Mac McClung seals improbable NBA Dunk Contest win with 540 ...
Mac McClung went some way to single-handedly restored the shine on a dunk contest that has been widely panned in recent years.
McClung, the 6ft 2in Philadelphia guard on a two-way contract, defeated New Orleans’ Trey Murphy III in the finals of the dunk contest.
“I’m truly blessed and grateful for the NBA giving me this opportunity,” McClung said.
A 540-degree dunk – one-and-a-half rotations in the air – was his third perfect score of the night out of four dunks. By the time the judges’ scores came up it was already decided. Everyone in the building knew he’d already won.
He immediately committed to defending his title next year. “If you guys will have me, I’ll be back,” McClung said. The final score, not that it mattered, was McClung 100.0, Murphy 98.0.
His is an unbelievable story: McClung has played mostly in the G League, where he ranks 36th in scoring this season at 19 points per game. He was undrafted in 2021 after spending three college seasons at Georgetown and Texas Tech. He was signed by Golden State last year but never played in a regular-season game for the Warriors, and spent a little time on USA Basketball’s World Cup qualifying team last year as well.
“Ever since the beginning, I was the underdog,” said McClung, who put on a Gate City jersey – his high school and hometown in Virginia, population 1,600 – for the final dunk. “Proving others right instead of others wrong brings a little more satisfaction.”
Philadelphia are his third NBA team, and he hasn’t even played for the 76ers yet. He played in one game last season for the Chicago Bulls, one other game for the Los Angeles Lakers. He has scored a grand total of three NBA baskets.
McClung set the tone for the night on Saturday with a dunk that had NBA superstars in disbelief – he leaped over two people, took the ball out of the hands of one of them, tapped it on the backboard and then threw down a reverse slam.
McClung was nearly perfect on his second dunk as well; four judges gave him a perfect 50, Lisa Leslie gave him a 49 as the only dissenter, but it didn’t matter – he was already assured a spot in the final round against Murphy.
Damian Lillard, the Portland star, won the three-point contest by topping Indiana teammates Buddy Hield and Tyrese Haliburton in the final round.
“They say the third time’s the charm,” said Lillard, who got his first three-point title in his third try at the event. “And I’m happy that it happened here. It’s a perfect situation. I’m happy that I did it in my home, coming back here to Utah.”
Lillard won the final round with 26 points. Hield had 25 and Haliburton scored 17.
