It’s no secret that the NBA is a shooter’s league now. With players and teams shooting from distance at an unbelievable rate, the league has become a perimeter-dominated game.
Still, it’s never wise to disregard the game’s elite dunkers. Even though the inside-out playstyle is largely outdated, their dominance in the paint and pure athleticism brings a lot of value to their teams — and it’s not an easy thing to do.
Without thinking, there are a few names that come to mind, but which players (statistically speaking) are the league’s most frequent dunkers? The positional leaders are rather unsurprising.
PG: Ben Simmons (56)
SG: Zach LaVine (52)
SF: Kelly Oubre Jr. (49)
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo (124)
C: Rudy Gobert (116)
The overall Top 10 consists of Giannis (124), Gobert (116), Jarrett Allen (106), Mitchell Robinson (104), Clint Capela (101), Anthony Davis (100), Bam Adebayo (86), Montrezl Harrell (82), JaVale McGee (75), and Wendell Carter (71).
Of course, most of the NBA’s top dunkers are big men who make their money under the rim. But for guys like Simmons, LaVine, Oubre, and LeBron James, they are effective at driving to the rim, a useful tool for collapsing the defense and creating space for others to work on the perimeter.
Of course, it’s also good for a highlight reel, and these names have given us more than a few moments to gawk at this campaign. It’ll be interesting to behold what else they might have in store for us in the weeks and months to come.
