Shaquille O’Neal and TNT Sports have announced the premiere date for “Dunkman,” the first professional league tied to dunking, as well as the roster of contenders. The first night of live competition will take place on Tuesday, July 21 at 8 p.m. ET. The world championships will air Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 8 p.m. ET with contestants competing for a grand prize of $500,000.
“Dunkman” is presented by pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, in partnership with Credit One Bank. O’Neal serves as founder and league commissioner and launched the league with Warner Bros. Discovery, the owner of TNT, and Authentic Brands Group, a sports, media, entertainment and lifestyle platform.
During the inaugural season, commentary will be provided by dunk icon Vince Carter, NBA champion Draymond Green, popular hoops multiplatform creator CashNasty, and host Adam Lefkoe. The live league events will air across TNT and HBO Max with additional content across the league’s social channels, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and YouTube. The league’s roster of 24 contenders includes three-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner Mac McClung, China’s top dunker Dengxing Chen, and pro dunkers Tyler Currie and Isaiah Rivera.
The first night of live competition on July 21, will consist of Chen, Doug Anderson, Shelby McEwen, Cam Hazzard, Jonathan Edwards and Joel Henry. The second night on July 28 will see Currie, Mason Baker, Jonathan Clark, Dillan McCarthy, Avante Nichols and Gustavo Haakin face off. The third night on Aug. 4 will be a contest between Rivera, New Williams, Aeramiah Binford, Vadym Piddubchenko, Hyrum Fechser and Darius Clark. And the fourth group will play on Aug. 11 and boasts McClung, Brandon Ruffin Marlow Gilmore, Antonio Eaglan, Dylan Haugen and Will Bunton. The finalists will then meet for the world championships on Aug. 25. A panel of expert judges will evaluate each dunk attempt to determine which dunkers advance through the group stages.
“Dunkman” is part of a wave of efforts by media companies to assume control over sports rights that take up a lot of their programming. The cost of broadcasting the NFL, MLB and NBA games climbs, which has prompted media players to create their own leagues. Warner, which owns HBO and TNT, also works with the three-on-three Unrivaled women’s basketball league and manages “The Match” celebrity golf tournament.