Shaquille O’Neal, Warner Launch ‘Dunkman’ Professional Dunk League

Warner Bros. Discovery may no longer show NBA games on TNT each week, but that doesn’t mean the company is no longer playing basketball.

Shaquille O’Neal, Authentic Brands Group and Warner’s TNT Sports will launch “Dunkman,” the first professional league tied to dunking, in summer of 2026. The inaugural season will feature 24 skilled dunkers competing live across four events. Finalists will compete for a world championship title and a grand prize of $500,000. Eli Lilly & Co., the pharmaceutical giant, will also work as a partner with the league.

Related Stories

Netflix Execs 'Laughed' at Claim the Streamer Demands Movies and TV Shows Restate Plot Points for Viewers: 'There's No Such Principle'

Adam Sandler Starring in 'Time Out,' Remake of French Psychological Drama for Netflix

“The NBA’s dunking contest over the last ten to fifteen years has been terrible,” O’Neal told Variety during an interview on Monday. “We want the best dunkers around the world, and we know there are a lot of great dunkers out there.”

O’Neal will serve as commissioner of the new league.

The launch of Dunkman — which got its start as a six-episode competition late last year — is the latest in a a new series of efforts by media companies to take more control over the sports rights that fill up so much more of their programming schedules. The cost to show top tier games from the NFL and NBA, among others, continues to rise. With that in mind, many of the nation’s big media companies have tried to launch their own entities. Warner also works with the three-on-three Unrivaled women’s basketball league and manages “The Match” celebrity golf tournament. Fox Corp, is a major owner of the UFL spring football league.

“We’ve kind of come to the conclusion that these guys are professional athletes that need to be organized” says Craig Barry, executive vice president and chief content officer of Warner’s TNT Sports, during an interview. “We believe there’s an opportunity to bring a league to the fans,” who have already shown interest in seeing great dunks playing on digital and social media

Live league events will air across TNT, TBS, truTV and HBO Max, with additional content streamed across “Dunkman,” social channels, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and YouTube. 

O’Neal is passionate about the concept, says Lee White, head of sports content at WME, which represents the basketball legend. “Shaq has been outspoken about the state of the dunk contest and how it’s lost relevance in recent years. The star power isn’t there, but more importantly, the innovation and creativity has fallen off,” he says. “But rather than just complaining about a problem and waiting for someone else to fix it, Shaq and the team have built something entirely new with ‘Dunkman.’  We feel this is truly a groundbreaking competition that brings together the best viral dunk artists from around the world and appeals to an audience that is underserved.”

O’Neal says fans will get to meet some new athletes. He cites the example of a Polish doctor who took part in the initial contest and displayed some surprising skills. “This is a new professional league, not a dunking contest,” he says, “We are calling all dunkers.”

.