Who has the most dunks in the NBA since 1996?
Since the 1997-98 NBA season, Shaquille O'Neal has led the league in dunks since taking over from Chris Webber. However, he was overtaken in the 2017-18 season by one of the league's most dominant big men.
Although Big Shaq retired in 2011, his 2,626 career dunks stood until the 2017-18 NBA season. Of all the players on the top-five list, O'Neal has been retired the longest, with Tyson Chandler (1,735) joining him after the 2019-20 season.
LeBron James (1,949) and DeAndre Jordan (2,237) are the other active players that make up the list.
Which NBA player has the most dunks from 1996 to date?
Dwight Howard holds the record for the most dunks in the NBA since 1996, and it does not look like that will change anytime soon. He could become the first player to cross the 3,000-dunk mark if he makes at least 90 in the 2021-22 season.
Although Howard recorded only 85 dunks (lowest since his rookie season, with over 40 games played) during his stint with the Philadelphia 76ers, toppling that number should come easy during his return to the LA Lakers. Playing second fiddle to Joel Embidd resulted in him averaging the lowest minutes played in his career (17.3).
Of course, age will be a significant factor as Superman will clock 36 in December 2021. However, his build and athleticism show that he is still a certified rim rocker.
Dwight Howard working on his FTs, then proceeds to do a one-handed 360 dunk 😳 https://t.co/x4l1wxdAoK
Howard will have to share minutes with DeAndre Jordan in purple and gold and might come off the bench more often. Given his positive attitude, that should not be a problem for the eight-time NBA All-Star who is just interested in competing and helping his team out in the best way he can.
Dwight's most dominant run came during his time with the Orlando Magic. He was selected with the 1st overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft by the Magic and came closest to leading them to an NBA championship after O'Neal's finals run in 1995.
In the 2007-08 season, he registered 269 dunks to set the record for the most dunks in a single season. However, that record has long been broken after Rudy Gobert completed 306 throw-downs in the 2018-19 season.
Gobert went on to play for the Utah Jazz and become one of only 10 NBA players to win back-to-back NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards.
Gobert also set the NBA record for most slam dunks in a season in 2019 (306). Gobert was named All-NBA Team last year.
#ThisIsBakersfield https://t.co/btxJmtB9nO
Heading into the 2021-22 NBA season, it will be interesting to see how many dunks Howard will attempt. It's a given that he's not the most athletic considering his age. However, we cannot put it past him to always finish emphatically at the rim, especially if he is aware of what he could achieve.