By Rory Carroll
April 6 (Reuters) – NBA great Shaquille O’Neal said on Monday he is launching a professional dunk league with its inaugural season set to debut this year.
The league, which also has the backing of TNT Sports and Authentic Brands Group, builds on the DUNKMAN TV series launched last year and aims to turn dunk contests from one-off showcase events into a structured professional competition.
Featuring 24 athletes from around the world, the league’s first season will include four live group-stage events, with competitors vying for places in the DUNKMAN World Championship.
The winner of the final will receive a $500,000 grand prize.
“These athletes are innovators and DUNKMAN is going to give them a global stage, real stakes, and a chance to build careers doing what they love,” O’Neal, who will serve as league commissioner, said in a statement.
The events will air across TNT, TBS, truTV and HBO Max, with additional content distributed through social media channels and other digital brands.
TNT Sports Chief Content Officer Craig Barry said the league would target audiences drawn to both sports and culture, adding that the partnership with O’Neal would help create programming built around the personalities and creativity of top dunkers.
A panel of judges will evaluate each dunk attempt to decide which athletes advance through the competition. Details such as host cities, participants and broadcast information would be announced in the coming weeks.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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