Mac McClung, the one G League participant in historical past to even enter the dunk contest, not to mention win it, placed on a present for the ages on Saturday night time in Salt Lake City, nailing all 4 of his makes an attempt on the primary strive. That’s one of many issues that has killed this contest: Guys bricking a bunch of makes an attempt earlier than lastly placing one down. McClung was excellent, becoming a member of Spud Webb as the one gamers in historical past 6-foot-2 or shorter to card three 50s in a single dunk contest.
Below, I’m going to rank McClung’s 4 dunks, starting on the finish.
1. The walk-off
McClung saved his greatest for final. Trey Murphy III was hanging round with some fairly spectacular stuff of his personal, however when McClung threw down this 540, as Draymond Green might be heard saying on the TNT broadcast, it was a wrap.
That’s value a number of extra appears to be like.
The are jumpers and there are fliers. McClung flies. Floats would possibly even be the extra applicable description. That dunk is a jaw dropper. Some folks had been calling it a 720, which might be two full revolutions, however you may watch once more and see that he finishes midway via the second flip, as a reverse, then continues all the best way round on his descent. An completely nasty dunk, and maybe simply as essential, once more, it was on the primary strive. The folks obtained up, and he did not allow them to down. He was rewarded with a 50.
2. The double-clutch reverse
Kenny Smith known as it a “hesi” dunk, but it surely was greater than that. On his third dunk of the night time, McClung obtained head degree with the rim as he took the ball out of the palms of his stunt man, then kind of froze in mid air for lengthy sufficient to convey the ball from between his legs as much as his chest, then again all the way down to his waist and again up once more for the end.
Indeed, the issue of this dunk lies within the grasp time. It’s inconceivable to place into phrases how lengthy it’s important to hover at rim degree to offer your self time for a full double clutch. And once more, he needed to convey the ball as much as his chest first earlier than he even began the down-up double clutch. It’s really virtually a triple clutch. This is a type of dunks it’s important to decelerate and actually ponder the subtleties to essentially respect simply how troublesome it was to tug off.
3. The faucet and go
Kenny Smith wasn’t certain if McClung tapped the glass earlier than flushing his first dunk. You’ll see beneath that he did. This was loopy to tug off as your first dunk, in your first strive, with all of the hoopla surrounding McClung on this contest.
McClung goes over two dudes right here, one sitting on the shoulders of the opposite, which equates to leaping over a regular door in your own home. McClung has his head proper there with the rim whereas taking maintain of the ball beneath his waist. To go from that spot to above his head, tapping it off the backboard and throwing down a flush reverse in a single easy movement was nicely deserving of the 50 he scored.
That stated, I really suppose the following dunk on this record was harder, however I give this one the sting as a result of, once more, it got here with all of the stress of it being McClung’s first try. The “rising to the event” aspect is unquestionably a part of this package deal.
4. The 360 windmill
I am unable to consider I’m calling this McClung’s “worst” dunk. This jam was so nasty. It wasn’t fairly a full 360 if you wish to be technical; McClung begins his flip earlier than he takes off, as nearly everybody doing a 360 does. But for all intents and functions, this can be a 360 with a windmill thrown in the course of the revolution.
There was a time when Dominque Wilkins was a legend only for doing the windmill half. And this wasn’t an affordable windmill. This was a full windmill, and McClung nonetheless managed to flush it with energy. This ought to’ve been a 50.
