Mac McClung nearly matches career earnings with $100,000 dunk contest win

Mac McClung’s week has only gotten better.

The 24-year-old not only signed a two-way deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, but also signed a new shoe deal with Puma before setting the internet ablaze with his impressive victory in the dunk contest on Saturday night in Utah.

The win was worth $100,000, nearly equaling his career earnings as a professional in G-League short stints and single-game appearances with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers.

Additionally, McClung’s great air show helped generate more than 500 million Internet hits in just 12 hours, the most for an All-Star Saturday Night.

“He saved the dunk contest,” Shaquille O’Neal said, and countless others echoed those sentiments.

Mac McClung #9 of the Philadelphia 76ers celebrates a dunk in the 2023 NBA All Star AT&T Slam Dunk Contest at Vivint Arena on Saturday

McClung wasn’t exactly a stranger.

Long before he won the dunk contest at NBA All-Star Saturday, he was a YouTube phenomenon. It’s impossible to add up all the views McClung’s videos had gotten, from dunks to documentaries, but they were in the hundreds of millions.

Everything seems different now, though, after this boyish-looking 6-foot-2 guard from a small Virginia town with springboards for legs and just two NBA games on his resume became the dunk champion. of the league and finally brought the buzz back to an event that had been more criticized than celebrated in recent years.

Time will tell if they are right. But an event that is designed to create unforgettable moments: Michael Jordan leaping from the foul line, Vince Carter saying ‘it’s over’ after a dunk, Aaron Gordon leaping over the Orlando Magic mascot, Dwight Howard donning the cape of Superman, got a massive shot to the arm from a guy who now has more dunks in the contest (four) than in actual NBA games (one).

“It’s a cliché, but you can really do whatever you want,” said McClung, who has a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers and plays in the G League. “I’ve had so many people even at the highest level…if you’re a little kid and someone who’s an inspiration to you, someone you respect so much tells you you can’t do it, he doesn’t do it.” It doesn’t matter. Literally, if you manifest and put your mind to it, you can literally make your life and reinvent yourself every day.’

Long before he won the dunk contest at NBA All-Star Saturday, he was a YouTube phenomenon. It’s impossible to add up all the views McClung’s videos got, from dunks to documentaries, but it was in the hundreds of millions.

The reactions from NBA players who watched the show, both in Salt Lake City and elsewhere, were astounding.

“Tough,” Cleveland guard Donovan Mitchell yelled as he watched from the court as several other All-Stars including Giannis Antetokounmpo, jaws hanging open in disbelief, filmed the action on their phones.

Golden State’s Stephen Curry said on Twitter: “The man was a viral dunk phenom (House of Highlights) from high school, he still worked his way up to the League, but let me go get that fast dunk contest trophy and bring him back to life!” Unreal.’

McClung knows it’s an underdog story. He grew up playing soccer and baseball in Gate City, Virginia, before deciding sometime in sixth or seventh grade, barely 5 feet tall at the time, that basketball would be his priority.

He started going viral in high school for his variety of dunks, and has handled all the attention that comes with internet fame to the best of his ability for years.

“One thing with this game is you have to learn to adapt,” McClung told The Associated Press last year. “I want to be known as someone who can help a team, help a championship team, be a good energy guy and a good culture guy and a good locker room guy.”

Golden State’s Stephen Curry said on Twitter: “The man was a viral dunk phenom (House of Highlights) from high school, he still worked his way up to the League, but let me go get that fast dunk contest trophy and bring him back to life!” Unreal’

So if he was an unknown to NBA fans, perhaps that’s understandable. He had the final basket of the 2021-22 NBA season, breaking free for an uncontested reverse dunk to cap the Los Angeles Lakers’ overtime win over the Denver Nuggets last April. That was his third and most recent NBA field goal.

But, even if he hasn’t quite established himself at the NBA level yet, there is no doubt that he can play. He broke the high school records of Allen Iverson and JJ Redick. He had great numbers at Texas Tech and Georgetown in college.

And now, he’s a dunk champion. It’s viral, again. Maybe this time the door of the NBA will open.

“I don’t really care what other people think, good or bad,” McClung said. I just stay the course. My goal is to make an impact in the NBA, and I’ll keep working until that happens.”