SUMMARY
- Mac McClung secured his second consecutive NBA All-Star Dunk Contest title.
- Born on January 6, 1999, in Virginia, Mac McClung initially started with football but transitioned to basketball.
Mac McClung, the reigning star of the NBA All-Star Dunk Contest, did it again, claiming his second consecutive title in an incredible play. Playing for the Osceola Magic in the NBA G League, McClung faced off against Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics in a championship showdown.
The final dunk, where he used Shaquille O’Neal as a prop, earned McClung his win. The flying sensation has proven his excellence on the hard court for the second time in a row. Now a question lingers, where does the star hail from?
Where was Mac McClung born?
Born on January 6, 1999, in the heart of Virginia, Mac McClung initially began with football before the hard court beckoned him. His father, Marcus McClung, worked in legal services, and his mother, Lenoir McClung, was a cheerleader turned teaching driver. Mac has three siblings: Anna, Noah, and Cam. Anna played college soccer at Florida State and Tennessee.
Mac McClung is so cold 😭pic.twitter.com/mgOZOO2c0U
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) February 18, 2024
Mac attended Gate City High School, where he started dunking in his sophomore year. He set records, scoring 64 points in a game as a junior and surpassing Allen Iverson’s single-season scoring record with 948 points in 25 games.
McClung jumped over Shaquille O’Neal for a two-handed reverse dunk
In a mind-blowing dunk contest, Mac McClung from the G League’s Osceola Magic flew to new heights. With just four NBA games to his name, McClung amazed everyone by leaping over the legendary Shaquille O’Neal, who sported McClung’s high school jersey. Thanks to his impressive vertical which lies about 43.5 inches, McClung pulled off a flawless two-handed reverse dunk, earning a perfect score of 50 from judges like Gary Payton and Dominique Wilkins.
Mac Mcclung just dunked over Shaq while Jaylen brown jumped over 3’11 Kai cenat lmao pic.twitter.com/Aa9FVZDkUn
— John (@iam_johnw) February 18, 2024
Reflecting on the experience, McClung shared how emotional it was to see Shaq donning his high school jersey. According to USA Today, the athlete said, “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.”
McClung began his dunking spectacle by leaping over two people for a one-handed dunk. It certainly helped him secure his championship title and left Boston’s Jaylen Brown trailing behind.
Mac McClung’s NBA career
Mac McClung’s path to professional basketball began at Georgetown University, where he made a name for himself by leading the Big East in scoring and earning a spot on the All-Freshman Team. Despite initially declaring for the 2020 NBA draft, he withdrew and later transferred to Texas Tech before re-entering the NBA draft in 2021. McClung went undrafted but signed with the LA Lakers in August 2021. After being waived, he joined the South Bay Lakers, the LA Lakers‘ G-League team.
In December 2021, McClung had a brief stint with the Chicago Bulls on a 10-day contract before moving to their G-League team, the Windy City Bulls. Named the 2021-22 G-League Rookie of the Year, he returned to the South Bay Lakers. In April 2022, McClung signed a two-way contract with the LA Lakers. He played in the Summer League for both the Lakers and the Golden State Warriors.
For the 2022–23 season, he joined the Delaware Blue Coats, the Philadelphia 76ers’ G-League team. McClung rewrote the NBA archives in 2023 by becoming the first G-League player to win the NBA Slam Dunk contest. He played two games for the Philadelphia 76ers. In August 2023, he signed with the Orlando Magic before being waived to their G-League team, the Osceola Magic.