The unlikely phenomenon of DeJuan Blair begins with a checklist of everything that should disqualify him as an effective N.B.A. player.

He is a power forward who is listed at 6 feet 7 inches, but is closer to 6-5.

He is a rebounding specialist who barely leaves the ground.

He has no anterior cruciate ligament. In either knee.

The catalog of justifiable doubts is as thick as Blair’s torso. His playful smile only grows wider at every recited item.

“Yeah,” said Blair, the San Antonio Spurs rookie out of Pittsburgh, drawing out the word and punctuating it with a chuckle. “That’s why it’s so amazing. That’s why it’s so fun.”

There might not be anyone quite like Blair in the history of the N.B.A. The league has had its share of undersize rebounders — Elgin Baylor (6-5), Charles Barkley (6-6) and Dennis Rodman (6-7). But they were usually blessed with some combination of athleticism, leaping ability and knee ligaments.

Blair’s shortcomings in those departments caused him to fall to the second round on draft night, all the way to 37th. So far, he looks like the steal of the draft. Through two weeks of play, Blair leads all rookies with 7.3 rebounds a game, in only 18.3 minutes. Adjusted on a per-48-minute basis, he ranks as the N.B.A.’s third-leading rebounder.

“He’s got a great future ahead of him,” said the Spurs veteran Antonio McDyess, an accomplished rebounder himself. “He’s relentless. He plays hard every possession.”

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