# The 17 Greatest NBA Dunkers of the 2000s

> Saturday-night contest champions sit beside players whose best slams came on fast breaks in real games, all from a single decade above the rim.

*By YPB Team · Published November 4, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-17-greatest-nba-dunkers-of-the-2000s*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Vince Carter** — score 1000/1000
   Toronto Raptors star who won the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest and dunked over 7-foot-2 Frédéric Weis at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
2. **Jason Richardson** — score 882/1000
   Golden State Warriors guard who won the Slam Dunk Contest in back-to-back years, 2002 and 2003.
3. **Andre Iguodala** — score 832/1000
   Philadelphia 76ers wing who lost the 2006 Slam Dunk Contest to Nate Robinson in a dunk-off after a reverse slam off a pass Allen Iverson bounced off the back of the backboard.
4. **Dwyane Wade** — score 680/1000
   Miami Heat guard and 2006 NBA Finals MVP who regularly attacked the rim off the dribble for in-game dunks over taller defenders.
5. **Gerald Green** — score 680/1000
   Boston Celtics wing who won the 2007 Slam Dunk Contest, then returned in 2008 as a Minnesota Timberwolf and blew out a candle on a cupcake mid-dunk.
6. **Shaquille O'Neal** — score 611/1000
   Los Angeles Lakers center who won three straight NBA Finals MVP awards from 2000 to 2002 with a game built on power at the rim.
7. **Dwight Howard** — score 529/1000
   Orlando Magic center who won the 2008 Slam Dunk Contest wearing a Superman cape.
8. **Amar'e Stoudemire** — score 529/1000
   Phoenix Suns forward and 2003 Rookie of the Year who finished countless pick-and-rolls from Steve Nash with dunks.
9. **Desmond Mason** — score 433/1000
   Seattle SuperSonics forward who won the 2001 Slam Dunk Contest.
10. **Tracy McGrady** — score 433/1000
   Two-time NBA scoring champion who threw an alley-oop to himself off the backboard at the 2002 All-Star Game.
11. **Kobe Bryant** — score 317/1000
   Los Angeles Lakers guard who won three straight NBA titles from 2000 to 2002 and ranked seventh on Bleacher Report's 2011 list of the decade's top dunkers.
12. **Nate Robinson** — score 0/1000
   5-foot-9 guard who became the first three-time Slam Dunk Contest champion, winning in 2006, 2009 and 2010.
13. **Josh Smith** — score 0/1000
   Atlanta Hawks forward who won the 2005 Slam Dunk Contest as a 19-year-old rookie.
14. **Shawn Marion** — score 0/1000
   Phoenix Suns forward nicknamed The Matrix who made four All-Star teams between 2003 and 2007 as a finisher in the Suns' fast-break offense.
15. **LeBron James** — score 0/1000
   Cleveland Cavaliers forward who entered the NBA straight from high school in 2003 and won the 2009 MVP, often finishing fast breaks with tomahawk dunks.
16. **Kenyon Martin** — score 0/1000
   First overall pick of the 2000 draft whose emphatic dunks helped the New Jersey Nets reach the 2002 and 2003 NBA Finals.
17. **Baron Davis** — score 0/1000
   Golden State Warriors guard whose 2007 playoff dunk over Andrei Kirilenko of the Utah Jazz became one of the decade's best-known slams.

Tags: 2000s, basketball, players, nba, dunks