Mac McClung will leave it up to others to decide where he ranks among the best dunkers ever, but when it comes to the dunk contest, there is no doubt.
The G League star and dunk maven put on a remarkable show at the NBA All-Star Saturday Night by recording perfect scores of 50 on all four of his jaw-dropping, creative dunks to become the first player to win three straight dunk contests.
“It kind of feels like a blur,” he said. “It’s something I love doing. That’s where my creativity comes is I genuinely love this contest and I love to dunk.”
Photo: AP
Nate Robinson is the only other player to win the dunk contest three times, taking it in 2006 and then repeating in 2009-2010.
McClung needed to be nearly perfect to top San Antonio’s Stephon Castle in the final round after Castle followed up a 49.6 with his first dunk with a 50 on his second when he went behind his back to switch from his right hand to left before the slam.
McClung was up to the task and now has as many dunk contest wins in his career as he does dunks in NBA games, according to Sportradar, as he has only played five games in the NBA.
For his final dunk, McClung stationed 2.11m Evan Mobley on a platform in front of the basket. With Mobley holding the ball behind his head, the 1.88m McClung jumped over him, tapped the rim with the ball before slamming it home to the delight of the crowd and judges.
His performance got NBA stars like Ja Morant and Giannis Antetokounmpo to talk about getting into the contest to go up against McClung.
“I think the contest is a beautiful thing,” McClung said. “I know people probably want bigger stars in it and I would love to see that. I think it’s important for the people in it to want to do it... This contest is a special thing. We all love it.”
McClung’s first dunk in the final round featured him taking one ball in midair for a windmill dunk with his right hand while slamming home another stationed near the rim with his left.
McClung also received two perfect scores in the opening round. On the first, a car was parked in the lane with a person standing through the sunroof with a ball. McClung jumped over the car, took the ball and did a reverse, behind-the-head dunk drawing gasps from the crowd and a 50.
McClung did not disappoint on his next try despite having already clinched a spot in the final. He jumped over a person holding the ball and did a twisting, no-look dunk, getting baseball star Barry Bonds to jump out if his seat for another 50.
McClung said he spent eight or nine months preparing for this contest and is not sure if he would go for a fourth straight title.
“I never want to say never, but this one took a lot out of me.” he said.
Meanwhile, the Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro edged out the Golden State Warriors’ Buddy Hield to win the three-point contest, while the Cleveland Cavaliers duo Mobley and Donovan Mitchell teamed up to knock off hometown heroes Moses Moody and Draymand Green to win the NBA’s Skills Challenge crown.
The San Antonio Spurs duo of Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul were disqualified for trying to cheat the rules in the obstacle course that features players speeding through stations with various passing and shooting drills.
Wembanyama and Paul went first in the opening round and were loudly booed for not even trying to make real attempts on their shots, just tossing the balls off the racks. They were ultimately disqualified.
“We tried something that we thought could win,” Paul said. “To see if we had the best time, so ... it was fun.”
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