[HaleParticipant]

I’m surprised that Durant was only 2 behind LeBron.

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

Dunking is not the end all be all for a basketball player. It is another way to get two points, though it can be a very exciting and sometimes momentum shifting way of doing so. Seeing that they now keep statistics for just about everything, I was curious to see who the leaders were at throwing down. Hopefully this little factoid is somewhat amusing and maybe even surprising.

2012 NBA Dunk Leaders (Top 25)

1. Blake Griffin, LA Clippers: 192 (2.9 dunks per game)

2. JaVale McGee, Washington Wizards/Denver Nuggets: 150

3. DeAndre Jordan, LA Clippers: 141

4. Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic: 137 (More than likely second had he played a full season)

5. Andrew Bynum, LA Lakers: 136

6. Tyson Chandler, New York Knicks: 134

7. Rudy Gay, Memphis Grizzlies: 110

8. LeBron James, Miami Heat: 104

9. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder: 102

10. Kris Humphries, New Jersey Nets: 92

t-11. Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets: 83

t-11. Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City Thunder: 83

t-11. Josh Smith: Atlanta Hawks: 83

t-11. Amare Stoudemire, New York Knicks: 83

15. Pau Gasol, LA Lakers: 74

16. DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings: 72

17. Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia 76ers: 70

18. Derrick Favors, Utah Jazz: 68

t-19. Chris Bosh, Miami Heat: 66

t-19. David Lee, Golden State Warriors: 66

t-19. Tristan Thompson, Cleveland Cavaliers: 66

22. Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls: 64

t-23. Jan Vesely, Washington Wizards: 63

t-23. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat: 63

t-25. Samuel Dalembert, Houston Rockets: 59

t-25. Jason Thompson, Sacramento Kings: 59

Other notes:   

• Top PG Dunkers: Russell Westbrook with 48 (Tied with Landry Fields and Kevin Seraphin for 39th overall) and John Wall with 47 (Tied with Taj Gibson for 42nd)
• Assuming injuries were a part of this (he did only play 36 games and was not completely healthy for many of them), but Derrick Rose only had 12 dunks this year, tying him with Goran Dragic
• Remember when everyone thought Tyrus Thomas was going to be a dunking machine? He only had 12 also, in 54 games.
• 2 out of 3 rookies with a max vert over 40 inches in last years draft combine had only one dunk. Even with limited minutes, Josh Selby (42 inch max vert) and Travis Leslie (40.5) surprised me when I found out they only had a single jam this season. Iman Shumpert (42) had 25 dunks.
• Chris Paul and Ray Allen only had 2 dunks during the 2012 season. Jeremy Lin and Kyrie Irving had 3.
• This years dunk contest winner, Jeremy Evans of the Utah Jazz, had 25 dunks in 29 games. He also had 27 FG’s on the season, meaning 92.6% of his field goals were dunks. Don’t know if that is the highest percentage in the league (or NBA history), but it has to be close.
• Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Nick Collison (!), Marc Gasol and Dorrell Wright were all tied for 82nd with 28 dunks
• Other former high flyers: Jason Richardson had 25, Vince Carter had 20 and Tracy McGrady had 11
• Miami is the only team with 3 players in the top 25, but Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan outdunked the trio by a fresh 100
• The most disappointing dunk stat for me was seeing DeMar DeRozan at 35 for the year (tied with Tim Duncan and Ivan Johnson for 63rd). This guy is a fantastic young athlete who one expects to throw down and be aggressive. Not saying that he needs to dunk it all of the time, but one would hope he would maximize his gift while he still can. Just kind of a footnote to DeRozan’s underachieving this past season.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/stats/dunk-o-meter?&start_row=1

 

[Chilbert arenasParticipant]

 Surprised Amare was tied for 11th after how vertically challenged he’s looked this year with injuries and lack of a rhythm.

[Raef LaFrentzParticipant]

Jan Vesely dunks everything within earshot of the rim. Just sayin’.

[Lotto StudParticipant]

 Thanks for the breakdown Mikey V. I would at least expected Westbrook to be in the Top 15 the way he attacks the rim.

[TRC1991Participant]

danny granger, joe johnson and dirk nowitzki all had 4 dunks on the year

antawn jamison had only 2

 

thats funny cuz those guys are all 6’7”+ and played all season

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

Wow, Danny Granger only had 4 dunks in 62 games.

[ivan138Participant]

kenneth faried, man im so happy for him. hes a real draft steal, high motor. hes like better lou amundson. and jan vesely surprised me , hes pretty high on the list for a rookie white 6ft11 barely PF

[aamir543Participant]

Damn, very surprised to see Vesely up there, we knew his athleticsism was his forte, but 63 of his 117 made shots were dunks, meaning more than half of his makes were dunks, that’s crazy, but it also shows he really needs to work on his ball handling, and half-court game, I’d love for Wiz of Oz to give us a run down on his game, since basically none of us have gotten to see him, because he was pretty decent his last 19 games, 8 and 7 in 27 minutes of run, shooting at a 56% clip, but I think he’s better suited as a 4 thana  3, but with Nene there and Kevin Seraphin showing he’s legit, he might have to play on the perimeter.

[dede21]

 Vesely is not a 3 and Chris Singleton looks good for the future at that position

[Lotto StudParticipant]

 Why is it so hard for guards (PGs) to complete dunks in the NBA.

[Author]

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