The slam dunk is more art than science, but that’s never stopped the NBA from trying to put a number on the most exciting play in basketball. The league added the Dunk Contest to All-Star Weekend back in 1984, and it’s produced some iconic moments in between forgettable duds. Last season, the NBA debuted it’s own Dunk Score metric, and used it to rank the best dunks of the year.
Of course, no needs a convoluted algorithm to determine whether or not a dunk was sick. A great dunk can be felt in the viewer’s bones and the defender’s soul. I was in the gym for the NBA’s No. 3 dunk last season according to Dunk Score (John Collins’ gnarly baptism of Coby White) but I certainly would not call it the best dunk I’ve ever seen live. That’s reserved for Andrew Wiggins going nuclear on Luka Doncic in the 2022 Western Conference Finals.
I ranked the best shooters in the league earlier last week. Now it’s time to rank the best dunkers. Like last time, I’ll have some honorable mentions after the list.
9. Jaylen Brown, F, Boston Celtics
I remember watching Jaylen Brown hammer dunks at the McDonald’s All-American Game open scrimmages back in 2015. Now a grizzled NBA veteran with nine seasons and one NBA Finals MVP award under his belt, Brown remains one of the league’s most ferocious dunkers. The Celtics star had 43 total dunks last year, including some true-to-form posters: he got Jalen Smith in NBA Cup play early in the year, and dropped the hammer on Myles Turner. Brown’s career dunk reel is pretty crazy at this point, with my personal favorites being his facial on Maxi Kleber (and subsequent Kevin Garnett high-five) above. Brown turns 29 in Oct., but he’s still one of the best in the business.
8. John Collins, F, Los Angeles Clippers
Collins is due for a return to relevance this year as he exits Utah’s tank for what should be a competitive Clippers team in the Western Conference. The 6’9, 235-pound forward might be best known for getting dunked on at this point, but he’s still one of the game’s most aggressive rim attackers himself. Collins slammed 66 dunks in 40 games with the Jazz last year, including the poster on White above. He should have way more opportunities for highlights this year with James Harden dropping dimes on the Clippers, but his defense will have to be solid enough to keep him on the floor for long stretches. Collins’ career dunk reel is full of some amazing slams, and he also had one of the most hilarious Dunk Contest runs ever when he channeled the Tuskegee Airmen and accidentally smashed a prop plane. Thank you for all of the entertainment, John.
7. Amen Thompson, G, Houston Rockets
My profile of the Thompson Twins ahead of the 2023 NBA Draft included the following note on Amen: “He might be the most athletic player in the NBA as a rookie.” Thompson’s freaky physical gifts helped him become a top-5 draft pick, and he really broke out in in two year under Rockets coach Ime Udoka. Thompson is the embodiment of a positionless player: at 6’6 with a 7-foot wingspan, Thompson is at once an on-ball stopper, a roaming big-play free safety, a screener and lob threat, and an initiating point guard. He’s still a very bad outside shooter, but he’s been able to overcome it by being the most explosive player on the floor in any scenario. Thompson had 138 dunks last year in 69 games despite not really finding his groove until around the new year. He’s going to be a huge piece for Houston this year as he tries to win the West with Kevin Durant in tow, and I think it’s going to produce some of the season’s best highlights. Thompson hasn’t really had his signature dunk yet, but he has the potential to be the best dunker in the league this year.
6. Derrick Jones Jr., F, Los Angeles Clippers
Jones has be included on any list of the league’s best dunkers post-2000, and he has two Dunk Contest victories to prove it. Jones has become more than a dunker the last two years as he emerged as a key defensive stopper on the Mavericks’ 2024 Western Conference championship team, and then played a career-high in minutes last season for the Clippers. Jones hammered 112 dunks last season, by far the most of his career, proving that he can still produce highlight plays even while tasked with more on-court responsibilities. He had some great dunks during his first season in LA, but I’m partial to his monster tip dunk vs. the Suns, and this acrobatic tip slam against the Warriors. Jones’ offensive rebounds so often result in an automatic two points via dunk, and that’s a nice player to have on the team, especially when he’s also often guarding the other team’s best wing scorer.
5. Giannis Antetokounmpo, F, Milwaukee Bucks
”I wish I could be 7-feet, run and just dunk. That takes no skill at all.” James Harden’s quote from 2020 remains one of the most important artifacts to capture Giannis Antetokounmpo’s brilliant even if he completely missed the point. The dunk is the most efficient shot in basketball, and Giannis can get to it more than anyone. That takes a ton of skill, even before you get to all the ways his macro skills have improved as a mid-range shooter and passer. Antetokounmpo’s dunked 243 times in 67 games last season, with 20.5 percent of his field goal attempts coming from dunks. It’s helped make him a top-3 player in the world, a status he’s maintained for seven years and counting at this point. No one can match Giannis’ blend of speed and power, and he’s also incredibly nimble in tight spaces for someone who generates so much forward momentum. If Giannis makes dunking all the time look easy, that just part of his genius.
4. Jalen Johnson, F, Atlanta Hawks
Hawks optimism is in the air right now, and the return of Jalen Johnson is a big reason why. Johnson was limited to only 36 games last year before he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, and while he’s been out the Hawks have reloaded around him. Kristaps Porzingis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Luke Kennard come over to fortify Atlanta’s rotation, and there could be a surprisingly high ceiling for this group if Johnson takes an All-Star leap. Johnson was playing like an All-Star last year before the injury as an attacking mismatch four who is way too fast and explosive for opposing forwards, and way too strong for quicker guards. Johnson is a natural running the break alongside a gifted facilitator in Trae Young. He’s a human highlight reel waiting to happen in transition, on tip dunks, and as a lob threat playing off Young. He might be the best player on the Hawks this year, and he’s certainly one of the league’s great dunkers.
3. Ja Morant, G, Memphis Grizzlies
Morant is the hardest player on this list to rank, and there’s an argument he shouldn’t be ranked at all. After a historic run of dunks to start his career, Morant now doesn’t really dunk the ball that much by design, only finishing with 17 dunks in 50 games last season. At the same time, it feels like Morant is liable to pop off for the dunk of the year at any moment, with even his missed dunks becoming highlight reel plays. We’re talking about a skinny 6’3 guard who legitimately scaled Mt. Wemby last year for what would have been an all-time poster … if it didn’t come after the whistle. Maybe last season was only a blip on the radar and Morant will dunk more often this year. Just being available for something to close to every game is the first part of this. The Morant era feels like it’s on shaky ground right now in Memphis, but there’s always a chance he can roar back to form.
2. Anthony Edwards, G, Minnesota Timberwolves
Anthony Edwards already has a career’s worth of iconic dunks to his name as he enters his age-24 season. There was the great Yu Wantanabe poster of 2021, the off-the-backboard lob against Memphis, this dunk against Dallas, and of course the big slam on Collins above. Edwards is cut straight out of the young Kobe, young MJ mold when it comes to his speed-to-power and explosiveness as a leaper. Edwards is improving in so many other ways — he made more three-pointers than anyone in the NBA last year, he’s getting better at making decisions out of traps — and that’s only going to allow more opportunities for his athleticism to shine as defenses have to play him as more than a driver. The Wolves are in the middle of their contention window, and Edwards is driving it. He’s going to have so many more big dunks in big games in the years to come.
1. Shaedon Sharpe, G, Portland Trail Blazers
It doesn’t take long to figure out how Shaedon Sharpe became a top-10 draft pick straight out of high school after he failed to play a game at Kentucky. Sharpe has fantastic measurements for a swingman with a 7-foot wingspan, and he has a case as the most explosive leaper in the world. While he still feels more like a prospect than a solid player as he enters year four, Sharpe has certainly delivered as an in-game dunker whose spectacular aerial displays are right up there with prime Gerald Green or Terrence Ross in terms of guys whose dunking far outshined their all-around game. Sharpe broke the record for the highest vertical in-game dunk ever last year, and it wasn’t even his best dunk of the season. He combines elements of some of the greatest dunkers in history: grace on the way up, creativity in the air, and violence on the way down. Sharpe is the worst NBA player on this list, but there’s still time for him to mint himself as a legitimate starter. Until then, he can at least say he’s the best dunker alive.
Jalen Duren, C, Detroit Pistons
Ausar Thompson, G, Detroit Pistons
Yves Missi, C, New Orleans Pelicans
Jonathan Kuminga, F, Golden State Warriors
Bilal Coulibaly, F, Washington Wizards
Aaron Gordon, F, Denver Nuggets
Jalen Green, G, Phoenix Suns
Donovan Mitchell, G, Cleveland Cavaliers
