Shaquille O’Neal is legendary for many reasons, but among them is his knack for dunking so powerfully that backboards literally shattered.
The four-time NBA champion and Hall of Fame center is leaning into that aspect of his legacy.
During the men’s NCAA Tournament National Championship broadcast, O’Neal told his Inside the NBA cohorts Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith that he would be launching the first professional dunking league.
“I’d like to thank my partners because we did a show about eight years ago that got over 200 million hits, so then I took that show over and called it ‘Dunkman,'” O’Neal said. “And then, I said, ‘You know what? We need a Dunkman league. Since the NBA guys don’t have enough pride to give us, the fans, what we want in the Dunk Contest, all these professional dunkers have been created.”
Warner Bros. Discovery officially announced DUNKMAN on Tuesday. O’Neal partnered with Authentic Brands Group, TNT Sports, and Eli Lilly and Company to launch the league. It will air across TNT, TBS, truTV, and HBO Max.
DUNKMAN is described as “the world’s first professional league in the sport of dunking,” and it will have its inaugural season this summer.
“The inaugural DUNKMAN season will feature 24 of the best dunkers competing live in a brand-new league format,” Warner Bros. release says. “The season will consist of four group stage events in which athletes battle for a spot in the DUNKMAN World Championship. Finalists will compete for the title of DUNKMAN World Champion and a grand prize of $500,000.”
O’Neal will serve as the DUNKMAN league commissioner.
“These athletes are innovators, and DUNKMAN is going to give them a global stage, real stakes, and a chance to build careers doing what they love,” O’Neal said in a statement, per the official release. “We are transforming dunking from a one-night contest to the fastest growing professional sport off two feet.”
NBA fans have come to universally bemoan the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest, formerly an iconic staple of All-Star Weekend, because the game’s biggest stars no longer participate.
NBA G League MVP McClung won it three straight years before Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson won it this February.