Mac McLung has lived this Saturday the most glorious day of his discreet career as a basketball player.
After shining in high school and excelling in college, McLung has failed to break through to basketball's elite.
He signed a 10-day contract with the Chicago Bulls, trained with the Lakers and the Warriors, but couldn't find his place.
He was playing this year in the Delaware Blue Coats, of the NBA G League, something like the second division, when he received the invitation to participate in the NBA All Star dunk contest.
He has been the unusual winner.
Of the two dunks in the final, McLung hit one with the Philadelphia 76ers jersey (which he joined this week) and another with the high school where he was the star, Gate City, Virginia.
Playing a college game he was spotted by Pat Ewing and recruited for Georgetown University.
Since high school he stood out with his math.
MAC MCCLUNG HITS THE 540. PERFECT SCORE.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME.#ATTSlamDunk x #StateFarmSaturday
đź“ş: Live on TNT pic.twitter.com/ohSyYpMAq6
— NBA (@NBA) February 19, 2023
It cannot be said that his victory this Saturday was a surprise, since he had ballots.
What is certain is that he does not fit the profile of a winner of a contest that lived its days of greatest glory with the duels between Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins in the late 1980s and that has lost much interest since then.
McLung, 24, is white (African-Americans had won all but one of the contests), relatively short, and wasn't even a player for one of the pro league teams when he was invited, but none of that has stopped him from winning. triumph.
Short players have a winning tradition in the history of NBA dunk contests.
Nate Robinson, at 1.75 meters, won it three times and Spud Webb, the shortest player in NBA history, also took the title despite being 1.68 meters tall.
McLung was the shortest of the four participants this Saturday, although in a professional league with more and more centimeters, he played the role of
short
with 1.88 meters.
🤯 @McclungMac with a 50 on this one 🤯
#ATTSlamDunk #StateFarmSaturday pic.twitter.com/c5jFn8FgiR
— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) February 19, 2023
In the dunk final, McLung beat Trey Murphy, 2.03 meters tall, a New Orleans Pelicans player, with far superior physical power.
But McLung has played with skillful staging and has showcased his skill and his power and has fulfilled the breakout winner script.
The player who recently joined the Sixers has twice achieved the maximum score for his dunks, which the jury liked more than those of his rivals.
In the more objective triple contest, the most successful at the moment of truth has been Damian Lillard, of the Portland Trail Blazers, although the best shootout has been starred by Tyrese Haliburton, of the Indiana Pacers, in the qualifying round.
In the final, however, he missed more than necessary and let the trophy escape.
The updated player pool... who will end up on #TeamLeBron and #TeamGiannis?
https://t.co/uO1duMJoDB
— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) February 10, 2023
The highlight of the All Star weekend comes this Sunday with the match between Lebron James's team and Giannis Antetokounmpo's.
The selection of the teams is part of the show and will be done just before the game.
Each captain will choose his teammates, like in a schoolyard game, but with the eyes of the whole world.
There is a possibility that one of the starting lineups will be American players and the other, from the rest of the world.
There has been speculation about it, but it would take a tacit pact between LeBron (who will have a big day with new records to show off and put in his pocket) and Antetokounmpo.
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