
Who are the Best Dunkers in the NBA? Well, One of the most exciting plays in basketball is the slam dunk. It has evolved into an art form over time. It was the play that originally got me interested in basketball, making it my personal favorite in the sport. Every time we believe we have reached the pinnacle of dunking, someone new raises the bar. Dunking has changed dramatically over time. To properly and accurately rank the best 10 dunks in NBA history, it is vital to look back through the lens of history.
List of Top 5 Best Dunkers in the NBA
No. | Player |
---|---|
1. | Vince Carter |
2. | Dominique Wilkins |
3. | Michael Jordan |
4. | Kobe Bryant |
5. | Shawn Kemp |
1. Best Dunkers in the NBA – Vince Carter

American basketball commentator for ESPN. He is also a former professional basketball player Vincent Lamar Carter Jr. Later in his NBA career. Well, he occasionally played power forward but mostly he played shooting guard and small forward. He was termed for the All-NBA Team twice and was an eight-time All-Star. From his debut in 1999 to his retirement in 2020. Then he is the first player in NBA history to have played 22 seasons and in four distinct decades.
He was termed by the Golden State Warriors with the fifth overall choice in the 1998 NBA draught, and they later dealt him to the Toronto Raptors. As a result of his victories in the 2000 NBA All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest and the 1999 NBA Rookie of the Year Award, Carter became a household name in Toronto. He won a gold medal while competing for the United States in the 2000 Summer Olympics.
2. Best Dunkers in the NBA – Dominique Wilkins

Former professional basketball player Jacques Dominique Wilkins for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association most of the time (NBA). Nine-time NBA All-Star Wilkins is regarded as one of the league’s most acrobatic slam dunk artists, garnering the moniker “the Human Highlight Film.” Wilkins was honored by being admitted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. He received recognition as one of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team’s finest players in October 2021, cementing his status as one of the league’s all-time greats.
Wilkins competed in five slam dunk competitions, taking home two victories. His first was in Denver in 1984. After Julius Erving and Larry Nance, Wilkins came in third. In the championship game in Indianapolis in 1985, he defeated Michael Jordan. A rematch between Jordan and Wilkins was postponed in Dallas in 1986 because Jordan was hurt. Wilkins advanced to the finals but lost to his 5’7″ teammate Spud Webb.
Jordan and Wilkins contested against one another again at the 1988 Slam Dunk Contest. Jordan defeated Wilkins by two points to win the match. The judges gave Wilkins’s first two dunks in the championship game scores of 50. Wilkins successfully executed a thunderous windmill dunk from the left side on his third and final try. Wilkins’ head nearly collided with the rim as it rose far over the floor. Players and spectators gave Wilkins a standing ovation, but he only received a score of 45. With a score of just 48, the judges allowed Jordan to win the Chicago-based competition. With a 50-point slam to end the competition, Jordan may have won in the most contentious manner.
3. Best Dunkers in the NBA – Michael Jordan

American businessman and former professional basketball player Michael Jeffrey Jordan are known by his initials, MJ. He participated in fifteen seasons of National Basketball Association (NBA) action, winning six NBA titles while playing with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan is the principal owner and chairman of 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series as well as the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA. Michael Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time, according to his biography on the NBA website. In the 1980s and 1990s, he played a significant role in the NBA’s global popularisation, helping to establish himself as a global cultural figure.
In Slam Dunk Contests, he displayed his leaping prowess by slamming home dunks from the free-throw line, earning him the nicknames “Air Jordan” and “His Airness.” With the Bulls, Jordan won his first NBA championship in 1991. He then added trophies in 1992 and 1993 to complete a hat trick. Before the 1993–94 NBA season, Jordan abruptly announced his retirement from basketball to play Minor League Baseball. However, he returned to the Bulls in March 1995 and guided them to three additional championships in 1996, 1997, and 1998 in addition to a then-record 72 regular-season victories in the 1995–96 NBA season. In January 1999, he announced his second retirement; nevertheless, from 2001 to 2003, he played in two more NBA seasons as a member of the Washington Wizards.
4. Kobe Bryant

We have witnessed some of the NBA’s smoothest plays thanks to Kobe Bryant, who never ceased demonstrating his superior talent both on and off the court. He never failed to put on a show, whether it was with his ferocious defensive pressure or his artistic determination on the rim. You can imagine how difficult it would be to rank all of Bryant’s highlight dunks during his career. Nevertheless, Bryant writes a significant phrase over each player and each game for them to be stamped over.
In a game that went into double overtime against the Houston Rockets in 2003, Kobe Bryant scored 52 points while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. Yao Ming, a star from Houston, came on the court to show Bryant that he wasn’t to be trifled with. The “Black Mamba” made it clear that he didn’t give a damn. Whenever he had the opportunity, he used his speed to sprint past Ming. Then Bryant did what everyone was anticipating. Standing at 6-foot-4, Kobe Bryant sprang over Yao Ming, who is 7-6, to slam the ball with a point to prove. Everyone in the league received the message that height is irrelevant thanks to this slam.
5. Shawn Kemp

American former basketball player Shawn Travis Kemp Sr. for the Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers, and Orlando Magic in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was known as “Reign Man” and was a three-time All-NBA Second Team selection and a six-time NBA All-Star.
Perhaps the best illustration of a player who was brought in to cause chaos on the rim is Shawn Kemp. Throughout his career, he has produced several noteworthy dunks, the majority of which came while he was a member of the Seattle SuperSonics. In the opening round of the 1992 Playoffs, the Golden State Warriors played the Seattle SuperSonics. Shawn Kemp’s barrage of glass-shattering dunks against the Warriors came during this particular series. He may have had the biggest alley-oop in NBA history to secure a victory before his two dunks in Game 4.
Conclusion
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