{"id":2104481,"date":"2026-08-21T10:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T07:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2104481"},"modified":"2026-08-21T10:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T07:00:11","slug":"shaquille-oneal-vince-carter-and-more-aim-to-put-the-art-of-dunking-in-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2104481","title":{"rendered":"Shaquille O\u2019Neal, Vince Carter and more aim to put the art of dunking in spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"Article_ContentContainer__jBNW3 article-content-container bodytext1\">\n<p>Some of Shaquille O\u2019Neal\u2019s most iconic NBA moments were him dunking on opponents.<\/p>\n<p>The lob he caught from Kobe Bryant in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sKhIDYJdsQY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference finals<\/a> helped spark the first of three consecutive championships for the Los Angeles Lakers. O\u2019Neal\u2019s annihilation of Chris Dudley in 1999 showcased <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=IVU9QCy66OI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">his power, footwork and showmanship<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid1\" data-position=\"mid1\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe Diesel\u201d has watched and judged many of the recent NBA slam-dunk contests. He says what he\u2019s seen has usually been \u201cterrible,\u201d and he decided to do something about it.<\/p>\n<p>The result is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Oyk6vImocHI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">the Dunkman league<\/a> for competitive dunkers, which will hold its first championship on Aug. 25.<\/p>\n<div data-ath-video-stream=\"vZS13gnC6CZQHKR\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_Root__QeM_i\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_VideoWidth__XjNKI\">\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Root__AGckL\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Title__npf3B\">Shaq dunk<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_VideoWrapper__Xgp47\">\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_root__AKv5b\" style=\"aspect-ratio:16 \/ 9;max-height:min(100%)\">\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_inner__86C_2\" style=\"aspect-ratio:16 \/ 9\">\n<div class=\"VideoStreamPlayer_GridStack__2H0p2\"><video preload=\"metadata\"><\/video><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The league evolved from the first season of the \u201cDunkman\u201d television show last December, which featured dunkers from around the world. But those dunks weren\u2019t in front of a live audience and didn\u2019t include this level of judging. This season\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/dunkman.com\/rules-scoring\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">based on set criteria<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n<p id=\"article-pickem\">\n<p>\u201cThe best dunkers were always professional athletes,\u201d O\u2019Neal said. \u201cNow you\u2019ve got these kids that are way better dunkers than our professional athletes. So, I wanted to bring it together and treat them like professionals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>O\u2019Neal is the league\u2019s founder and commissioner. With the help of Chuck Millan, a dunk coach and CEO\/founder of Team Flight Brothers, O\u2019Neal 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.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid2\" data-position=\"mid2\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>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\u2019s biggest stars consistently refuse to participate. Without the stars, it\u2019s largely a contest for young or unproven players. The last eventual NBA All-Star to win the contest was rookie Donovan Mitchell in 2018.<\/p>\n<div data-ath-video-stream=\"KEzu93yejJDw6FH\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_Root__QeM_i\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_VideoWidth__XjNKI\">\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Root__AGckL\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Title__npf3B\">Aaron Gordon dunk<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_VideoWrapper__Xgp47\">\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_root__AKv5b\" style=\"aspect-ratio:16 \/ 9;max-height:min(100%)\">\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_inner__86C_2\" style=\"aspect-ratio:16 \/ 9\">\n<div class=\"VideoStreamPlayer_GridStack__2H0p2\"><video preload=\"metadata\"><\/video><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Former Toronto Raptors great Vince Carter is part of the Dunkman commentary team. He\u00a0won 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\u2019t been seen before.<\/p>\n<div id=\"top-league-content-root\"><\/div>\n<p>    {&#8220;endpoint&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/api-prd-nyt.theathletic.com\/graphql&#8221;}<\/p>\n<p>But Carter, a 2024 Hall of Fame inductee, says he hasn\u2019t watched many of the contests after his win, turned off in part by what O\u2019Neal calls \u201cThe Birdman Effect.\u201d That\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>Carter said what he\u2019s seen with Dunkman has \u201cexpanded people\u2019s thinking\u201d about dunking possibilities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou go out there and do the things that you do, and people have appreciation,\u201d Carter said.<\/p>\n<p>Things are even tougher for O\u2019Neal to understand when he sees some of the highlight-worthy in-game dunks that players perform. O\u2019Neal would like to see Zion Williamson, Ja Morant or even Gordon back in the contest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hate that it\u2019s terrible,\u201d O\u2019Neal said.<\/p>\n<div data-ath-video-stream=\"Be9C00VSYwU0JsD\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_Root__QeM_i\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_VideoWidth__XjNKI\">\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Root__AGckL\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Title__npf3B\">Vince Carter dunk<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_VideoWrapper__Xgp47\">\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_root__AKv5b\" style=\"aspect-ratio:16 \/ 9;max-height:min(100%)\">\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_inner__86C_2\" style=\"aspect-ratio:16 \/ 9\">\n<div class=\"VideoStreamPlayer_GridStack__2H0p2\"><video preload=\"metadata\"><\/video><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>McClung said Millan, who is also the vice president of Dunkman, and O\u2019Neal reached out to him about participating. McClung, who signed with Spain\u2019s B\u00e0squet Girona earlier this month, is different from the rest of the league in that dunking is not his primary basketball focus. But he\u2019s been inspired by others in the league and has built relationships with them over the years.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid3\" data-position=\"mid3\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt was kind of a full circle moment,\u201d said McClung, who won the All-Star Weekend contest from 2023-25. \u201cI 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\u2019s a cool event.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019t a draw, he understands why so many stars pass on the contest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo be honest with you, from my personal experience, it is a terrifying experience,\u201d McClung said. \u201cIt is very nerve-wracking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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 \u201cabove my pay,\u201d but he appreciates the work that goes into their craft.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou really have to dig deep to try to find something nobody hasn\u2019t done or to surprise somebody,\u201d McClung said. \u201c\u2026 It\u2019s not an easy thing to do. It\u2019s a lot of pressure, and I know it took a lot out of me every year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s been said there aren\u2019t many dunks left to try, and that keeps big names from trying something new. O\u2019Neal 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\u2019ve seen all the possibilities. He\u2019s seen dunks elevated in Dunkman, with something like the windmill dunk taken to a new level.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve said that for some years, but you don\u2019t know what the guys are doing in other parts of the world,\u201d Carter said. \u201cEspecially guys that practice dunks and want to bring new ideas. \u2026 I\u2019ve always felt we haven\u2019t seen everything yet as far as we can think.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>O\u2019Neal had a direct explanation as to why he thinks NBA stars aren\u2019t in the dunk contest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s the word \u2026 soft?\u201d O\u2019Neal said. \u201cYou can tell them I said it. They\u2019re soft, and they\u2019re scared.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some of Shaquille O\u2019Neal\u2019s 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\u2019Neal\u2019s annihilation of Chris Dudley in 1999 showcased his power, footwork and showmanship. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-2104481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2104481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2104481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2104481\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2104481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2104481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2104481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}