Mac McClung Wins 2024 NBA Slam Dunk Contest: Where Win Ranks All-Time
February 18, 2024
Point guard Mac McClung earned a victory in the 2024 NBA Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday night, winning the competition for the second year in a row.
McClung, who currently plays for the Osceola Magic in the NBA G League, became the first player to win the contest in consecutive years since Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine hoisted consecutive trophies as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2015 and 2016.
McClung solidified his victory with a perfect score of 50 on his final dunk of the night, as he threw down a reverse two-handed jam while jumping over Hall of Fame center Shaquille O'Neal.
"That was a shoutout to my hometown again" McClung said about his final dunk, per Josh Cohen of NBA.com. "That's what I did last year. I wanted to build on it. Really, the thought I was thinking was don't miss the dunk. I can't a miss a dunk. I don't usually miss…I'm glad the outcome happened the way it did."
The 25-year-old referenced his double-pump reverse dunk that earned a perfect score in the 2023 contest, helping propel him to his first victory.
In an event that has typically attracted fewer stars in recent years, Boston Celtics All-Star forward Jaylen Brown was among the participants. Rounding out the field of contestants was Miami Heat wing Jaime Jaquez Jr. and New York Knicks forward Jacob Toppin.
While Jaquez Jr. and Toppin threw down impressive dunks that included a one-handed windmill dunk over O'Neal and a between-the-legs 360 jam, respectively, they were unable to advance to the final round. The honor went to Brown, who achieved a controversial average score of 47.6 on his second dunk in the opening round.
Although he received a lob from teammate Jayson Tatum while jumping over streamer Kai Cenat, it took Brown multiple tries to finish the dunk which produced some boos from the Indianapolis crowd once he was finally able to throw it down.
Despite the less-than-stellar performance from the lone All-Star to appear in the contest, Brown enjoyed his time in the competition.
"I think, ultimately, in this media era, some players are just afraid to get turned into a meme or whatever," he said, according to Forbes Sports' Shane Young. "I wanted to come out and have fun within it and that's what I did."
Although there weren't an abundance of missed dunks throughout the evening, there also weren't a lot of show-stopping slams that have elicited crowd reactions which are typically a staple of some of the league's all-time great dunk contests. This includes Vince Carter's iconic 2000 dunk contest performance as well as the memorable duel between Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon in 2016.
Similar to the 2023 Slam Dunk Contest, McClung's strong individual showing saves it from being one of the worst competitions of all time. However, it ranks quite low on the totem pole as the final dunk of the evening was the only slam to earn a perfect score from the judges all night long.
While McClung should be proud of his second straight win, the contest as a whole has seen better days.
