Shaquille O’Neal creates first-ever pro hoops league for dunkers

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal will form the first-ever professional basketball league dedicated to dunkers, officially announced on April 7, 2026.

The league, named “Dunkman,” is scheduled to debut this summer in partnership with TNT Sports, and will air on HBO Max, TNT, TBS, and truTV.

O’Neal said the dunk league will feature four group-stage competitions, and surviving athletes will have the chance to vie for the USD 500,000 (PHP 30,060,750) grand prize in the championship finale.

Twenty-four dunkers will be featured in the event, but O’Neal and the rest of the management have yet to finalize whether they will hold global tryouts or hand-pick the participants for the inaugural season.

For Dunkman’s debut conference, O’Neal confirmed that the 24 participating dunkers will come from nine countries, with six continents represented.

“These athletes are innovators, and Dunkman is going to give them a global stage,” O’Neal said.

“They will have the chance to build a career doing what they love. We are transforming dunking from a one-night contest to the fastest-growing professional sport off two feet.”

According to O’Neal, one of the league’s main aims is to revive the art and purpose of dunking, claiming that professional athletes no longer take pride in winning dunk contests.

Two months ago, O’Neal went viral after slamming the 2026 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, calling it the “worst in history,” and adding that the competition had lost its fire.

“The landscape has changed,” O’Neal told Sports Illustrated.

“As a basketball fan, the best dunkers were always some of the best players in the world, but not anymore. We want to crown the best dunkers. The goal of the league is to leave no doubt about who the greatest dunker in the world is.”