Most Dunks in an NBA Game: Shaq’s Reported Record of 13
Shaquille O’Neal is credited with 13 dunks against Philadelphia in 1993. See his scoring breakdown and why historical data coverage matters.
Shaquille O’Neal is credited with 13 dunks against the Philadelphia 76ers on April 6, 1993, playing for the Orlando Magic. Ballislife identifies that performance as the NBA single-game dunk record. It is a reported historical mark, however, from before the NBA’s modern advanced-stat coverage.
Here, “most dunks” means made dunks by one player in a regular-season game—not dunk attempts, a team’s combined total or a Slam Dunk Contest score. The striking part of O’Neal’s night was how much of his shooting came from that one finish.
The shots behind Shaq’s 13-dunk game
Orlando won 116–90. O’Neal scored 35 points in 35 minutes, shooting 17-for-23 from the field and 1-for-2 at the free-throw line. He also had 16 rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Source: NBA box score
Combining that box score with the reported 13-dunk count gives this scoring breakdown:
| Scoring source | Makes | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Dunks | 13 | 26 |
| Other two-point field goals | 4 | 8 |
| Three-pointers | 0 | 0 |
| Free throws | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 17 field goals, plus 1 free throw | 35 |
Those dunks accounted for 76.5% of his made field goals and 74.3% of his points, calculated as 13 ÷ 17 and 26 ÷ 35. The game required no overtime, as the box score’s 240 total player-minutes per team confirms.
A made-dunk count describes scoring volume, not shooting accuracy. O’Neal’s 73.9% field-goal percentage comes from all 17 makes on 23 attempts; the 13 made dunks alone do not tell us how many dunks he attempted.
Why the historical qualification matters
A historical dunk table reproduced by HoopSong lists O’Neal with a highest-game total of 13 for 1992–93. HoopSong identifies the table as page 146 of Harvey Pollack’s 1993–94 Philadelphia 76ers media guide. The reproduced table supports the season’s game-high count, but does not itself give the date or opponent.
The NBA says its advanced statistics extend back to 1996–97, while its digitized basic box scores reach back to 1946–47. Those are different coverage windows: an old box score can establish points and field goals without identifying which baskets were dunks. Source: NBA Stats FAQ
The careful answer is therefore Shaq’s reported historical record of 13, rather than a claim that every game in every NBA era has been checked on equal terms. Missing shot-type data should not be treated as zero dunks.
For the separate question of sustained dunk volume, see our comparison of NBA career and single-season dunk records.