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Lakers Legends Claim Sixers’ Mac McClung ‘Saved’ Dunk Contest

Mac McClung received praise from two Lakers legends on Saturday night.
Justin Grasso|
Lakers Legends Claim Sixers’ Mac McClung ‘Saved’ Dunk Contest
Lakers Legends Claim Sixers’ Mac McClung ‘Saved’ Dunk Contest

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Philadelphia 76ersLos Angeles Lakers

The NBA Dunk Contest has been losing its charm lately. As the league’s most notable dunkers refuse to participate in the event, the NBA tends to target young prospects who can take advantage of the opportunity to make a name for themselves at All-Star weekend.

This year, the NBA planned to allow the first NBA G League player to participate, as they invited Delaware Blue Coats standout, Mac McClung. While McClung was on pace to make history as he accepted the invite, he landed a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers days before the event.

Therefore, he became the eighth member of the Sixers’ organization to represent the team on the Dunk Contest stage. McClung was the first to do it since Andre Iguodala battled in 2006.

There were questions surrounding this year’s Dunk Contest — and even one of the NBA’s biggest superstars questioned McClung’s presence. With expectations lowered after last year’s event disappointed viewers, Mac McClung blew everybody away.

His first dunk received a perfect score of 50. His second dunk was close to perfect, as he finished with a score of 49.8. After advancing to the final round, going toe-to-toe with New Orleans Pelicans’ Trey Murphy III, McClung had a clean 50-50 score to finish the second round with a perfect 100.

For the first time in Sixers' history, Philadelphia has a Dunk Champion crowned. After the event, two Los Angeles Lakers legends and Hall of Famers claimed that the man who was doubted going into the event ended up saving it.

“He saved the Dunk Contest,” said Shaquille O’Neal, who was courtside for the event. 

Magic Johnson echoed a similar sentiment.

“Mac McClung has personally saved the slam dunk contest with his performance tonight!!” The former Laker tweeted. “He put on a show!”

McClung’s talent as a dunker has been well-known for years now since he made a name for himself during his high school days with his bouncy highlights. After getting to put his talents on display on basketball’s biggest dunking stage, McClung is now a title-holder and made 76ers history.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Justin Grasso was a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s Philadelphia 76ers On SI Network. Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association. Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoMedia Threads: @JGrassoMedia

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