The play-by-play data isn't entirely detailed, but the advantage is that you can compile non-traditional stats like dunks. There are actually three categories of dunks: dunk, slam dunk, and driving dunk. I'm not clear on what the distinction is between dunk and slam dunk (one is more powerful ... ?), but a driving dunk is distinct and more highlight worthy than a simple and open two-hand dunk under the basket. I imagine when people check these dunk lists they're thinking of the high-flyers, not big men who live near the rim.
Without further ado, the top dunkers list of 1996-97:
Rank
|
Name
|
Made dunks
|
Attempted dunks
|
Dunk %
|
Dunks/
40 mins
|
1
|
Chris Webber
|
177
|
182
|
97.3
|
2.52
|
2
|
Shawn Kemp
|
166
|
181
|
91.7
|
2.41
|
3
|
Shaquille O'Neal
|
157
|
161
|
97.5
|
3.24
|
4
|
Dikembo Mutombo
|
146
|
151
|
96.7
|
1.96
|
5
|
Alonzo Mourning
|
131
|
134
|
97.8
|
2.26
|
6
|
Marcus Camby
|
127
|
142
|
89.4
|
2.68
|
7
|
Otis Thorpe
|
125
|
135
|
92.6
|
1.88
|
8
|
Rasheed Wallace
|
118
|
132
|
89.4
|
2.49
|
9
|
Jerry Stackhouse
|
115
|
118
|
97.4
|
1.45
|
10
|
Antonio McDyess
|
115
|
135
|
85.2
|
1.79
|
11
|
Dale Davis
|
114
|
117
|
97.4
|
1.71
|
12
|
Vin Baker
|
109
|
112
|
97.3
|
1.38
|
13
|
Kevin Garnett
|
98
|
105
|
93.3
|
1.31
|
14
|
Rony Seikaly
|
90
|
95
|
94.7
|
1.38
|
15
|
Patrick Ewing
|
87
|
87
|
100.0
|
1.21
|
It's surprising to see Webber number one, given that his game seems more ground-bound, but a lot of that is a clouded perception from his post-injury seasons of the mid-00's. Shaq and Kemp are two worthy dunks, and the rest of the list is packed with big men. But I'd give the undisputed top total dunker title to Shaq for his absurd dunks per minute. No one else was close (there were a few guys in the 2 to 2.5 range in dunks per 40 mins not listed.) Shaq also completed a high percentage of his dunks, and only ranks third in total dunks because of significant missed time.
Top dunkers ranked by total driving dunks:
Rank
|
Name
|
Made dunks
|
Attempted dunks
|
Driving dunk /tot.
dunks
|
Dunks/
40 mins
|
1
|
Chris Webber
|
33
|
33
|
18.6
|
0.47
|
2
|
Grant Hill
|
24
|
24
|
35.3
|
0.31
|
3
|
Glen Rice
|
24
|
24
|
28.9
|
0.29
|
4
|
Antoine Walker
|
23
|
24
|
29.9
|
0.31
|
5
|
Juwan Howard
|
21
|
21
|
27.6
|
0.25
|
6
|
Jerry Stackhouse
|
21
|
21
|
18.3
|
0.27
|
7
|
Vlade Divac
|
20
|
20
|
34.5
|
0.28
|
8
|
Rodney Rogers
|
20
|
20
|
29.9
|
0.32
|
9
|
Marcus Camby
|
19
|
19
|
15.0
|
0.40
|
10
|
Shareef Abdur-Rahim
|
19
|
20
|
22.4
|
0.27
|
11
|
Doug Christie
|
18
|
18
|
31.6
|
0.23
|
12
|
Bo Outlaw
|
17
|
17
|
22.7
|
0.31
|
13
|
Patrick Ewing
|
14
|
14
|
16.1
|
0.19
|
14
|
Mario Elie
|
13
|
14
|
33.3
|
0.19
|
15
|
Derrick Coleman
|
13
|
13
|
18.1
|
0.25
|
This is for driving dunks, which are distinct from the other two types (dunk and slam dunk.) Webber is the clear winner here. In the 90's, he was sensational in transition, and he probably got a lot of these dunks starting from the high post where he logged a lot of time. He even beats everyone with dunks per minute, and no highflying guard is close. Oddly enough, the seven-foot Divac also has a lot of driving dunks, but like Webber I imagine a lot of those originate from high post plays. And Camby ranking so high, especially on dunks per minute, suggests that centers who can handle the ball dunk a lot in traffic (not exactly the most amazing discovery in basketball, however.)
And where's Jordan? He's ranked near 60th and he had 10 driving dunks with 49 total, despite 3106 minutes. It's good for a guard, but guys like Christie and Gary Trent are in his range. Second threepeat played closer to the ground and used his midrange game to punish opponents. NBA.com lists him with 1202 midrange shots at an elite 48.9 conversion percentage -- I didn't check, but that appears to be the highest volume of midrange shots in the database (at least that I've seen, and that includes guys like Kobe and Dirk.) Dunks are fun to talk about, but obviously there's more to the game.
And for fun, here's a list of all players without a dunk and at least 1000 minutes played:
*One attempted dunk
And for fun, here's a list of all players without a dunk and at least 1000 minutes played:
Name
|
Minutes
|
Height
|
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf
|
2131
|
6’ 1”
|
Kenny Anderson
|
3081
|
6’ 0”
|
Greg Anthony
|
1863
|
6’ 0”
|
B.J. Armstrong
|
1020
|
6’ 2”
|
Travis Best
|
2064
|
5’ 11”
|
Muggsy Bogues
|
1880
|
5’ 3”
|
Chris Childs
|
2076
|
6’ 3”
|
Marty Conlon
|
1614
|
6’ 10”
|
Vinny Del Negro
|
2243
|
6’ 4”
|
Sherman Douglas
|
2316
|
6’ 0”
|
Joe Dumars
|
2923
|
6’ 3”
|
Howard Eisley
|
1083
|
6’ 2”
|
Anthony Goldwire
|
1188
|
6’ 1”
|
Tim Hardaway
|
3136
|
6’ 0”
|
Jeff Hornacek
|
2592
|
6’ 3”
|
Jaren Jackson
|
1133
|
6’ 4”
|
Mark Jackson
|
3054
|
6’ 1”
|
Steve Kerr
|
1861
|
6’ 3”
|
Matt Maloney
|
2386
|
6’ 3”
|
Darrick Martin
|
1820
|
5’ 11”
|
Elliot Perry
|
1595
|
6’ 0”
|
Ricky Pierce
|
1250
|
6’ 4”
|
Terry Porter
|
1568
|
6’ 3”
|
Mark Price
|
1876
|
6’ 0”
|
Khalid Reeves
|
1432
|
6’ 3”
|
Pooh Richardson
|
1065
|
6’ 1”
|
Brian Shaw*
|
1867
|
6’ 6”
|
John Stockton
|
2896
|
6’ 1”
|
Damon Stoudamire
|
3311
|
5’ 10”
|
Brooks Thompson
|
1055
|
6’ 4”
|
Rex Walters
|
1041
|
6’ 4”
|
Charlie Ward
|
1763
|
6’ 2”
|
Chris Whitney
|
1117
|
6’ 0”
|