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The NBA Playoffs have given fans a lot to cheer about over the years, with players like LeBron James and Kevin Durant providing highlight after highlight in recent seasons. One of the best highlights of any game is the slam dunk which, when it happens in the playoffs during a crucial moment, puts crowds to their feet and silences those rowdy opposing fans.
In the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the 2021 NBA Finals, for example, the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo ignited the home crowd with a steal followed by a two-handed dunk at the other end. The sequence brought down the house at Fiserv Forum.
Antetokounmpo is one of the most prolific dunkers both in the regular season and in the NBA Playoffs. One only needs to watch Games 2 and 3 of the Finals to see what we mean.
This leads us to a burning question in some folks’ minds. Who are the active players who have the most dunks in the NBA Playoffs? A quick look at the stats over the past couple of decades shows us who these rim rattlers are. We’ll take a look at the top five but we’ll let you in on who’s in the top 6-10 first:
10. Kawhi Leonard (125)
9. Rudy Gobert (126)
8. Serge Ibaka (129)
7. DeAndre Jordan (133)
6. Clint Capella (155)
As you’ll notice, four of the five are centers, but will the trend continue when we look at the top five?
Let’s check out the 5 active players who have dunked* the most in the NBA Playoffs:
*dunk stats courtesy of Stat Head Basketball
5. Giannis Antetokounmpo (175 dunks)
The fifth most prolific active dunker in the NBA Playoffs is none other than Giannis Antetokounmpo. In 62 playoff games under his belt, the Greek Freak has amassed 175 dunks in six trips to the postseason. Antetokounmpo attacks the ring with impunity and he does it so often at the rate of nearly three dunks per game (2.82). That’s the highest dunk rate in the NBA Playoffs of all the players on this list.
Giannis has arms that go on forever, and with his 6-foot-11 frame, he’s able to throw the ball down more easily than most players his size. At his rate, Antetokounmpo will pass most of the players on this list within the next few years depending on how deep the Milwaukee Bucks go in the NBA Playoffs.
4. Kevin Durant (187 dunks)
The next player on the list is Kevin Durant, who has 187 dunks in 151 NBA Playoff games for an average of 1.24 dunks per contest. At 6-foot-10, the long-armed, jump-shooting assassin has the height to get to the rim easily to flush one through the hoop.
The stats show that Durant is more than just a jump shooter even in the NBA Playoffs. When he has to, he can be a force in the lane and he can dunk the basketball with the best of them.
The 2014 Most Valuable Player has been to the NBA Playoffs in 10 of his 13 years (excluding last season when he didn’t play at all because of an Achilles injury) in the league, and has become a fixture in the postseason most of his career.
3. Andre Iguodala (203 dunks)
In third place on this prestigious dunk list is veteran forward Andre Iguodala. In his 17 years in the league, the one-time All-Star and former Finals MVP has been to the NBA Playoffs 14 times. During that span, he has dunked the basketball 203 times in 170 games.
That’s 1.19 dunks every game in the NBA Playoffs for Iguodala, who was once a high-flying, dunking machine back in his Philadelphia 76ers days. As he has gotten older, the 6-foot-6 swingman has moved farther and farther away from the basket to get his points, but he used to get most of his points much closer to the rim.
Iggy’s favorite dunk back in his younger days was the windmill dunk where he would cup the ball in his wrist before throwing it down.
2. Dwight Howard (302 dunks)
During his heyday, Dwight Howard was a force to be reckoned with in the paint both in the regular season and in the NBA Playoffs. Howard’s athleticism and wide body gives him the space he needs to bully his way to the basket and throw one down with authority. The former slam dunk champion can force the ball through the hoop with the best of them.
He’s been to the NBA Playoffs in 12 of his 17 years in the league. During that span, he dunked the ball 302 times in 125 games. That’s an average of 2.42 dunks whenever he puts on his jersey.
Even now, as a 35-year-old, Howard is a physical specimen who is still able to slam the ball. He gets lob passes from his teammates, gets second chances for his team with offensive rebounds and dunks the ball as often as possible. Expect to see more slam dunks from Howard in the NBA Playoffs before he retires.
1. LeBron James (343 dunks)
The greatest and most consistent active dunker in the NBA Playoffs is King James. LeBron has been dunking in the postseason ever since his third year in the league when he first got a taste of life after the regular season.
And he hasn’t stopped dunking since.
Not only does he dunk the ball a lot, James also does it with flair, posing and being creative while slamming home the basketball as much as he can.
James is an athletic wonder with physical gifts that he has put to good use over the course of his 18-year career. In his 15 years in the NBA Playoffs, the four-time MVP has dunked the ball 343 times in a whopping 266 playoff games. That’s an average of 1.29 dunks per game.
Though he doesn’t dunk the ball as often as some of the players on this list, James is in the NBA Playoffs often enough, and his teams go deep in the postseason enough times that he’s able to accumulate these many dunks in his career.
Guess the Lakers players!
