Quentin Grimes’ Poster Dunk Tops NBA Dunk Score Leaderboard

DALLAS, Texas — Dallas Mavericks guard Quentin Grimes delivered the highest-graded dunk of the 2024-25 NBA season Saturday night, posterizing Boston Celtics backup center Luke Kornet with a thunderous one-handed slam. The dunk, which occurred in the final 30 seconds of the third quarter at the American Airlines Center, registered a Dunk Score of 118.2, the highest mark of the season so far.

The electrifying play brought the crowd and the Mavericks bench to their feet, though it came during a 122-107 loss to the Celtics. Despite the lopsided score, Grimes’ dunk became the highlight of the night, earning widespread attention for its athleticism and execution.

“Obviously, dunk score is a very crucial element to our game,” Kornet joked during an exclusive interview with NBC Sports Boston‘s Abby Chin. “What do I think of the dunk? You know, they say humility is the virtue of knowing God is the author of all good things, and he made Quentin Grimes well. Because that boy — he’s got some quick twitch, as they say.”

Kornet, known for his self-deprecating humor, acknowledged the difficulty of defending such a play. “Frankly, when someone has an opportunity to display their athleticism, it’s on me to try to combat that, and sometimes you end up on the defeated side of the endeavor and you have to willfully accept it,” he said. “So kudos to him. It was a great jump, great dunk.”

Despite being on the wrong end of the highlight, Kornet played a solid game, contributing two points, five assists, and a team-high 10 rebounds in the Celtics’ victory. He also earned respect for attempting to contest the dunk rather than opting for what players often call a “business decision” — avoiding contact to prevent injury or embarrassment.

“The business decision is always to do the thing that you think helps the other team score less and your team score more,” Kornet explained. “I was a little late on that one, which happens. And then he got to my body before I was able to kind of get to his, which was sort of the problem.”

The Dunk Score, a metric introduced by the NBA to evaluate the quality of dunks based on factors like difficulty, athleticism, and impact, has become a popular talking point this season. Grimes’ slam now leads the league in this category, surpassing previous high marks.

The Celtics, who improved their record with the win, will next face the Houston Rockets on Monday night at TD Garden. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston.