SALT LAKE CITY — Mac McClung put on another show.
One night after shining in the Jordan Rising Stars, the 76ers two-way guard stood out in the NBA Slam Dunk contest as part of the NBA All-Star Weekend.
McClung won the event to conclude All-Star Saturday Night at Vivint Arena. He defeated the New Orleans Pelicans’ Trey Murphy III with two perfect-score dunks.
On McClung’s first finals attempt, he took the ball from a friend standing underneath the basket while leaping in the air. McClung double-pumped before dunking for a perfect score of 50. On his second dunk, McClung scored another 50 with a 540-degree dunk while donning his Gate City High School jersey.
On McClung’s first attempt of the night, one of his friends sat on another friend’s shoulders with that ball behind his neck. McClung leaped over them, grabbed the ball, kissed it off the backboard and dunked backward.
He received his first perfect score. McClung received a 49.8 on his second dunk, a powerful 360. Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie, one of the five judges, gave him a 49 while the other four gave him a 50.
But McClung still took home the trophy, which is named after Sixers legend and Hall of Famer Julius Erving, who presented the trophy to McClung. Erving, as a New York Net, won the first-ever dunk contest, which was held at the 1976 ABA All-Star Game.
McClung also made league history.
He accepted the invitation to participate in the contest last month while a full-time member of the Sixers’ NBA G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats. He didn’t sign his two-way contract with the Sixers until Tuesday. He is the first G Leaguer to participate in the NBA’s annual dunk contest.
The 24-year-old became the first Sixer to win the event and the first to participate in the contest since Andre Iguodala in 2006.
The Sixers’ other slam dunk participants were Julius Erving (1984, 1985), Shelton Jones (1989), Clarence Witherspoon (1993), Tim Perry (1993, 1995), Jerry Stackhouse (1996), and Larry Hughes (2000).
On Friday, McClung played for Team Jason, which consisted of G League standouts, in a 40-32 Rising Stars game loss to Team Joakim at the arena. McClung had 10 points, two rebounds, two assists, and one steal in nine minutes.
In other All-Star Saturday Night events, Utah Jazz teammates Jordan Clarkson, Walker Kessler, and Collin Sexton teamed to win the Skills Challenge.
Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard won the 3-point contest, scoring 26 points in the finals. Lillard donned his replica Weber State No. 1 jersey in the competition. Lillard was a standout at Weber State, located in Ogden, Utah, 30 minutes away from Salt Lake City.
