Portland Trail Blazers: 4 Blazer players that had Dennis Rodman-esque performances
4: Joel Przybilla
Date: Mar. 22nd, 2008 vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Result: Won 83-72
Box Score: 14 points, 26 rebounds and 1 block on 7-of-10 shooting
Nicknamed the “Vanilla Gorilla,” Joel Przybilla is among the most popular players to ever don the red-and-black, mixing elite rim protection skills with rebounding prowess. That made him especially portable in Portland as Oden was recovering from injury, and Aldridge was learning the nuances of aggressive, dominant basketball.
Those skills never coalesced better than they did on Mar. 22, as the Blazers — fighting for their Playoff lives — came into STAPLES Center for a matchup against the lowly Clippers.
On that night, Przybilla dominated, with 14 points and 26 rebounds, abusing Los Angeles’ frontline, and especially the undersized bigs Josh Powell and Al Thornton. The Clippers had only one player taller than 6-foot-9 in Nick Fazekas.
True to Rodman form, eight of Przybilla’s 26 rebounds came on the offensive end.
In each of the Associated Press reports, the Blazers big was tracked for 25 rebounds, but Basketball Reference clocks 26, which suggests a potential stat correction. In whatever case, Przybilla came just one rebound shy of tying the Blazers’ franchise record (Sidney Wicks, 27, in 1975).
The win put Portland’s fringe postseason hopes on up to balance. By this point, they were six games out for the eighth and final spot behind the Golden State Warriors with a dozen games to go. They’d finish 41-41.
Consistent to form, it’s always fun to see how many players have surpassed the 14-point, 26-rebound plateau. The likes of Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell have done so too many times to count.
But since the NBA-ABA merger, 79 players — headlined by Moses Malone, Andre Drummond, and Dwight Howard — have done so. That gives Przybilla a place in history. Maybe there isn’t a place for him in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Next. Building a team of Portland Trail Blazers to beat the 90's Chicago Bulls. dark
But the Dennis Rodman Hall of Fame? 26 rebounds and 14 points is enough to call him a nominee.