DUNKMAN Turns Dunking Into a Professional Sport
Shaquille O’Neal’s league, built with Authentic Studios and TNT Sports, delivered a breakout first season. The next one goes bigger.
DUNKMAN is the world’s first professional dunk league, turning dunking from a one-night showcase into a full sport with its own structure, scoring system and $500,000 grand prize. Founded by Shaquille O’Neal and launched with Authentic Studios and TNT Sports, it brought together 24 of the world’s best dunkers in a league format. Its first season crowned Dallas native Cam Hazzard as the inaugural World Champion, and the league returns in 2027 with an expanded slate of events.
DUNKMAN’S Creation
Dunking has long been one of basketball’s most electrifying moments, but outside of occasional contests, it had never had a league built entirely around it. DUNKMAN was created to give the sport’s best dunkers a stage of their own, turning a singular moment into an original competitive property. Authentic saw in the concept the foundation for a full-fledged league that could extend across live entertainment, hospitality, retail and premium content.
Teams across Authentic built the experience from the ground up. Expert judges evaluate each attempt to decide who advances through the group stages and who is crowned world champion. For the first season, the goal was credible, Olympic-level scoring, which meant more than celebrity judges. It needed a system judges could use confidently and fans could understand and trust.
Authentic’s digital team brought the company’s “staying entrepreneurial” mission to life by building that system themselves. They designed and developed a proprietary scoring system for live television, simple enough for judges to use in real time yet detailed enough to explain why each dunk earned its score. The system became a defining part of the DUNKMAN experience. The anticipation of each score added suspense, making the technology central to the competition and fan engagement.
Shaq’s role
Founded and commissioned by Shaquille O’Neal, DUNKMAN is the first professional league dedicated exclusively to competitive dunking. The league he created has a formal structure, guaranteed athlete contracts and a 24-dunker roster drawn from around the world. After the first season, he said the results confirmed what he had long believed: “dunking is a professional sport.”
How the season worked
Building on the success of the 2025 DUNKMAN television series, the league’s new format aired live on TNT and HBO Max across five Tuesday nights, with host Adam Lefkoe joined through the season by dunk icon Vince Carter, NBA champion Draymond Green and digital creator CashNasty. The league premiered on July 21, 2026, presented by Lilly in partnership with Credit One Bank.
Taking over Atlanta all summer, the series unveiled four groups of six dunkers per group stage, each tournament winner claiming $25,000 and an automatic slot in the World Championship. The final championship drew four Wild Card selections, joining them for a head-to-head, single-elimination bracket. The grand prize was $500,000.
Meet the dunkers
The roster included three-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner Mac McClung, Dengxing Chen, Tyler Currie and Isaiah Rivera. Week 1 featured Doug Anderson, Chen, Jonathan Edwards, Cam Hazzard, Joel Henry and Shelby McEwen.
The field was global and varied. Chen, from Hangzhou, China, stands 5-foot-9 and has spent nearly two decades building a name as one of Asia’s most accomplished dunkers. McEwen is an Olympic silver medalist in the high jump, bringing elite track-and-field elevation to the court. In the end, Dallas native Cam Hazzard was crowned the first-ever DUNKMAN World Champion and took home the $500,000 prize.
Season 1 by the numbers
DUNKMAN’s debut season generated more than 223 million social views and over 33 million engagements globally. Roughly 94% of those views came from people who don’t follow the league, and DUNKMAN was the top trending topic on China’s Douyin during the championship. International participants, including athletes from Brazil and China, helped drive the global reach.
What’s next for Season 2
DUNKMAN returns in 2027 with regional qualifier events in the U.S. and abroad, where aspiring dunkers compete before expert judges for a shot at the professional ranks. Two new formats are planned: team competitions, and a junior division for athletes 15 and under on nine-foot rims.
Authentic Studios President Colin Smeeton said Season 1 established dunking as a professional sport, and that the league is still in the early stages of what it will become. TNT Sports’ Craig Barry said the first championship drew unprecedented engagement and positive sentiment.
Follow DUNKMAN
The full schedule, athlete reveals, ticket on-sale dates and broadcast information will be announced in the coming months. Fans can follow along at dunkman.com and on social at @dunkmanofficial.
Press Highlights
AP, Shaquille O’Neal starting a new Dunkman league, offering a prize of $500,000 for best dunker
Black Enterprise, SHAQ INTRODUCES DUNKMAN LEAGUE DEBUTING SUMMER 2026
Bleacher Report, Shaq, TNT Sports Will Debut Dunkman League in Summer 2026 and Reveal Prize Money
Sports Business Journal, Dunkman returning in 2027, with Shaq, TNT, Authentic eyeing international events
Total Pro Sports, How Will Dunkman Work? Inside Shaquille O’Neal’s League Format, $500K Prize, and Broadcast Plans