Got hops? Indianapolis is about to find out who in the city can really get up. DUNKMAN, the professional dunk league founded by Shaquille O'Neal, is accepting applications for a Regional Qualifier tryout set for Nov. 14, 2026, where up to 50 dunkers could be selected to compete for a shot at the sport's biggest stage.
According to the official DUNKMAN Regional Qualifier application page, the Indianapolis tryout will whittle its field down fast — just one or two dunkers from the event will advance to the next stage of the qualifying process. From there, the stakes get even higher: eventually, one dunker will land a contract with DUNKMAN and a spot in the 2027 DUNKMAN World Championships, per the same listing.
Getting in the door is simple, at least on paper. The application is free for U.S. residents at least 18 years old, and there is no entry fee to compete, the league's application page states. Hopefuls just need to submit a video, 60 seconds or less, showing off their best dunks — but they'll need to move quickly, since applications close at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Nov. 2, 2026.
Shaq's Vision for a Dunk-Only League
O'Neal serves as DUNKMAN's founder and commissioner, according to a release detailed by webwire.com. The league's inaugural season wrapped with Dallas native Cam Hazzard crowned the first-ever DUNKMAN World Champion, claiming a $500,000 grand prize along the way. Twenty-four of the world's top dunkers competed across four live Group Stage events to get there, webwire.com reports.
That debut season was no small blip on the sports radar. The league pulled in more than 1.5 billion social-media video views, over 33 million engagements and 5.7 million total viewers across TNT Sports broadcasts, according to webwire.com's reporting on the numbers. The DUNKMAN season itself is structured around two stages of competition — the Group Stage and the World Championship — per dunkman.com's events page, and the league's own promotional site touts the $500,000 champion prize as the largest in the history of competitive dunking, according to preview.dunkman.com.
Bigger Plans Beyond One Tryout
Indianapolis is just one stop in what the league is billing as a much larger expansion. Webwire.com's report states that DUNKMAN plans to stage a series of regional qualifier events both domestically and internationally as it builds toward the 2027 World Championship. The league is also eyeing new formats altogether, including team competitions and a junior division for athletes 15 and under who would compete on nine-foot rims, per the same release.
Every qualifier, including the one coming to Indianapolis, will use an open-competition format judged by an expert panel, with standout performers given a path into the professional ranks, webwire.com notes. For Indianapolis dunkers with nothing to lose and a highlight reel ready to go, the Nov. 14 tryout offers a free, low-barrier shot at joining that pipeline — as first reported locally by WTHR.
