Mac McClung was one of the more entertaining players at Summer League last July — it earned him a lot of fans, if not an NBA contract (he was in camp with the Warriors, was waived, and now plays for Deleware Blue Coats in the G-League).
Now McClung has the chance to make many more fans — he has been invited to be the third player in the NBA All-Star Saturday Night Dunk Contest, reports Shams Charania of the Athletic.
Mac McClung – the athletic 6-foot-2 guard playing for G League’s Delaware Blue Coats – has accepted an invitation to be in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 13, 2023
McClung will be the first ever G League player in the NBA dunk contest.
McClung joins the Portland Trail Blazers Shaedon Sharpe and the Houston Rockets’ KJ Martin in the Dunk Contest.
As that Saturday night headline event has fallen flat in recent years — and many young NBA stars avoid it — there has been a push to widen the circle of who could compete to include the G-League and maybe even some professional dunkers. Turning to McClung is the first step along those lines.
There has been pushback on social media — apparently from people who like watching a dreary, dull Dunk Contest — but at least McClung knows how to put on a show, as he did in his one game with the Lakers last season (see the video above). He’s also a high school dunk contest legend. Just head to YouTube.
The Dunk Contest needs new energy. Maybe McClung himself isn’t the answer, but thinking outside the box and giving a G-League guy a shot is a step in the right direction.
