<\/p>\n
Andre\u00a0Drummond smiles before the WNBA game between the Chicago Sky and the Connecticut Sun on June 22, 2026 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. (Photo by Erica Denhoff\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Icon Sportswire\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Former UConn star Andre Drummond of Middletown took part in the Travelers Pro-Am at TPC River Highlands for the first time on Wednesday, June 24, 2026.<\/p>\n
Joe Morelli\/Hearst Connecticut Media<\/p>\n
NBA Commissioner David Stern, left, poses with the No. 9 overall draft pick Andre Drummond, of UConn, who was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the NBA basketball draft, Thursday, June, 28, 2012, in Newark, N.J.<\/p>\n
Bill Kostroun \/ Associated Press<\/p>\n
Mayor Gene Nocera poses for photos with Andre\u00a0Drummond of the Philadelphia 76ers who stopped by to see him sworn in as mayor at Middletown City Hall in Middletown, Conn., Monday, June 16, 2025.<\/p>\n
Dave Zajac\/Hearst Connecticut Media<\/p>\n
Middletown product and former UConn men’s basketball star Andre Drummond, right, is greeted by Yard Goats on-field host Caleb Green prior to Sunday’s game at Dunkin’ Park.<\/p>\n
David Borges\/Hearst CT Media<\/p>\n
Former UConn basketball star Andre Drummond sports a Connecticut logo on his cap in an undated photograph. Alongside former South Kent School star and NBA veteran Maurice Harkless, Drummond is reportedly an investor in Greenwich-based Special Teams Real Estate, which plans a number of redevelopment projects in New England. (Jose F. Moreno\/The Philadelphia Inquirer\/TNS)<\/p>\n
Jose F. Moreno\/TNS<\/p>\n
Andre Drummond of Middletown returned to the Middlesex YMCA Saturday to greet children and hand out school supplies. Drummond, who played a season at UConn and is 11 years into his NBA career, spent much of his youth at the Y.<\/p>\n
Mike Anthony<\/p>\n
UConn\u2019s Andre Drummond smiles during warm ups before an NCAA college basketball game against Notre Dame in Hartford, Conn., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012.<\/p>\n
Jessica Hill \/ Associated Press<\/p>\n
NBA All-Star and former UConn standout Andre Drummond, recently made a $100,000 donation to Middlesex Health\u2019s Emergency Response Fund. NBA All-Star and former UConn standout Andre Drummond, recently made a $100,000 donation to Middlesex Health\u2019s Emergency Response Fund.<\/p>\n
Tony Dejak \/ Associated Press<\/p>\n
Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond pulls down a rebound during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020, in Detroit.<\/p>\n
Carlos Osorio \/ Associated Press<\/p>\n
Cleveland Cavaliers center Andre Drummond dunks during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Miami Heat, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020, in Miami. (AP Photo\/Wilfredo Lee)<\/p>\n
Wilfredo Lee \/ AP<\/p>\n
Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond rebounds during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020, in Detroit.<\/p>\n
Carlos Osorio \/ Associated Press<\/p>\n
Andre\u00a0Drummond poses for a photo before the WNBA game between the Chicago Sky and the Connecticut Sun on June 22, 2026 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. (Photo by Erica Denhoff\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Icon Sportswire\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Andre Drummond<\/a> will continue his march through the NBA record books, deeper into a conversation about basketball\u2019s best rebounders, as a member of the New York Knicks<\/a>. He\u2019s a 15-year veteran now, brought in to stabilize and support a championship operation, somewhere into the back nine of a career worth appreciating.<\/p>\n Just yesterday Drummond was the gangly kid dominating Connecticut high school basketball as an underclassman \u2026 the top state prospect in a generation \u2026 a fluid 6-foot-11 force flashing his potential in a one-and-done season at UConn<\/a> \u2026 the No. 9 overall draft pick of the Pistons after sprinkling Jim <\/a>Calhoun<\/a>\u2019s final season with ferocious dunks in 2011-12. \u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Drummond is 32, still the big kid and now the old vet. Born in Mount Vernon, N.Y., and raised mostly in Middletown<\/a>, he signed a one-year, $3.9 million contract with the Knicks, bringing his career earnings (in playing contracts alone) to a whopping $160 million.<\/p>\n He has been very good all along \u2014 even great at his peak with the Pistons, leading the NBA in rebounding in four out of five seasons. He is to NBA rebounding longevity what Rudy Gay<\/a> was to NBA scoring longevity. Gay, who spent two seasons at UConn in 2004-06, kept pouring in points for seven NBA teams from ages 20-36 (a career average of 15.8 a game) and retired in 2024 having earned $184 million.<\/p>\n Philadelphia 76ers’ Andre Drummond plays during an NBA basketball game Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo\/Matt Slocum)<\/p>\n Matt Slocum\/Associated Press<\/p>\n Listed at 280 pounds, Drummond can keep going in similar fashion, even for longer if he chooses and if he stays healthy. All the while, he\u2019ll inch up a prestigious career leaderboard. We\u2019ll remember him \u2014 we should, anyway \u2014 as one of the best at a certain skill: grabbing the ball out of the air, in a crowd.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Make CT Insider a preferred source on Google to see more of our journalism when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Heading into the 2026-27 season, Drummond is the 27th leading rebounder in NBA history. With a total of 11,513, he’s just ahead of Dirk Nowitzki and just behind Patrick Ewing. His career per-game rebounding average of 11.9 ranks 18th. He\u2019ll move up on the former list and move down on the latter, as he\u2019s no longer a bona fide starter or headlining player, just a reserve with enough in the tank to hold games and seasons together.<\/p>\n That\u2019s what the Knicks need him for, to help fill the void left by Mitchell Robinson\u2019s departure to the Celtics. James Dolan\u00a0and his MSG crew couldn\u2019t afford to keep Robinson, who signed a three-year, 37.4 million contract in Boston, but they could afford Drummond, who last season with the 76ers averaged 19.5 minutes, 6.4 points and 8.4 rebounds.<\/p>\n Drummond is in the perfect spot, augmenting what the Knicks have built. New York won a championship last season for the first time in 53 years and there\u2019s never been a brighter light on the Madison Square Garden court.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n UConn\u2019s Andre Drummond dunking in front of Harvard’s Keith Wright (44) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Storrs, Conn.<\/p>\n Bob Child \/ Associated Press<\/p>\n Let\u2019s say Drummond, who turns 33 in August, plays another five seasons and adds another 2,241 rebounds, his total from the past five years. That would give him 13,754 rebounds, ranking him 14th all time, just ahead of Hakeem Olajuwon and just behind Wes Unseld. Drummond would need to surpass Dwight Howard (14,627) to crack the top-10 and then, maybe, he’d have an outside chance of reaching the Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n Either way, he\u2019s made a splendid career of this approach, identifying the one thing he does exceptionally well and making it the centerpiece of his game. He has more rebounds than any active player besides LeBron James, and he\u2019s had a terrific professional experience. It shows in his numbers. It shows in the way he carries himself, still one of the most approachable and seemingly happy former UConn players bouncing around the basketball world.<\/p>\n It was easy for Drummond, as a member of the 76ers, to be in Philadelphia for UConn\u2019s second-round NCAA Tournament victory over UCLA in March. With fans cheering as they recognized him, Drummond found an empty seat on press row and caught up with some of the UConn writers who covered his every move in college.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Andre Drummond of Middletown returned to the Middlesex YMCA Saturday to greet children and hand out school supplies. Drummond, who played a season at UConn and is 11 years into his NBA career, spent much of his youth at the Y.<\/p>\n Mike Anthony<\/p>\n Alex Karaban was dominating that game, to\u00a0Drummond\u2019s delight. They have become pretty tight over the past few years, training and working camps together during summers, often in Connecticut. With the final seconds ticking away, Drummond left press row and walked the court\u2019s baseline<\/a>. At one point, he tried to step through a crowd to approach\u00a0Karaban while the game was still going. Karaban laughed and pointed away.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was trying to get on the court and dap me up,\u201d Karaban said that night. \u201cI know he plays in this arena. I don’t know how much power he has. So I was just telling him, \u2018Go to the locker room.\u2019 I wanted to say hi to him. I was saying, \u2018Go to the locker room! Go to the locker room! I’ll meet you in the locker room!\u2019 He tried stepping over the camera people. I mean, he could have been successful. He’s done a good job with the Sixers.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Drummond\u00a0has done a good job everywhere, including back home even while basically globetrotting as a professional player. He runs a camp at the Middletown YMCA every summer \u2014 he spent much of his childhood in the building \u2014 and is proud of his UConn connection. In June, Drummond took part in the Travelers Championship pro-am<\/a>. He missed his tee time \u2014 \u201cHe\u2019s on property,\u201d antsy tournament officials kept saying \u2014 and finally showed up at the first tee box about 15 minutes late, greeting media members, fans and groups of gathered children.<\/p>\n He was absent from the Connecticut public high school scene as an upperclassman, choosing to attend St. Thomas More. He was only on the UConn\/Big East\/NCAA scene for a season. So he wasn\u2019t the most visible player in Connecticut or UConn history, for sure. He was here in partial view and then gone, off to carve out an NBA body of work worth celebrating, one he\u2019s still building on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andre\u00a0Drummond smiles before the WNBA game between the Chicago Sky and the Connecticut Sun on June 22, 2026…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":786851,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[226156,64,63,283639,590,85],"class_list":["post-786850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-all-daily-sites","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-ct-insider","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=786850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/786851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
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