Shaquille O’Neal has conquered basketball, business, broadcasting, DJing, and just about everything else he’s put his oversized fingerprints on. Now, the Big Diesel is adding another title to his growing résumé: commissioner of the world’s newest professional sports league.
Get ready for Dunkman.
After teasing the idea earlier this year, Shaq’s professional dunking league is officially ready for tipoff—or more accurately, takeoff. TNT Sports has announced that Dunkman will make its debut on Tuesday, July 21, at 8 p.m. ET, bringing some of the most jaw-dropping athletes on the planet to television.
If you’ve ever watched an NBA Slam Dunk Contest and thought, “There has to be more,” Shaq apparently had the same idea.
The league will feature 24 elite dunkers battling it out over four weekly events before everything culminates in the Dunkman World Championships on August 25. Every event will air on TNT Sports and HBO Max, with plenty of extra highlights and behind-the-scenes content appearing on Bleacher Report, House of Highlights, and YouTube.
And because this is Shaq we’re talking about, the prize isn’t exactly pocket change.
The winner will walk away with a whopping $500,000, along with the title of Dunkman World Champion.
Hosting the action is Adam Lefkoe, while the commentary team is stacked with basketball personalities who know a thing or two about throwing down spectacular slams. Draymond Green joins NBA legend Vince Carter—arguably one of the greatest in-game dunkers ever—along with popular creator CashNasty to provide analysis and entertainment throughout the competition.
The idea for Dunkman has actually been years in the making.
According to Shaq, the inspiration came from a dunking show that exploded online years ago, collecting more than 200 million views. Seeing the incredible response, he realized there was room for an entire league built around the art of high-flying creativity.
As only Shaq can explain it, today’s NBA stars don’t always deliver the excitement fans want from the traditional dunk contest. Rather than wait for that to change, he decided to build something entirely new.
In his view, there are incredible athletes around the world whose specialty is dunking, and they deserve a stage all their own.
That’s exactly what Dunkman hopes to provide.
The field includes some of the biggest names in professional dunking, including three-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion Mac McClung, along with standout high-flyers Dengxing Chen, Tyler Currie, and Isaiah Rivera. If you’ve seen any of their highlight reels online, you already know gravity is more of a suggestion than an actual rule.
Fans can expect creative routines, powerful finishes, and an elaborate scoring system designed to reward both athleticism and originality. It’s a fresh twist on a fan-favorite event that many basketball lovers have wanted to see expanded for years.
Leave it to Shaq to take an idea that started with viral videos and turn it into a full-fledged sports league.
Whether Dunkman becomes the next big summer tradition remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: when Shaquille O’Neal decides to dream big, he rarely settles for anything less than spectacular.
And if the dunks are anywhere near as impressive as the prize money, basketball fans are in for one unforgettable ride.