He played in the NBA for the Warriors, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks.

[3] During the 2005–06 season, Dunleavy lost his starting role as small forward for a number of games, due partly to a shooting slump.

Some early struggles, however, prompted Warriors head coach Don Nelson to send Dunleavy back to the bench, juggling his lineup in search of better team chemistry and winning results.

[citation needed] On January 17, 2007, Dunleavy was dealt to the Indiana Pacers along with teammates Troy Murphy, Ike Diogu, and Keith McLeod for Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington, Šarūnas Jasikevičius, and Josh Powell.

During the 2010–2011 season, the Indiana Pacers advanced to the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2006 thanks to a regular-season finale win over the Washington Wizards coupled with a Charlotte Bobcats loss to the Orlando Magic.

He was the second-active leader in this category behind former Warriors and Pacers teammate Troy Murphy, who also ended his drought as a part of the Boston Celtics.

Since, Dunleavy has been perhaps the most hated current or former player among fans of the Bucks, with the vulgar initialism "FMD" being commonly used online.

[24] On January 7, 2017, Dunleavy was traded, along with Mo Williams and a future first-round draft pick, to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Kyle Korver.

[25] After Dunleavy initially refused to report to the Hawks while seeking a buyout of his contract, he changed his mind and agreed to join the team.

In his final game, Dunleavy only played for 71 seconds, substituting towards the end of the first quarter for Tim Hardaway Jr..

On June 16, 2023, Dunleavy was promoted to general manager of the Warriors following Bob Myers' subsequent step down from the position.

[36][37] Dunleavy has two younger brothers: Baker, who played at Villanova from 2002 to 2006 and is the former head coach at Quinnipiac;[38] and James, who was a walk-on for USC and is currently an NBA player agent.