LA may have missed out.
In an NBA Slam Dunk Contest first, a current two-way player reigned supreme last night in Salt Lake City… one with significant ties to your Los Angeles Lakers.
High-flying point guard Mac McClung, currently signed to a two-way deal with the Philadelphia 76ers (and thus splitting his team between Philly and its NBAGL affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats), stole the show Saturday against more polished competition with a series of crowd-pleasing slams that he nailed on his first attempt. He ultimately beat New Orleans Pelicans reserve swingman Trey Lyles in a playoff.
Three of the flushes received perfect 50 scores from a panel of judges who should know.
Perhaps the most famous ex-Laker ever, 12-time All-Star, five-time champ and three-time MVP Magic Johnson, took to Twitter to post one of his signature takes:
This might be accurate. Buckets was out on the streets asking fans if the league should eliminate the dunk contest recently, in favor of a 1-on-1 contest. While a 1-on-1 contest would be pretty darn entertaining, the Slam Dunk Contest remains one of All-Star Saturday’s key moments, even now that it has fallen to G Leaguers to save it. You know which contest no one really cares about? The Skills Challenge. Name one memorable Skills Challenge, or even one Skills Challenge winner (it’s basically every good point guard of their era). At least the dunk contest is something people care enough about to be frustrated by, I don’t think the Skills Challenge musters up much more than total indifference.
For his first pro experience, the 6’2″ McClung played for the South Bay Lakers in 2021, LA’s G League affiliate, after he went unselected in that year’s draft. McClung then inked successive 10-day deals with the Chicago Bulls. When Chicago opted not to sign him on for the rest of the season, McClung returned to South Bay. In April of 2022 as the season was winding down, McClung inked a two-way deal with Los Angeles. LA opted not to pick up his $1.6 million qualifying offer for 2022-23, thus making him an unrestricted free agent. He then moved on this season, where he joined Philadelpia’s NBAGL affiliate, the Blue Coats, before joining the Sixers as a two-way player last week..
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