NBA-гийн домогт тоглогч Шакил О’Нил сүүлийн үеийн бүх оддын тоглолтын цагариг дээрээс довтлох тэмцээний чанарт сэтгэл дундуур байгаа тул шилдэг довтлогчдыг нэгтгэсэн шинэ лигийг албан ёсоор эхлүүлжээ.
Шакил О’Нил өөрийн үүсгэн байгуулсан “Dunkman” лигийн хүрээнд цагариг дээрээс довтлох урлагийг мэргэжлийн түвшинд гаргаж ирэхийг зорьж байна. Энэхүү лигийн анхны аварга шалгаруулах тэмцээн наймдугаар сарын 25-нд болох бөгөөд шилдэг найман оролцогч 500,000 ам.долларын шагналын төлөө өрсөлдөх юм. Тэмцээнийг TNT болон HBO Max сувгаар шууд дамжуулах бөгөөд NBA-гийн цагариг дээрээс довтлох тэмцээний гурван удаагийн аварга Мак МакКланг энэ удаагийн шигшээ шатанд нэгдүгээрт эрэмбэлэгджээ.
Тэмцээний шүүгчдийн бүрэлдэхүүнд багтсан Винс Картер энэхүү лиг нь цагариг дээрээс довтлох боломж, цар хүрээг тэлж буйг онцолсон байна. О’Нил NBA-гийн одод тэмцээнд оролцохоос зайлсхийж байгаад шүүмжлэлтэй хандаж, тэднийг “зөөлөн бөгөөд аймхай” хэмээн тодорхойлжээ.
Мак МакКланг NBA-гийн улирлын ачаалал, бэлтгэлийн шаардлага зэргээс шалтгаалан олон од тоглогчид энэ төрөлд оролцохоос татгалздагийг ойлгож буйгаа илэрхийлсэн юм. Тэрээр энэхүү тэмцээнийг довтлогчдын ур чадварыг үнэлэх, хөгжүүлэх чухал ач холбогдолтой үйл явдал гэж үзэж байна.
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Some of Shaquille O’Neal’s most iconic NBA moments were him dunking on opponents.
The lob he caught from Kobe Bryant in Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference finals helped spark the first of three consecutive championships for the Los Angeles Lakers. O’Neal’s annihilation of Chris Dudley in 1999 showcased his power, footwork and showmanship.
“The Diesel” has watched and judged many of the recent NBA slam-dunk contests. He says what he’s seen has usually been “terrible,” and he decided to do something about it.
The result is the Dunkman league for competitive dunkers, which will hold its first championship on Aug. 25.
The league evolved from the first season of the “Dunkman” television show last December, which featured dunkers from around the world. But those dunks weren’t in front of a live audience and didn’t include this level of judging. This season’s competition began with 24 dunkers and is down to eight finalists who will compete for a $500,000 prize live on TNT and HBO Max. Mac McClung, a three-time NBA slam-dunk contest champion, is the No. 1 seed in the finals.
Dunkers competed in four group stages at Overtime Elite (capacity of 1,300) in Atlanta over four weeks, with each winner advancing to the championship round. The remaining four dunkers were wild-card selections based on the next four highest scores. Five judges scored made and missed dunks based on set criteria. All of the dunkers, many of whom made a name for themselves in international competitions that can be found across the internet, are compensated for their participation.
“The best dunkers were always professional athletes,” O’Neal said. “Now you’ve got these kids that are way better dunkers than our professional athletes. So, I wanted to bring it together and treat them like professionals.”
O’Neal is the league’s founder and commissioner. With the help of Chuck Millan, a dunk coach and CEO/founder of Team Flight Brothers, O’Neal aimed to gather the best dunkers as an offseason alternative to the NBA. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer was never in the dunk contest himself during his nearly 20-year NBA career but has had a close look at many over the past few decades.
He believes that the great contests have been outliers, with many of the All-Star Weekend competitions leaving viewers unfulfilled. The Zach LaVine vs. Aaron Gordon duel in 2016 remains one of the best in recent memory, but many of the game’s biggest stars consistently refuse to participate. Without the stars, it’s largely a contest for young or unproven players. The last eventual NBA All-Star to win the contest was rookie Donovan Mitchell in 2018.
Former Toronto Raptors great Vince Carter is part of the Dunkman commentary team. Hewon the 2000 All-Star Weekend contest with a performance that is still talked about, sticking his arm through the rim and hanging on the rim from his elbow, something that hadn’t been seen before.
But Carter, a 2024 Hall of Fame inductee, says he hasn’t watched many of the contests after his win, turned off in part by what O’Neal calls “The Birdman Effect.” That’s when Chris Andersen, then of the Denver Nuggets, missed 13 of his 15 attempts during the competition in 2005. In the Dunkman league, dunkers get two attempts in 60 seconds.
Carter said what he’s seen with Dunkman has “expanded people’s thinking” about dunking possibilities.
“You go out there and do the things that you do, and people have appreciation,” Carter said.
Things are even tougher for O’Neal to understand when he sees some of the highlight-worthy in-game dunks that players perform. O’Neal would like to see Zion Williamson, Ja Morant or even Gordon back in the contest.
“I hate that it’s terrible,” O’Neal said.
McClung said Millan, who is also the vice president of Dunkman, and O’Neal reached out to him about participating. McClung, who signed with Spain’s Bàsquet Girona earlier this month, is different from the rest of the league in that dunking is not his primary basketball focus. But he’s been inspired by others in the league and has built relationships with them over the years.
“It was kind of a full circle moment,” said McClung, who won the All-Star Weekend contest from 2023-25. “I wanted to be a part of this with them, and I wanted to do it out of love and out of all the inspiration for dunking. These guys are really amazing at this craft, and it is just really cool to see that people are caring, and it’s a cool event.”
McClung is one of two three-time NBA slam-dunk contest winners (Nate Robinson is the other). McClung said that, with the pressures of an NBA season, the time it takes to practice and create dunks and the fact that many players make so much money that the prize isn’t a draw, he understands why so many stars pass on the contest.
“To be honest with you, from my personal experience, it is a terrifying experience,” McClung said. “It is very nerve-wracking.”
McClung prioritizes other aspects of the game before working on his dunks, but the Dunkman league primarily consists of athletes who focus on dunking. When asked if any of the Dunkman contestants should be in the NBA contest, McClung said it was “above my pay,” but he appreciates the work that goes into their craft.
“You really have to dig deep to try to find something nobody hasn’t done or to surprise somebody,” McClung said. “… It’s not an easy thing to do. It’s a lot of pressure, and I know it took a lot out of me every year.”
It’s been said there aren’t many dunks left to try, and that keeps big names from trying something new. O’Neal disagrees, believing that some of those in-game dunks by stars show that they could impress in the contest. Carter also pushes back against the idea that we’ve seen all the possibilities. He’s seen dunks elevated in Dunkman, with something like the windmill dunk taken to a new level.
“I’ve said that for some years, but you don’t know what the guys are doing in other parts of the world,” Carter said. “Especially guys that practice dunks and want to bring new ideas. … I’ve always felt we haven’t seen everything yet as far as we can think.”
O’Neal had a direct explanation as to why he thinks NBA stars aren’t in the dunk contest.
“What’s the word … soft?” O’Neal said. “You can tell them I said it. They’re soft, and they’re scared.”
