A dream week for Mac McClung continued with a trophy Saturday night, as the newly-minted Philadelphia 76er was almost perfect in capturing the 2023 Slam Dunk crown on NBA All-Star Saturday Night.
McClung was part of the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats this time last week, and was coming to Utah to take part on the G League Next Up Game on Sunday, the junior circuit’s version of an All-Star Game.
But then, McClung got the invite to be part of the G League Team in Friday Night’s Rising Stars Challenge, where he scored 10 points for Team Jason Terry in a semifinal loss. Then, on Tuesday, he signed with the Sixers on a two-way deal, and later in the week, he accepted an invitation to the Slam Dunk contest, where he got 19 out of 20 perfect scores of 50 in winning it all.
In the semifinals, McClung started by getting a friend on another friend’s shoulders, and then jumping over both, grabbing the ball from the top man, and putting in a reverse jam for a perfect 50. He needed just 45.5 points to advance with his second dunk, and a 360 baseline windmill got four 50s and a 49 for an average of 49.8, putting him into the finals with a 99.8 against Trey Murphy III.
In those finals, McClung went to the hops once again on dunk one, jumping over a friend holding a ball and grabbing it to nail a double pump reverse jam for another 50. Murphy got a 48.8 and 49.2 on his two dunks, leaving McClung to need 48.1 to win, but he took it all the way.
Donning the jersey of his alma mater, Gate City High School in Virginia, Mac nailed a spinning 540 reverse from the baseline for another perfect 50, his third of the night, to claim the crown.
“It’s great, man. I’m truly blessed and grateful for this opportunity,” McClung said on TNT after accepting his trophy from Sixers legend Julius Erving. "The biggest thing is manifestation. I don’t take this for granted. I’m very appreciative.”
McClung then said that “if you’ll have me back, I’ve got to” return in 2024 to defend his crown.
And so, 24-year-old Matthew “Mac” McClung, who was named G League Rookie of the Year last season and had spent the entire 2022-23 season on the same circuit, became a cult phenomenon in Philly and around the NBA on one weekend in Utah – with another event still to come.
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