Right now, the best dunks in basketball are coming from a mix of explosive NBA players and elite college performers who are redefining what’s possible at the rim. Victor Wembanyama, Shaedon Sharpe, Anthony Black, and Jalen Williams have delivered some of the most memorable slams of the 2025-26 NBA season, each bringing their own style and athleticism to the highlights. But the year’s most eye-catching dunk achievement belongs to NCAA standout Coen Carr, who set a remarkable record with 72 dunks during the 2025-26 college basketball season.
Dunking has never been more accessible or visible to fans, with social media amplifying every powerful flush and highlight-reel moment. Whether you’re watching a 7’4″ prospect like Wembanyama elevate with surprising grace or seeing a smaller guard like Anthony Black finish with aggression through contact, the 2025-26 season has showcased the full spectrum of modern dunking styles. The athleticism on display isn’t just entertaining—it’s setting new standards for what scouts, coaches, and fans expect from elite-level players.
Table of Contents
- WHO’S DUNKING BEST IN THE 2025-26 NBA AND NCAA SEASONS?
- THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND DUNKING SHOES
- BREAKING DOWN THE 2026 NBA ALL-STAR DUNK CONTEST
- CHOOSING THE RIGHT SHOE FOR YOUR DUNKING GOALS
- AVOIDING SHOE-RELATED INJURIES AND FAILURE POINTS
- THE EMERGING TREND OF GUARD DUNKING
- WHAT’S NEXT FOR DUNKING IN PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL
- Conclusion
WHO’S DUNKING BEST IN THE 2025-26 NBA AND NCAA SEASONS?
Coen Carr holds the NCAA record with 72 dunks during the 2025-26 season as of March 2026, a staggering number that reflects both his positioning near the basket and his ability to finish in space. In the NBA, the standout performers share a different skill set. Victor Wembanyama’s dunks stand out for their combination of size and coordination—a 7’4″ player moving like a guard at the rim is always eye-catching.
Shaedon Sharpe brings explosive athleticism and timing, Anthony Black plays with controlled power despite being undersized for many of his positions, and Jalen Williams has become known for his finishing creativity in transition. The contrast between Carr’s high volume and the NBA players’ selective approach to dunking illustrates a key difference in the games. College players often face less athletic defenders and can attack the rim more freely, while NBA defenders are more disciplined and force guards to finish through contact or find cutters in better positions. This means Carr’s 72 dunks represent opportunity and production, while an NBA dunk from any of these four players often signals a broken defense or a perfectly executed play.
THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND DUNKING SHOES
The shoes worn during these dunks matter more than most fans realize. The Nike LeBron 23 currently leads the market as the best overall basketball shoe for 2026, featuring ZoomX foam technology and a carbon fiber plate that deliver 112 SA of shock absorption in the heel—crucial for the landing impact of explosive jumps. The energy return of 70.4% in the heel and 72.1% in the forefoot means players are getting responsive propulsion with every step and jump. However, no single shoe is best for every aspect of dunking.
The Adidas D.O.N. Issue 7 specializes in court traction with a friction coefficient of 0.87, which is essential when you need to plant your feet and explode upward without slipping. The Nike Kobe 6 Protro has accumulated 71,312 collective minutes worn by NBA players during the 2025-26 season, indicating proven durability and reliability among professionals—but this doesn’t mean it’s the optimal choice for every player’s foot type or jumping style. The tradeoff between cushioning, responsiveness, and court feel means players often rotate between multiple shoes depending on their team’s court conditions and their own injury history.
BREAKING DOWN THE 2026 NBA ALL-STAR DUNK CONTEST
The 2026 NBA All-Star Dunk Contest produced one standout performer who earned five perfect 50s from the judges—a rare achievement that showcases the gap between ordinary dunks and truly exceptional ones. In a contest where the bar for originality and execution is exceptionally high, earning five perfect scores means hitting every element: difficulty, execution, creativity, athleticism, and crowd reaction.
This level of performance in the All-Star contest reflects how much dunking has evolved as a technical and artistic skill. Competitors are no longer satisfied with simple power dunks; judges expect innovation, variation, and flawless execution on every attempt. The 2026 contest reinforced that dunking at the highest competitive level requires both raw athleticism and strategic understanding of what judges reward.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT SHOE FOR YOUR DUNKING GOALS
If you’re playing basketball seriously and want to maximize your dunking potential, the choice between shoes like the LeBron 23, Kobe 6 Protro, and D.O.N. Issue 7 depends on your specific needs. The LeBron 23 is the safest choice for overall performance—you’re getting proven cushioning, responsive propulsion, and professional validation from one of the game’s greats.
The Nike Kobe 6 Protro offers you the security of knowing thousands of NBA minutes have been logged in that shoe without failure, though it skews slightly toward the professional athlete with specific foot geometry. The practical reality is that most serious players will benefit from trying multiple shoes and understanding their court’s surface and your own biomechanics. A $120 Nike Dunk Low in “Pink Blast,” “Clover,” or “Black/University Red” might be sufficient for recreational play, while the premium performance models command higher prices for their specialized technology. The tradeoff is between budget and the measurable performance gains from advanced foam and plate technology—for casual players, the difference in actual dunking ability is minimal, but for competitive athletes, every percentage point of energy return and shock absorption adds up over a full season.
AVOIDING SHOE-RELATED INJURIES AND FAILURE POINTS
One major limitation of focusing purely on shoe technology is that dunking injuries are more often caused by programming errors, fatigue, or poor biomechanics than by shoe failure. The best shoes in the world won’t prevent knee injuries if you’re landing with poor mechanics, overtraining, or competing while fatigued. The Kobe 6 Protro’s impressive durability record means the shoe itself won’t break down, but it doesn’t guarantee your knees and ankles won’t if you’re not managing recovery properly.
Court conditions matter as much as shoe technology. Even the D.O.N. Issue 7’s exceptional traction coefficient of 0.87 won’t help if you’re playing on a court with debris or moisture. The warning here is simple: invest in shoes that match your needs, but invest equally in proper warmup, recovery, strength training, and listening to your body when something feels wrong.
THE EMERGING TREND OF GUARD DUNKING
One of the clearest trends in 2025-26 is that smaller, quicker players are dunking more frequently and with more confidence. Anthony Black’s success finishing through contact despite being undersized represents a shift in how modern basketball values quick-twitch athleticism and spatial awareness over pure vertical leap.
This has trickled down to shoe design, with manufacturers creating more versatile models that support explosive movement without assuming the wearer is 6’10” or taller. This trend means dunking shoes need to balance responsiveness for quick movements with the cushioning necessary for smaller players who might take slightly harder landings from their lower heights. The shoes that perform best now are those designed for guards and wings, not just centers and power forwards.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR DUNKING IN PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL
Looking forward, the evolution of dunking will likely be shaped by continued advances in shoe technology and the increasing emphasis on highlight-reel efficiency in the NBA. As defenders improve and spacing becomes even more important, dunks will remain valuable plays but perhaps less frequent.
This could actually drive innovation in dunk-specific shoes as manufacturers target a more specialized market. The 2025-26 season has shown that dunking remains central to basketball’s appeal and athleticism—from Coen Carr’s NCAA record to the perfect performances at the All-Star contest. As the game evolves, so too will the shoes and techniques that support the players making these plays.
Conclusion
The best dunks for men right now come from elite athletes like Victor Wembanyama, Shaedon Sharpe, Anthony Black, and Jalen Williams in the NBA, with NCAA record-holder Coen Carr proving that the explosion at the rim transcends competition level. Executing these dunks effectively depends on proper footwear, with the Nike LeBron 23 leading the market for overall performance, while specialized shoes like the D.O.N.
Issue 7 serve specific needs around traction and court feel. Whether you’re watching dunks or trying to improve your own finishing at the rim, the combination of proper shoe technology, smart training, and understanding modern dunking trends will give you the best foundation. Start with a reputable basketball shoe that matches your foot type and playing style, invest in proper conditioning and biomechanics, and remember that the most impressive dunks in 2025-26 come from players who excel at both the athletic and technical aspects of the game.