Cam Hazzard took home the prize money of $500,000 with a 9.91-rated dunk score last month, and now the league that brought him to fame has won its reward as well.
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According to Legion Hoops, Shaquille O’Neal’s Dunkman league is back for another season following its massive numbers in its debut season.
“Dunkman has been renewed for Season 2 after the first season did 1.5 billion views, 94% from non-followers, and their final trending No. 1 in China,” Legion Hoops wrote on X. “Shaq’s mission with Dunkman was to make the dunk contest cool again, and now he’s taking the league global.”
Variety verified the extension, and Dunkman also pulled in close to 6 million viewers on TNT Sports in addition to 33 million interactions on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X, and YouTube in its inaugural season.
O’Neal, the Hall of Famer center and 15-time NBA All-Star, co-created Dunkman with TNT Sports and Authentic Brands Group in order to create a league where the sport of dunking would be taken out of its one-night window during NBA All-Star Weekend.
That global growth that Legion Hoops refers to is actually happening, with tournament organizers currently negotiating the scheduling of qualifier events in China and Poland, thereby taking the competition far beyond the arenas in which the initial season was held.
“Season 1 of Dunkman established dunking as a professional sport,” Authentic Studios president Colin Smeeton said. “Season 2 and beyond will continue to build a global league and platform through team competitions, a junior division and a global qualifier series that puts Dunkman in new markets year-round.”
The league has decided to add team competition and a junior division, where athletes are 15 years old or younger, along with qualifying rounds throughout the year before the World Championship.
The change has already produced results around the world. On the Chinese social network Douyin, Dunkman was trending number one during the championship round, an event associated directly with China’s Dengxing Chen qualifying for the final, where he ultimately lost to Hazzard.
Fans React to Dunkman’s Season 2 Announcement
The evolution of the structure has fans looking back at how much the idea has evolved since its inception in December, and the reaction to the structure via social media is largely positive for what is yet to come.
“1.5 billion views and almost nobody who watched was even a follower, Shaq actually fixed the dunk contest,” one fan wrote.
The reaction comes down to the fact that 94% of Dunkman’s social views were from non-followers, indicating that the content transcended the fanbase generated from the league accounts.
“Turning dunking from one February event into a global league was actually genius,” another fan posted.
NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest, which used to be limited to one February event only during the All Star Weekend prior to O’Neal coming up with his own year-round league based on the same idea.
“Yeah, he actually pulled it off. Dunk contest felt dead for years, and then Shaq just built his own league, 1.5B views, trending number 1 in China, and now they’re running qualifiers overseas. That’s not a gimmick anymore. Season 2 should be chaos in the best way,” read another reaction.
This answer brings together the viewer figures, the trending moment on Douyin related to the Dengxing Chen performance, and the confirmed international qualifiers that will take place in China and Poland.
“He truly saved the dunk contest,” a user commented.
The NBA’s slam dunk contest has always found it difficult to lure big names over the years, but Dunkman plenty in its first season, among which was NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion Mac McClung.
“Poland” was another reaction, paired with heart emojis.
Poland is also officially on board with the Dunkman Season 2 roadmap, which also comes from a wider international effort involving China.
From these reactions, it is clear that fans think Dunkman is more than a fad, acknowledging O’Neal for really changing the way that competitive dunks get to audiences around the world in its second season.