- 6ft 2in guard dunks over 7ft 1in Hall of Fame to take title
- McClung gets perfect score from judges to clinch win
Mac McClung went back to school to win his second consecutive NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
He asked Shaquille O’Neal to squeeze into McClung’s old high school jersey, then grabbed the ball out of Shaq’s hands and leapt clear over the 7ft 1in Hall of Famer to draw five perfect scores on his final attempt on Saturday night.
McClung compiled 98.8 points on his last two dunks, while Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown finished with 97.8.
“Shaq was so cool to put that high school jersey on, man, it almost made me emotional that he would do that,” McClung said. “When he put it on, he said, ‘You better not miss it.’ I said, ‘OK, I won’t miss it.’”
Unlike some of his previous attempts, McClung made this dunk on his first try and was rewarded handsomely by the five judges.
As a result, the high-flying, 6ft 2in guard who plays for Orlando’s G League affiliate, the Osceola Magic, became the sixth player with two or more Dunk Contest titles and the first to win in back-to-back seasons since Zach LaVine in 2015 and 2016.