable wins, which is why Arturas Karnisovas didn’t trade the big man ahead of the trade deadline despite the Philadelphia 76ers’ strong pursuit.
That could prove shortsighted given Chicago is still just 28-31 and firmly the ninth seed in the East before Drummond hits free agency this summer, because there’s no doubt he has earned himself a raise from the $3.36 million he’s making this season and could walk in free agency. Still, the Bulls are currently enjoying what he’s bringing to the table as one of the most dominant rebounders of all time.
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