While it’s too early to judge the quality of this year’s dunk contest, fans couldn’t help but notice the absence of 3x champion, Mac McClung. Despite being on a two-way contract and spending much of his time in the G-League, he put on a show the past three years, stealing the spotlight from the stars themselves. In a recent chat with HoopsHype’s Cyro Asseo, McClung explained why he skipped out on the event this time, and it’s not for the reasons you might think.
“Originally, I told everybody I was done, McClung said on the dunk contact. “I retired after the third year, and they’re good friends of mine. We’re in contact a lot, and they were talking about this next year, and I was pretty much saying: ‘I’m not going to do it’. But I prepared anyway, just in case maybe I would. I think there was just back and forth of us being like this, and then they were calling me, being like ‘People didn’t want to do it if I was doing it’, and I thought it’s best if I just sit out this year and let it be, no matter what.”
It’s odd for one specific person to scare away so many people from the dunk contest, but there are a few reasons why players might be hesitant to go against him. For Mac, however, it’s less about how many times he’s won and more about getting more reputable players in the show.
“I know they were after a lot of big-name guys, and the situation may not have been clear, but they’re good friends of mine,” McClung added. “It wasn’t anything like ill will. We were just trying to figure it out together, and I felt there was a little bit of hesitation on both sides. So I thought we’ll let this year happen and then let the people kind of feel the way they do. I don’t know if it’ll ever be in my future or not, but I’ve definitely enjoyed it these last three years.”
Regarding the root cause for lack of star participation, it’s not an easy thing to identify. Everyone’s going to have their own opinion, but McClung knows this topic better than most. He believes the general hesitancy comes from the difficulty of the event itself.
“I think because so many dunks have been done,” McClung argued. “It’s hard to surprise people at this point. And also, it takes a lot on your body to do this contest, and it’s very nerve-wracking. All eyes are on you. There’s a lot of critique on it. So, I think it’s just when they get that little break on All-Star, they don’t really want to do it. I think the next big star that does it really has to love dunking and the creativity, because it’s hard to come up with stuff nowadays that you haven’t seen other people do.”
When the event was younger, it was easier to impress judges and audiences with fresh and unique dunks. But after so many years of exposure, it takes much more effort to deliver a quality experience. For most big-name stars who need the All-Star break to rest, adding that extra burden is just not something they believe is worthwhile.
Still, there is hope that we might see a revival. With this year’s participants featuring a young group of NBA athletes (Carter Bryant, Jaxson Hayes, Keshad Johnson, and Jase Richardson), they have a chance to bring some spark back to All-Star weekend. Ultimately, the biggest factor will be the dunks themselves. If this year’s humble group cannot match McClung’s energy and creativity, he may have to come back next year and show them how it’s done.
