For the third time in three years, the hoop community ended All-Star Saturday Night thinking “Mac McClung just saved the Dunk Contest!” Yes, the high flyer put on a show in the Bay Area tonight and became the first player ever to three-peat the event. From jumping over a car to dunking two balls at once, Mac brought out his A Game. But while he was busy creating history, an NBA legend did not even bother watching his entire performance, raising major concerns about Adam Silver’s storied event!
As per veteran insider Tim Kawakami, an anonymous Hall of Famer left the arena soon after the Dunk Contest began. Although his identity remains unknown, the legend reportedly said, “I saw 0 for 8 on dunks, I’m outta here.” Well, this shocking revelation raises a major question – Has Mac McClung’s historic feat truly rescued the Slam Dunk contest from its dying popularity? Turns out, the experts don’t think so.
Following Mac’s dominant victory, insider Brett Siegel tweeted, “Until the NBA can have their stars step up to represent in the Dunk Contest instead of having a G Leaguer represent All-Star Saturday night, this will be a failed event.” Of course, there is no denying that McClung is one of the best dunkers in the world. But the problem is, he has only played a handful of NBA games and spent most of his career in the G League. And that makes many question the credibility of his victory and the event itself.
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The popular belief is that if Adam Silver needs a G League player to be the star of one of their biggest annual showcases, then the event might be on the verge of failure. And its not like Mac did not have a legitimate competitor who could have stolen the trophy from him. In fact, many experts and players believe Spurs star Stephon Castle should have won tonight. Sure, his dunks were not as flashy and prop heavy as McClung’s. But every one of Castle’s throwdowns was creative and ferocious.
As per Kevin O’Connor, “Stephon Castle should’ve won. Better dunks without the use of gimmick props and he’s an actual NBA player.” Even Ja Morant wanted the Spurs star to be crowned the champ, “fw Castle!!” As expected, there was a ton of backlash against the event after he lost. But this backlash might have sparked a revolution that could save the Dunk Contest after all.
Ja Morant and Former MVP hint participation in Slam Dunk Contest following Mac McClung’s three-peat
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As great a dunker as McClung is, fans want to see some big names competing in the event. There was a time when winning the Dunk Contest was a huge honor as legends like Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins participated in it. However, the event seems to have lost its charm over the years because of its lack of star power. Even this year, every participant except McClung was a young debutant. But Siegel made it clear what the world wants, “Love McClung and he’s amazing, but we want to see him against Morant, Edwards, Williamson, and others.”
Well, it looks like people’s wish might be granted soon as McClung’s historic performance has sparked a fire in superstars like Ja Morant and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Soon after the contest, Ja made a bold tweet, “Mac might make me decide to dunk.” Yes, the world has been craving to see Ja in the dunk contest for years, after seeing him posterize several stars during games. He even called out a couple of Dunk Contest legends to accompany him, “Zach & AG wassup.” Of course, Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon were the stars of arguably the Best Dunk Contest Ever nine years ago.
Meanwhile, The Greek Freak also heard Ja’s call and claimed, “If you do it. I’ll do it with you.” Sure, Giannis has participated in the event once before, but he was not the superstar then that he is today.
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So, the stars might finally be aligning for some of the best high flyers in the league to hear the fans’ plea and compete in the event. Surely, that will be a massive boost to the event’s popularity and the NBA will no longer have to rely solely on a G League player stealing the show every year. What are your thoughts?