The Dunkmaster line is a fan favorite in League of Legends, but which champions are on deck for basketball-themed skins?
League of Legends skins often focus on the fantastical, taking champion designs in a direction fans would never have expected. From Rumble referencing Gurren Lagann to an entire lineup focused on bees, fans never quite know what’s next for League of Legends skins.
Still, everyone knew it was a no-brainer putting these larger-than-life champions into charmingly mundane jobs. The Grind series featured champions in jobs people work in the real world, from stressed-out office workers to sinister nurse assassins. Of course, one real-life job featured a commonality with Runeterra: an obsession with dunking.
Sporting over a hundred different endorsement deals and tens of millions of fans the world over, Darius has transformed himself from a showy basketball prodigy to the world’s leading authority on dunking. He has recently perfected the Dunktown Express, where he dunks so hard that all public transit on the planet simultaneously explodes.
Riot has leaned into memes before, but it got ridiculous with Dunkmaster Darius. Although Master Yi originated the Dunkmaster meme, Darius perfected it. He dribbles a ball when moving, switches out his axe with a detached basketball goalpost, and literally dunks on opponents for the Ultimate. All the while, Darius shouts the most toxic insults possible without getting banned from the client.
The skin truly embodies the best and worst qualities of Darius players.
Daisy and Ivern first started as a basketball doubles pair on the mean streets of Kumungu jungle. Then, a chance encounter with then-NBA commissioner John Brambleback pushed them both into the national spotlight. They’ve been tearing up the court on the professional circuit ever since.
Whereas Dunkmaster Darius is a parody of Darius and toxic basketball players, Dunkmaster Ivern is a more straightforward love letter to the sport. Ironically, it focused moreso on the overall basketball theme of team play. The skin did garner some controversy for reused animations, models, and perhaps most controversially, the fact that Ivern doesn’t dunk. Most of these issues were fixed in later patches.
Riot has not announced plans for more Dunkmaster skins in League of Legends.
Although Dunkmaster Darius proved popular, the reactions to Dunkmaster Ivern were more mixed. Fans wanted more dunk heroes like Jarvis IV or Illaoi, but the decision to choose Ivern bristled many. Since then, Riot hasn’t returned to the Dunkmaster line, though fans hope it gets resurrected.
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