Dunks Per Game Leaders — NBA All-Time Rates
DPG = dunks divided by games played. Unlike total dunks, DPG controls for availability — a player who misses 30 games to injury but stays efficient can still lead the league.
Walker Kessler holds the modern record with 3.65 DPG in 2023-24 (299 dunks in 82 games). Victor Wembanyama is currently pacing to break that in 2025-26, sitting at 3.30 DPG through 64 games.
2025-26 Season Leaders
| # | Player | Team | DPG |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victor Wembanyama | SAS | 3.30 |
| 2 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | MIL | 2.79 |
| 3 | Zion Williamson | NOP | 2.57 |
| 4 | Walker Kessler | UTA | 2.48 |
| 5 | Chet Holmgren | OKC | 2.37 |
| 6 | Alperen Sengun | HOU | 2.19 |
| 7 | Jaxson Hayes | LAL | 2.11 |
| 8 | Jarrett Allen | CLE | 2.03 |
| 9 | Anthony Edwards | MIN | 1.94 |
| 10 | Paolo Banchero | ORL | 1.84 |
Live leaderboard: see current standings
All-Time Single-Season DPG Peaks
| Season | Player | Team | DPG | GP | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | Victor Wembanyama | SAS | 3.30 | 64 | On pace to break Kessler's modern record |
| 2023-24 | Walker Kessler | UTA | 3.65 | 82 | Modern era record — 299 total dunks |
| 2022-23 | Jarrett Allen | CLE | 3.37 | 82 | |
| 2018-19 | Clint Capela | HOU | 3.17 | 67 | |
| 2017-18 | DeAndre Jordan | LAC | 3.04 | 82 | |
| 2015-16 | DeAndre Jordan | LAC | 3.21 | 81 | Peak Lob City era |
| 2014-15 | DeAndre Jordan | LAC | 3.20 | 82 | |
| 2007-08 | Dwight Howard | ORL | 2.94 | 82 | |
| 2005-06 | Ben Wallace | DET | 2.67 | 82 |
Why DPG matters more than total dunks
Total dunks rewards availability — an iron man who dunks 1.5 times a game but plays 82 will clear a more efficient dunker who plays 60. DPG controls for that. For prediction markets (over/under player dunks, method-of-first-basket), DPG is the base rate our Poisson model uses before adjusting for opponent, rest, and pace.
A note on data era
Figures above are drawn from NBA.com play-by-play tracking (reliable since 2004). Pre-1996 dunks were not tagged as a discrete shot type — they were recorded as made baskets with no mechanism flag. Any "historical" dunk leaderboard that claims to cover the 1980s-90s is extrapolating from game tape, not the official box score.
In this era: Darryl Dawkins, Dominique Wilkins, Shawn Kemp, and Shaquille O'Neal would almost certainly appear on this list. We don't include them because we can't verify the count.
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