Rabb attended Bishop O'Dowd High School, where he won two CIF Northern California Open Division basketball championships and one CIF Open Division State Championship. Rabb competed in the summer for the AAU's Oakland Soldiers. In four varsity seasons, Rabb amassed over 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and is the winningest player in school history. Recorded single-game career-highs of 42 points, 26 rebounds, eight assists and 13 blocked shots. In his freshman year, he aided the Dragons to a 24–7 record and the 2012 CIF NCS championship game and he averaged 7.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks as a freshman in 2011-12. He participated in the October 2012 USA Developmental National Team mini-camp, held in Colorado Springs, Colo. He scored 25 points and hauled in 10 rebounds in the 2013 California Interscholastic FederationNorth Coast Section Division III championship game in leading the Dragons to the title, which marked the team's second-straight CIF NCS Division III title, also went undefeated in the WACC for the regular season league crown. He averaged 25.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 8.0 blocks as a sophomore in 2012-13. He was named to the 2013-14 USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team on March 27, 2013. As a senior, Rabb averaged 24.5 points, 16.3 rebounds, and 4.5 blocks. He led the Dragons to the CIF open division state title. In the championship game, held at Cal's stadium, Rabb scored 19 points, grabbed 21 rebounds, blocked 2 shots, and scored the go ahead free throw with 0.8 seconds left to give his team the win.
College career
Before deciding where to attend college, Rabb listed ten schools as finalists, Arizona, Cal, Duke, Georgetown, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, UCLA and USC. On October 24, 2014, Rabb cut his list to five schools, Arizona, Cal, Kansas, Kentucky and UCLA. On March 25, 2015, Rabb announced that Arizona and Cal were his two finalists. On April 13, 2015, Rabb announced his intent to enroll at the University of California, Berkeley and play for the Golden Bears. After a strong freshman season where he earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors, Rabb surprised many by opting to forego the 2016 NBA draft and return to Cal. Prior to the 2016–17 season, he was named a preseason All-American by the Associated Press. At the conclusion of his sophomore season on March 22, 2017, Rabb announced his intention to forgo his final two years of collegiate eligibility and enter the 2017 NBA Draft.
Rabb was selected 35th overall in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic who later traded his rights to the Memphis Grizzlies. On September 18, 2017, Rabb agreed to a three-year rookie-scale deal with the Grizzlies, having his first two seasons fully guaranteed by Memphis. During his career, he has had multiple assignments with the Memphis Hustle, Grizzlies' G-League affiliate. On October 19, 2019, he was waived by the Grizzlies.
New York/Westchester Knicks (2019–present)
On October 23, 2019, Rabb signed a two-way contract with the New York Knicks. On January 13, 2020, the New York Knicks announced via their Twitter account that they had waived Rabb. He did not appear in a game for the parent club. On January 23, 2020, Rabb was reported to be added to the Westchester Knicks roster.
National team career
He was the member of the USA Basketball Men’s U16 National Team that posted a perfect 5–0 record en route to winning gold at the 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Maldonado, Uruguay; started three games and averaged 12.0 points and 9.8 rebounds.
2012 Torrey Pines/Jerry Tarkanian All-Tournament Team.
Personal life
Rabb is the son of Ivan Sr. and Tami Rabb. He has a younger brother, Tamarik, who also attended Bishop O'Dowd High School. Rabb started playing basketball when he was 6 or 7 years old. In high school, he carried a 3.15 GPA. He attended the University of California, Berkeley and was ranked on ESPN's 2015 top 100 recruits as No. 8. Rabb is cousin of Reggie Rogers, University of Washington standout and NFL player.