- Mac McClung became the sixth player to win multiple Slam Dunk contests
- The Osceola Magic player earned five perfect scores on his final attempt
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NBA G-League champion Mac McClung won his second consecutive Slam Dunk Contest after narrowly defeating Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown by one point.
For his game-winning dunk, McClung leaped over 7-foot-1 Shaquille O’Neal after asking the Hall of Famer to put on his old high school jersey.
McClung then took the ball out of the Giant’s hands to hammer home a reverse dunk. That gave him a perfect score in the final round of the event.
McClung finished with 98.8 points on his final two dunks, becoming the sixth player to win the competition twice and the first to do so in consecutive seasons since Zach LaVine in 2015 and 2016.
“Shaq was so cool to put on my high school jersey,” McClung said during a press conference after All-Star Saturday concluded.
‘It almost makes you emotional that he does that. But I said to him, “Would you like to put it on?” and he said, ‘You better not miss a dunk,’ and I was like, ‘Okay, I won’t miss it.'”
NBA G-League Champion Mac McClung won his second straight Slam Dunk Contest
McClung completed a reverse dunk over Shaquille O’Neal in his final attempt to win the event
The G-League star needed something special to win over the judges after Brown jumped over Cleveland Cavaliers superstar Donovan Mitchell while wearing a sequined glove on his left hand to troll fans who say the Celtics wing can’t go left when he has the ball.
Earlier, Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. jumped. also over O’Neal for his first dunk of the night. But he did not advance to the final round of the competition.
Jacob Toppin of the New York Knicks, who played primarily for the team’s G-League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, was eliminated in the first round.
He defeated Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown in the finals and won his second dunk contest
Jaquez scored 47.4 and 46.8 on his two dunks, while Toppin received scores of 47.8 and 47.2.
The 25-year-old McClung has failed to make an NBA roster despite his success in back-to-back dunk contests.
He has appeared in four NBA games in his career, one with the Chicago Bulls and one with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2021-2022 season, and two with the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2022-2023 season.
Prior to this season, McClung was released by the Orlando Magic. He has appeared in 14 games for the Osceola Magic franchise and is averaging 23.7 points and 7.2 assists.