Mac McClung capped off his jaw-dropping performance Saturday night with an exclamation point.
McClung, a second-year pro who's on a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, saved arguably his best for last in the 2023 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. After putting on his high school jersey, McClung rolled along the baseline and perfectly executed a 540 slam. The 24-year-old channeled his inner Vince Carter to tell the sold-out crowd at Vivint Arena that the competition was over and, indeed, it was as McClung took home the dunking crown.
Speaking with the media in Utah after his NBA coming-out party, McClung was asked which dunk gave him the most difficulty in preparation. And wouldn't you know, it was the slam McClung chose to put the finishing touch on his epic night.
"To be honest, the 540 at the end, I didn't make it at all yesterday (Friday), to be honest with you," McClung told reporters, per a video shared by the NBA. "I was like, I'm going to save this for last so if I've made all my dunks I know I'll have a little confidence."
McClung revealed he went into Saturday night with eight dunks in his arsenal and whittled the catalog down to four for the competition. We think we can speak for all basketball fans when we say we'd like to see those other four slams someday.
