List of NBA annual blocks leaders

In basketball, a blocked shot occurs when a defender deflects or stops a field goal attempt without committing a foul.^[1] The National Basketball Association's (NBA) block title is awarded to the player with the highest blocks per game average in a given season. The block title was first recognized in the 1973–74 season when statistics on blocks were first compiled.^[2] To qualify for the blocks title, the player must appear in at least 70 percent of the season's games (58 games in typical 82-game season). However, a player who appears in fewer than the minimum games may qualify as annual blocks leader if his block total would have still given him the highest average, even had he appeared in the extra required games and recorded 0 blocks in these extra games. This has been the requirement since the 2013–14 season.^[3][4]

Mark Eaton holds the all-time records for total blocks (456) and blocks per game (5.56) in a season; both achieved in the 1984–85 season.^[2] Manute Bol holds the rookie records for total blocks and blocks per game when he had 397 and averaged 5.0 in the 1985–86 season.^[2] Among active players, Victor Wembanyama had the highest season block average (3.83) in the 2024–25 season.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Eaton, and Marcus Camby all won the most block titles, with four.^[2] George Johnson, Manute Bol, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning, Theo Ratliff, Dwight Howard, Anthony Davis, Serge Ibaka, and Jaren Jackson Jr. have also won the title more than once. Both Mutombo and Camby have also won the most consecutive block titles, with three. Two players have won both the block title and the NBA championship in the same season: Bill Walton in 1977 with the Portland Trail Blazers and Abdul-Jabbar in 1980 with the Los Angeles Lakers.^[5]

Key

^		Denotes player who is still active in the NBA
*		Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
†		Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration[a]
§		1st time eligible for Hall of Fame in 2025[6]
‡		Denotes player who won the Defensive Player of the Year award that year
Player (X)		Denotes the number of times the player had been the blocks leader up to and including that season
G	Guard		F	Forward	C	Center

Annual leaders

Season	Player	Pos[b]	Team(s)	Games played	Total blocks	Blocks per game	Ref
1973–74	Elmore Smith	C	Los Angeles Lakers	81	393	4.85	[7][8]
1974–75	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*[c]	C	Milwaukee Bucks	65	212	3.26	[9][10]
1975–76	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* (2)	C	Los Angeles Lakers	82	338	4.12	[10][11]
1976–77	Bill Walton*[d]	C/F	Portland Trail Blazers	65	211	3.25	[12][13]
1977–78	George T. Johnson	C/F	New Jersey Nets	81	274	3.38	[14][15]
1978–79	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* (3)	C	Los Angeles Lakers	80	316	3.95	[10][16]
1979–80	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* (4)	C	Los Angeles Lakers	82	280	3.41	[10][17]
1980–81	George T. Johnson (2)	C/F	San Antonio Spurs	82	278	3.39	[15][18]
1981–82	George T. Johnson (3)	C/F	San Antonio Spurs	75	234	3.12	[15][19]
1982–83	Tree Rollins	C	Atlanta Hawks	80	343	4.29	[20][21]
1983–84	Mark Eaton	C	Utah Jazz	82	351	4.28	[22][23]
1984–85 ‡	Mark Eaton (2)	C	Utah Jazz	82	456	5.56	[23][24]
1985–86	Manute Bol	C	Washington Bullets	80	397	4.96	[25][26]
1986–87	Mark Eaton (3)	C	Utah Jazz	79	321	4.06	[23][27]
1987–88	Mark Eaton (4)	C	Utah Jazz	82	304	3.71	[23][28]
1988–89	Manute Bol (2)	C	Golden State Warriors	80	345	4.31	[26][29]
1989–90	Hakeem Olajuwon*[e]	C	Houston Rockets	82	376	4.59	[33][34]
1990–91	Hakeem Olajuwon* (2)[f]	C	Houston Rockets	56	221	3.95	[34][35]
1991–92 ‡	David Robinson*	C	San Antonio Spurs	68	305	4.49	[36][37]
1992–93 ‡	Hakeem Olajuwon* (3)	C	Houston Rockets	82	342	4.17	[34][38]
1993–94	Dikembe Mutombo*	C	Denver Nuggets	82	336	4.10	[39][40]
1994–95 ‡	Dikembe Mutombo* (2)	C	Denver Nuggets	82	321	3.91	[40][41]
1995–96	Dikembe Mutombo* (3)	C	Denver Nuggets	74	332	4.49	[40][42]
1996–97	Shawn Bradley[g]	C	New Jersey Nets Dallas Mavericks	73	248	3.40	[43][44]
1997–98	Marcus Camby[h]	C/F	Toronto Raptors	63	230	3.65	[45][46]
1998–99[i] ‡	Alonzo Mourning*	C	Miami Heat	46	180	3.91	[48][49]
1999–00 ‡	Alonzo Mourning* (2)	C	Miami Heat	79	294	3.72	[49][50]
2000–01	Theo Ratliff[j]	C/F	Philadelphia 76ers	50	187	3.74	[51][52]
2001–02 ‡	Ben Wallace*	F/C	Detroit Pistons	80	278	3.48	[53][54]
2002–03	Theo Ratliff (2)	C/F	Atlanta Hawks	81	262	3.23	[52][55]
2003–04	Theo Ratliff (3)[k]	C/F	Atlanta Hawks Portland Trail Blazers	85	307	3.61	[52][56]
2004–05	Andrei Kirilenko[l]	F	Utah Jazz	41	136	3.32	[57][58]
2005–06	Marcus Camby (2)[m]	C/F	Denver Nuggets	56	184	3.29	[46][59]
2006–07 ‡	Marcus Camby (3)	C/F	Denver Nuggets	70	231	3.30	[46][60]
2007–08	Marcus Camby (4)	C/F	Denver Nuggets	79	285	3.61	[46][61]
2008–09 ‡	Dwight Howard*	C	Orlando Magic	79	231	2.92	[62]
2009–10 ‡	Dwight Howard* (2)	C	Orlando Magic	82	228	2.78	[62]
2010–11	Andrew Bogut[n]	C	Milwaukee Bucks	65	168	2.58	[64]
2011–12[o]	Serge Ibaka†	F	Oklahoma City Thunder	66	241	3.65	[66]
2012–13	Serge Ibaka† (2)	F	Oklahoma City Thunder	80	242	3.03	[66]
2013–14	Anthony Davis^[p]	F/C	New Orleans Pelicans	67	189	2.82	[68]
2014–15	Anthony Davis^ (2)	F/C	New Orleans Pelicans	68	200	2.94	[68]
2015–16	Hassan Whiteside	C	Miami Heat	73	269	3.68	[69]
2016–17	Rudy Gobert^	C	Utah Jazz	81	214	2.64	[70]
2017–18	Anthony Davis^ (3)	F/C	New Orleans Pelicans	75	193	2.57	[68]
2018–19	Myles Turner^	C	Indiana Pacers	74	199	2.69	[71]
2019–20	Hassan Whiteside (2)	C	Portland Trail Blazers	67	196	2.93	[72]
2020–21	Myles Turner^ (2)[q]	C	Indiana Pacers	47	159	3.38	[71]
2021–22	Jaren Jackson Jr.^	F/C	Memphis Grizzlies	78	177	2.27	[74]
2022–23 ‡	Jaren Jackson Jr.^ (2)[r]	F/C	Memphis Grizzlies	63	189	3.00	[74]
2023–24	Victor Wembanyama^	C	San Antonio Spurs	71	254	3.58	[76]
2024–25	Victor Wembanyama^ (2)[s]	C	San Antonio Spurs	46	176	3.83	[76]

Multiple-time leaders

Rank	Player	Team(s)	Times leader	Years
1	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	Milwaukee Bucks (1); Los Angeles Lakers (3)	4	1975, 1976, 1979, 1980
	Marcus Camby	Toronto Raptors (1); Denver Nuggets (3)		1998, 2006, 2007, 2008
	Mark Eaton	Utah Jazz		1984, 1985, 1987, 1988
4	Anthony Davis	New Orleans Pelicans	3	2014, 2015, 2018
	George T. Johnson	New Jersey Nets (1); San Antonio Spurs (2)		1978, 1981, 1982
	Dikembe Mutombo	Denver Nuggets		1994, 1995, 1996
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Houston Rockets		1990, 1991, 1993
	Theo Ratliff	Philadelphia 76ers (1); Atlanta Hawks (1); Atlanta Hawks/Portland Trail Blazers (1)		2001, 2003, 2004
9	Manute Bol	Washington Bullets (1); Golden State Warriors (1)	2	1986, 1989
	Dwight Howard	Orlando Magic		2009, 2010
	Serge Ibaka	Oklahoma City Thunder		2012, 2013
	Jaren Jackson Jr.	Memphis Grizzlies		2022, 2023
	Alonzo Mourning	Miami Heat		1999, 2000
	Myles Turner	Indiana Pacers		2019, 2021
	Victor Wembanyama	San Antonio Spurs		2024, 2025
	Hassan Whiteside	Miami Heat (1); Portland Trail Blazers (1)		2016, 2020

Notes

1. A player is not eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame until he has been fully retired for two calendar years.
2. The player's primary position is listed first.
3. In the 1974–75 season, Elmore Smith had the highest block total (216) but was second in block average (2.92).
4. In the 1976–77 season, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Elvin Hayes both had higher block totals (261 and 220 respectively) but they ranked second and third in block average (3.18 and 2.68 respectively).
5. When Olajuwon arrived in the United States, the University of Houston incorrectly spelled his first name "Akeem". He used that spelling until March 9, 1991, when he announced that he would add an H.^[30][31][32]
6. In the 1990–91 season, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing and Manute Bol all had higher block totals (320, 258 and 247 respectively) but they ranked second, third and fourth in block average (3.90, 3.19 and 3.01 respectively).
7. In the 1996–97 season, Dikembe Mutombo had the highest block total (264) but was second in block average (3.30).
8. In the 1997–98 season, Dikembe Mutombo and Theo Ratliff both had higher block totals (277 and 258 respectively) but they ranked second and fourth in block average (3.38 and 3.15 respectively).
9. The 1998–99 season was shortened to 50 games due to the league's lockout.^[47] The qualification of this season's block title is to appear in at least 43 games (out of 50) or to have at least 61 blocks.^[4]
10. In the 2000–01 season, Theo Ratliff had only played in 50 games and ranked eighth in block total. Jermaine O'Neal and Shawn Bradley both shared the highest total (228).
11. In the 2003–04 season, Ratliff appeared in 85 games due to a mid-season trade.
12. In the 2004–05 season, Kirilenko had only played in 41 games and ranked thirteenth in block total. Marcus Camby had the highest total (199).
13. In the 2005–06 season, Andrei Kirilenko, Josh Smith and Elton Brand all had higher block totals (220, 208 and 201 respectively) but they ranked second, fourth and fifth in block average (3.19, 2.60 and 2.54 respectively).
14. In the 2010–11 season, Serge Ibaka, JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard all had higher block totals (198, 193 and 186 respectively) but they ranked third, second and fourth in block average (2.41, 2.44 and 2.38 respectively).^[63]
15. The 2011–12 season was shortened to 66 games due to the league's lockout.^[65] The qualification of this season's block title is to appear in at least 56 games (out of 66) or to have at least 80 blocks.^[4]
16. In the 2013–14 season, Serge Ibaka and DeAndre Jordan both had higher block totals (219 and 203 respectively) but they ranked second and third in block average (2.7 and 2.5 respectively).^[67]
17. In the 2020–21 season, Myles Turner only played in 47 games and ranked second in block total. Rudy Gobert had the highest total (190).^[73] Turner was recognized as the leader despite playing fewer than the required 51 games (70% of the season), as his average would still be 3.1 per game even if he played in the added games and not recorded a single block, which would remain higher than Gobert's 2.7.^[3]
18. In the 2022–23 season, Brook Lopez had the highest block total (193) but ranked third in block average (2.5).^[75]
19. In the 2024–25 season, Victor Wembanyama only played in 46 games but ranked first in block total. Walker Kessler had the highest average for qualifying players (2.4).^[77] Wembanyama is recognized as the leader despite playing fewer than the required 58 games, as his average would still be 3.0 per game even if he played in the added games and not recorded a single block.

See also

• NBA records
• List of NBA career blocks leaders
• List of NBA annual scoring leaders
• List of NBA annual 3-point scoring leaders
• List of NBA annual assists leaders
• List of NBA annual rebounding leaders
• List of NBA annual steals leaders
• List of NBA annual field goal percentage leaders