WEST JORDAN, Utah — Mason Baker admits he’s not the next Michael Jordan, but the West Jordan native has carved out a name for himself in the world of slam dunking.
Now, he has a chance to win $500,000 on national television.
Baker is competing in “Dunkman,” billed as the first professional dunking league, where elite dunkers from around the world face off in a bracket-style competition.
The journey started when Baker was 16 years old and dunked a basketball for the first time.
“It was like the most excited I’ve been in my life up to that point because I didn’t have much else going on,” Baker said. “I had just started playing.”
Despite only playing a couple of seasons of Junior Jazz basketball, Baker became obsessed with dunking. He started posting videos of his vertical exploits online.
“I used to get made fun of all the time,” Baker said. “I’d post videos and everyone would kind of make fun of me, think I’m corny, this and that. But now it’s like all the people that were making fun of it — it’s crickets now."
His growing popularity has followed him into his day job at Entheos Academy, where he works as a student support mental health specialist.
“I tried to keep it a secret for a long time, but [the students] found out,” Baker said. “They always ask me, ‘I saw that windmill you did.’ They love to talk about it and bring it up.”
Baker said one of the biggest moments of his career came when he was invited to compete in Dunkman.
“Honestly, the best compliment I’ve gotten as a dunker is being invited to be in this league,” he said. “It was just like, ‘Hey, you’re one of the best in the world.’”
Baker competes in Group B on Tuesday night as he looks to advance in the competition and continue his rise in the dunking world.
