Some NBA players who win the league’s Slam Dunk contest during All-Star weekend are well-known and have very successful careers, but others fizzle out rather quickly.
Mac McClung is one of the more improbable Slam Dunk champions basketball has ever seen — after multiple stints in the G League, he won the dunk contest in 2023, even though he hadn’t played a single NBA game yet that season.
The Philadelphia 76ers.had signed him to a two-way contract just days before his All-Star weekend triumph, and after spending last season with the G League’s Osceola Magic and winning another Slam Dunk contest, the Orlando Magic have signed him to a partially guaranteed deal, per Shams Charania.
Guard Mac McClung – the back-to-back NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion and 2024 G League MVP – has agreed on a partially guaranteed deal with the Orlando Magic, sources tell @TheAthletic. McClung went to camp with the Magic last season and will again compete for a roster spot. pic.twitter.com/IIjiAjLlw8
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 4, 2024
McClung finished last season as the Most Valuable Player of the G League by averaging 25.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.6 assists a game while shooting 47.0 percent from the field and 36.0 percent from 3-point range.
He went undrafted in 2021 after spending two years at Georgetown University and one year at Texas Tech University.
The Magic have an intriguing young team that features 2022-23 Rookie of the Year and 2023-24 All-Star forward Paolo Panchero, forward Franz Wagner and guard Jalen Suggs, and they’re coming off their first playoff appearance since 2020.
They’re hoping to take the next step and win their first playoff series since 2010, the year after they unexpectedly reached the NBA Finals.
Orlando has gone from a laughingstock to a respectable team by embracing defense, and it resulted in them ranking third in defensive rating this past season.
Of course, they’re hoping McClung turns into a diamond in the rough who will help them improve even more.
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