Mac McClung was not invited to participate in the 2026 NBA Slam Dunk Contest despite the fact that he had won three straight dating back to '23. McClung announced that he would be sitting the contest out in January, but promised to share the dunks he had been working on.
On Saturday night following the contest, which was won by Keshad Johnson of the Heat, he made good on that promise by retweeting a post which featured four dunk videos. You can judge for yourself, but if these had been done in the right order at the Intuit Dome on Saturday afternoon, he probably would have won his fourth straight contest.
The four dunks @macmcclung37 would’ve done this year at this year’s dunk contest 🔥
— Team VKTRY (@TeamVKTRY) February 15, 2026
Which one was your favorite? Text DUNK to 69097 to vote! pic.twitter.com/lrtNdcoFek
The least impressive of the four has to be the one where throws himself an alley-oop, catches it, taps his sneakers and throws down a reverse dunk. After that it's just personal preference because they're all pretty sick. A between-the-legs reverse? An under the legs alley-oop?
Jumping over a guy and leaning forward far enough to ... how do you even describe the one that features a guy on a ladder? When else in your life do you move your arm into that position on purpose?
In an interview this week McClung revealed that he had been told, "People didn't want to do it if I was doing it," which is what ultimately led him to not participate. The thing is, if this was the list of players the league could get to participate without McClung, he probably just should have followed his heart. If he wants to dunk, he should dunk. Whatever his standing in the league is, the NBA Slam Dunk Contest should be the Mac McClung invitational until he decided he's really ready to retire.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mac McClung Shares Video of the Innovative Dunks He Had Ready for Dunk Contest.
