Shaq DUNKMAN Dunker Cam Hazzard Wants Matchup W/ Mac McClung | TMZ Sports

The whole experience just doesn't feel real. Obviously dunking is, like Shaq says, it's the most exciting way to score in basketball. And every time someone hits it in game, it's always super exciting. But he wanted to turn that into its own league. And nobody really knew what that would look like until it started. So I got the call from the head of Dunkman. I think that was in beginning of February. And they're talking about all these high-level things that it's gonna be involved with TNT and all that stuff. And it's super exciting, but you can't really visualize it because nothing like it has ever existed. So I was in the first group, so group A. And whenever I got to Atlanta at the OTE Center, I was just in shock with all the production that was happening. My banner was in the ceiling and all the Dunkman merch was everywhere. But it's just been a crazy experience to see this sport turn into something real, into people that actually invest in it. So that's been the coolest part for me. And it's really exciting to watch where it's going. Yeah, it's so well done. It's so much fun to watch. It's awesome. Speaking of the big guy, what's it been like? Obviously, I know you've been there with Shaq. I don't know how much time you've had to spend with him. What's it been like being with such a legendary figure like Shaquille O'Neal? Yeah, once I heard that Shaq saw my videos and he wanted me to be a part of the league, I honestly didn't believe it for a second. But the first time I met him was at Fanatics Fest in New York. We put on a little dunk show, me, Darius Clark, and Dylan McCarthy. And that was the first time I saw Shaq. I was just warming up on the court. And he walks out on the court. I wasn't expecting it. And he dapped me up or whatever. And his whole hand just surrounded mine. It was like, oh my goodness, how is this even happening? But that was the first time I got to show off in front of him. And then, of course, saw him again in Atlanta the next week. But he's awesome. And there's a lot of things that people say about him that are really good. And it's good to know that he's actually a good person whenever I met him too, yeah. That's awesome. You mentioned some of the talented dunkers that are part of this and that have advanced here, obviously. I think a lot of people online have anticipated a match-up between you and Mac. Have you thought about that? Who would you ultimately like to face off with the money on the line? What are your thoughts for the rest of the competition here now, as obviously you've advanced out of stage A? Yeah, of course I've thought about going against Mac. And it's a big name. He's a huge name. Won NBA dunk contest three times in a row. And everybody always considers him the GOAT of dunking because he's the biggest name in the competition. And I hear that. And instead of getting scared and like, oh, I don't know if I want to face him, I want to face him. I want to show him what I have. Even if he beats me, at least I can say I tried. And then another fun fact I just realized a little bit ago is that my name is Cam, and Cam backwards is Mac. And so it's pretty much meant for him. But yeah, but the guy I'm most excited to go against, it seems like it's pretty likely that'll happen is me versus Isaiah Rivera, because I've watched him growing up. I've watched him from like posting some of his first videos to testing a 50-inch vertical, and he's still going. But I've watched him for so long, and now I actually have the chance to compete against him. And that's a really cool feeling. And we're very comparable in what kind of dunks we can do. And so I think it'll be a dogfight for sure. That's awesome. Speaking of 50-inch verticals, I've seen people report yours as 49, as 50. What is your vertical, Cam? My vertical is 50. That's what I've officially tested. And the reason why it says 49 on some things is because I submitted my numbers before I tested 50. But yeah, that's why it gets a little bit mixed up. But there's different ways you can measure your vertical. I've measured it with the top of my head. It's called a height check. And I've gotten a 51-inch vertical off of that. But I don't claim that because it's not standardized, but I would say I'm pretty comfortable at 50, yeah. Were you born with just this incredible athleticism? Did you develop it? When did you start dunking? Talk to me about all that. Yeah, so I hit my first dunk at 15 years old, and I was obsessed as soon as I hit it. Because I was always a shorter kid in my team. I was the shooting guard. But for some reason, I just wanted to dunk. That just seemed like the most exciting part of basketball. So I kept trying over and over and over again. And at 15, I finally got my first squeak, like snuck it in at a local park. And I had the video, and I was watching it back. I just kept watching it on repeat. And it took about six months from there to hit my first windmill. And right after I hit that, that was a huge milestone for me. I actually tore both of my hamstrings at the same time. So this is my sophomore year of high school. And that knocked me out for an entire year. And I thought I was done because, like every other kid, I had a dream that I would go play D1 basketball some big school. Because every kid's delusional, and they thought that. So that's what I thought. And I came back, and I lost all of my athleticism. It felt like I was slow, but I hit a growth spurt. So there was at least some kind of benefit there. But as soon as I came back, I knew that college wasn't an option for me for basketball. And I was like, well, let me just enjoy the game then. I'm just gonna enjoy basketball and do what I love. And what came out of that was dunking. That's what I love. So I would go throughout the rest of my junior year, my senior year, just going for crazy dunks and warmups. And my coaches would get mad at me. They're like, Cam, stay in the paint. Just do a drop step hook shot or something. And I was like, I'm just going, like I was doing 360 windmills and warmups. Now go sit on the bench for the whole game. That was me. So that was my introduction to dunking. And then I only started posting about two years ago at this point. And that was just to store some of my favorite clips. And then some of it started to gain traction. I had guys like Isaiah Rivera see it, other big names that I looked up to. And that's what motivated me to keep going was by seeing guys I watched growing up reach out to me and tell me to keep going. So that's how I got involved with the dunking community. They're all super supportive. And they're all great guys, to be honest, yeah. That's so cool. Now, you've already now won the $35,000. There's that $500,000 grand prize sitting out there, Cam. If you were to win the entire thing and then you walk away with over $500,000 total, what do you buy? Is it something kind of splurge on for yourself? Yeah, well, I'm a finance bro at heart. And so most of it's going in investments. I've already thought of what I would invest in. But of course, I would have to spend a little bit to celebrate and all that. And I'm also a coffee nerd. I love coffee. So I've already made a deal with myself. If I win, I'll buy a really nice espresso machine. And then the rest, I'll just store away and reinvest back in my brand. But I'll be smart with the money, but that's one thing I will get. That's funny. And yeah, last night, for some reason, I was like watching people make coffee on YouTube. So I know that's like a big thing. That's my whole feed. That's my whole feed, yeah. That and dunking. It's very relaxing, you know? It is. Maybe a little bit of a caffeine addiction, but it's- You're right. Yeah. I love that. You mentioned Mac and being this slam dunk, three times NBA slam dunk contest winner. You know, a lot of people think the NBA dunk contest is broken, Cam. Is there something that the NBA can learn from what you and Shaq and all the guys are doing with Dunk Man that could be kind of applied to the NBA's contest? I think that a lot of people have this idea that professional basketball players are always going to be the highest jumpers. And which, for the most part, for an average athlete, they're obviously going to jump higher. But whenever you consider all the different things that they're training for, like shooting, and then they're running for hours in a game, that kind of like hurts their vertical. So they don't jump as high, and they're not as good at dunking as a professional dunker like me or some of the other guys. So that's where some people get it wrong is because basketball players have to train for all those other things. So people have these really high expectations for those players in the NBA and all that. But some of the dunks they do, I'm actually impressed by it, that a basketball player can do that. But I think the biggest takeaway that they can get is that fans want to see people hitting dunks within, if not the first attempt, then the second attempt. And for it to be fast-paced, because sometimes NBA players will be going for some crazy dunks or something, and they'll do sometimes four, maybe even five attempts, and that kind of slows it down. And what Dunkman has done is made it that you have to hit a dunk within two attempts, and hopefully one attempt. And because of that, the contest is moving really fast. And that fast pace is what keeps the viewer hooked and keeps them engaged. It gets the environments really exciting and all that stuff. So I think if the NBA were to limit the amount of attempts that they could take or just speed up in one way or another, I think it would be a lot more entertaining, for sure. I think that's a great answer because it just kills the momentum when you've got, you're right, when you miss a dunk like four times. Yeah. Yeah, it grinds to a screeching halt. I'm sure you've got some special stuff planned for the next upcoming days here. Cam, do you know what you're going to do? Are you going to play it, do it on the fly? How does that work? And what can we expect when we watch? Yeah, so I have planned out what I'm going to do ideally. So an ideal situation where everything plans out as I expect it to, then I have a full plan that I'm going to go through. But I also am going to write down a list on a physical note card with 20 different dunks that I know I can hit first try at any given time and plan out different scenarios that I think might happen. Just so, because I'm very analytical. So I just try to think through what could happen. If this happened, I'll do this, whatever. So I'm going to write it down and then kind of react to the situation. But if everything folds out like I imagine it's going to, then yeah, I have some crazy dunks. And like Shaq says, he wants to see something that's never been done before. And I'm just so excited to compete because I have things that have never been done before in a contest. And I even have two dunks that I created. And so it's going to shock a lot of people if I get to hit them. So yeah, that's what you can expect from me. Wow, I can't wait. This is going to be awesome. It's already been awesome. I've enjoyed it so much. I think the fans have. Cam, thank you, man, so much. Is there anything else I didn't ask about that you want to mention? I mean, just stay tuned. 500k is on the line and this isn't a one-time dunk contest. This is a league. So just keep up. I know Dunkman has some crazy things in store for the future and like, come on, we'll be back next summer competing no matter what happens this season. So I'm excited for it to keep going.