Former Los Angeles Lakers and current Osceola Magic of the NBA G League guard Mac McClung has taken over the annual Slam Dunk Contest, winning it in each of the last two years.
McClung is known for his high fly abilities and that was on display in Indianapolis on Saturday night, notably jumping over Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal twice, including the winning dunk.
After winning it again, McClung showed appreciation to Shaq for helping him although he revealed that the final dunk was his backup plan and he actually had one that was even better.
“That was the backup option. The other one was a little better maybe. I won’t tell that one,” McClung said. “I know Chuck (Millan) is probably mad I didn’t use the other one. No, Shaq is so cool to put on my high school jersey. Makes me emotional that he did that. When he put it on, he said, You better not miss a dunk. And I was like, All right, I won’t miss it.”
O’Neal actually put on McClung’s high school jersey for the final dunk, which he really appreciated.
“What a cool guy to do that, man. What a great guy to do that for myself and my hometown,” McClung said of Shaq. “I think that just shows who he is now. Just really cool of him.”
McClung added that his parents actually made the Shaq-size jersey in preparation of this moment. “No, it was preparation. I told my parents the idea, and they hopped on it maybe five, six weeks ago.”
McClung’s dunk over O’Neal was the only perfect score that the judges handed out on the night, and it was much-needed in order to beat Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown.
Former #Lakers guard Mac McClung dunks over Shaq to beat Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown in the Dunk Contest! 😎
(via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/wHGQOizvMj
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) February 18, 2024
It is very fitting that a former Lakers guard in McClung and a Lakers legend in O’Neal teamed up to beat a Celtics star, and everyone seemed to be happy with the results considering Brown underwhelmed with his dunks and still got big scores.
Mac McClung going for three-peat in 2025?
Nate Robinson is the only player that has won the Dunk Contest three times in 2006, 2009 and 2010. No one has ever done it in three consecutive years though, and McClung might be the first.
“I think Nate Robinson did. Didn’t Nate Robinson win three times? I don’t know. We’ll think about it. I’m not sure yet. I’ll think about it,” McClung concluded.
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