04/06/26 06:55:00
Printable Page
04/06 18:53 CDT Shaquille O'Neal starting a new Dunkman league, offering a
prize of $500,000 for best dunker
Shaquille O'Neal starting a new Dunkman league, offering a prize of $500,000
for best dunker
By The Associated Press
Shaquille O'Neal wants to find the best dunker in the world.
O'Neal --- who had roughly 4,000 dunks in his NBA career, including playoffs
--- announced Monday night that he's the founder and inaugural commissioner of
Dunkman, which he's touting as the first professional league for dunking.
It follows a Dunkman television series, which aired last year. The league,
O'Neal said, will look to build off the popularity of that six-episode series.
In a partnership with TNT Sports, O'Neal's new league will have five live
events --- four group stage competitions, followed by a title event ---
featuring 24 dunkers from around the world. At stake: the title of world
champion, along with $500,000.
"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
said. "We are transforming dunking from a one-night contest to the fastest
growing professional sport off two feet."
The league's events will air across a variety of platforms, including TNT, TBS,
truTV and HBO Max, along with some social channels.
The league said it will use "an Olympic-level scoring system that sets a modern
standard for professional dunking," featuring a panel of expert judges.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
|
