Dunk Leaders for 1996-97

This is just a data dump as I continue to work on my big project. I haven't been posting a lot lately because I've been trying to corral the 1997 play-by-play data. Right now I'm working out the kinks, but I'm close to the finish line.

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

*The data only counts the regular season

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:

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”

*One attempted dunk