Mac McClung Becomes First Player to Win NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest in Three Straight Years

Josh Cohen @Josh_Cohen_NBA

SAN FRANCISCO - Winning any pro-level title three times in a row is rare.

The Kansas City Chiefs came up one win short of accomplishing that feat after losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in this year’s Super Bowl. So still, no NFL team has ever done it. 

It’s only happened four times in MLB history, with the last being the New York Yankees from 1998-2000. There have been five instances of an NBA team winning at least three consecutive championships, the last being the L.A. Lakers from 2000-2002. It’s also occurred five times in NHL history, with the last time being all the way back in the early 80s when the New York Islanders won four straight Stanley Cup trophies. 

While All-Star competition titles are, obviously, not on the same tier, it’s noteworthy when a player takes them home in back-to-back-to-back years. 

That’s precisely what Mac McClung, one of the Orlando Magic’s three two-way contract players, accomplished on Saturday night at this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend in San Francisco, defeating San Antonio’s Stephon Castle in the final round. 

He, in fact, became the first player to do it in this competition, and he’s the second to ever win it three times, with Nate Robinson having won it in 2006, 2009 and 2010. Now, justifiably, many will start including McClung in the “best dunker of all time” debates.

“I definitely don’t think that’s something for me to say,” he said. “I was extremely honored to be a part of this weekend. The biggest thing is I genuinely love this contest. I’m very honored to be here and it’s very appreciative.”

Of the three times he’s been in this contest, this year’s might have been his best, and most creative. All four of his dunks, which included him jumping over a Kia K5 while grabbing the ball from a helper holding it above his head and then proceeding to slam home a two-handed reverse jam, earned a perfect score from the judges. 

His others, which he did on the first try, were just as spectacular and caused the crowd to erupt each time. 

“When you feel like the crowd has your back, that gives you a different level of adrenaline, maybe confidence,” he said. “It was great. It felt really good and the judges gave me some good scores, so that got me feeling good. I really do like to play off the crowd.”

The 6-foot-2 guard has spent most of this season with the Magic’s G League team in Osceola. Through his first 29 games – tip-off tournament and regular season combined – he’s averaging 21.1 points and 5.4 assists. Osceola is 10-7 so far in the regular season and 7-3 in its last 10 games.