Regardless of not taking part in for an NBA group, Mac McClung is essentially the most thrilling dunker within the basketball world. The younger athlete received final yr’s NBA Slam Dunk contest and was decided to beat a back-to-back title. How, you would possibly ask? Straightforward. Simply ask Shaquille O’Neal if he can soar over him and dunk the ball backwards.
And so it occurred, he first requested the Corridor of Famer to squeeze into his previous highschool jersey, then leaped over the seven-footer, took the ball out of his palms and slammed it within the internet. To everybody’s shock, he acquired 5 excellent scores from the judges and completed his mission.
McClung achieved a mean of 98.8 over his final two makes an attempt, whereas rival Jaylen Brown was shut by with a 97.8. “Shaq was so cool to place that top faculty jersey on, man, it virtually made me emotional that he would try this,” the winner expressed. “When he put it on, he mentioned, ‘You higher not miss it.’ I mentioned, ‘OK, I received’t miss it.’”
The six-foot-two athlete, who performs for Orlando’s Osceola Magic within the G League, simply grew to become solely the sixth participant to ever win two or extra Dunk Contests. Nevertheless, he’s the primary to beat the title in back-to-back makes an attempt since Zach LaVine did it 8 years in the past.
Now the query is that if McClung will try to go for a 3rd consecutive win in 2025. “I don’t know. We’ll give it some thought,” the athlete shared in Indianapolis. “I’m unsure but.” Nate Robinson is the one participant to ever get topped thrice within the Slam Dunk competitors.
Whereas the Celtics All-Star delivered particular moments through the contest, the G League star wanted an ideal rating to prime his rival. This was the second he picked out the Lakers icon out of the group, in hopes that he would stand in as a prop so he may dunk over him.
“It was like, ‘OK, you’ve actually received to carry one thing, and I feel they need us to make our dunks on the primary attempt’, which I utterly perceive,” McClung recalled. “So I knew it was time to lock in for the finals.”
Followers made enjoyable of Brown’s slam dunk makes an attempt regardless of the Celtics star rating second with 97.8 rating
Regardless of rating second within the Slam Dunk Contest, followers booed Jaylen Brown when he dunked over a sitting Kai Cenat throughout this All-Star Weekend. Shortly after, social media was flooded with reactions making enjoyable of the Boston celebrity, as individuals have been extra confused than impressed.
In the course of the broadcast, even Shaquille joked about it, saying that the impediment “is smaller than Kevin Hart.” Check out the scenes throughout this Saturday’s dunk competitors in Indianapolis and decide it yourselves.
Shaq wasn’t impressed with Kai Cenat and Jaylen Brown on the Dunk Contest… 💀 pic.twitter.com/MAQOUpWn4i
— Liutauras 💫 (@Liutauras_) February 18, 2024
One other winner of the night time was Bucks star Damian Lillard, who impressed all by defending his three-point contest title with 26 factors within the ultimate spherical. The previous Portland guard defeated Trae Younger and Karl-Anthony Cities, who each tallied 24 factors within the final stage.
“I feel final yr it was a decrease rating to win. Like, no one actually shot the ball nice,” Dame shared. “This one, I felt like all people shot at a reasonably excessive clip within the first spherical, within the tiebreaking spherical and the ultimate spherical. Everybody shot properly, so this one was, I’d say, a bit of extra enjoyable.”
