Mac McClung’s Been Highlight Dunking Since his Days at Virginia’s Gate City HS

Virginia’s Gate City HS graduate Mac McClung Far from an Overnight Sensation

Gate City High School (VA) graduate Mac McClung celebrates with the trophy and former NBA player Julius Erving (right) after winning the slam dunk competition during All Star Saturday Night ahead of the 2025 NBA All Star Game at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The NBA Slam Dunk Contest was once Julius Erving’s domain before the torch was passed to Michael Jordan. The ensuing years boasted their share of memorable moments, but there’s nothing that prepared basketball fans across the globe for what has now become a mid-February staple – the high-flying Mac McClung show.

On smartphones, tablets and TV’s, thanks to McClung, a 2018 graduate of Gate City High School in Gate City, VA - population 2,000, this mid-February, post Super Bowl tradition has become must-see viewing.

From love. pic.twitter.com/CDr97dpXGZ

— mac mcclung (@McclungMac) February 19, 2024

This past Saturday at the NBA All-Star Weekend in San Francisco, McClung soared to his third straight Slam Dunk Contest victory, leaving the crowd in gaping awe and adulation. The 26-year-old, who has seen just five minutes of playing time for the Orlando Magic this season, earned an unprecedented perfect 50’s on all four dunks.

The month of February is known for many things. While Sports Illustrated’s first swimsuit edition was published every February from 1964-2019 when it began to be released in May –in the mid 2020’s, Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day, and even a day off of work thanks to the federal President’s Day holiday have all been cast aside.

The birthstone for February is amethyst, which is said to enhance spirituality and awareness. The birth flower for February is violet, which symbolizes remembrance and faithfulness. In the context of sport, February is now Mac McClung’s month, symbolizing a level of slam-dunking pyrotechnics the likes of which have never before been seen.

McClung began this year’s proceedings by leaping over a car for a reverse dunk. Per ESPN's Shams Charania, McClung is donating the sparkling silver Kia K5 to a charity in his hometown of Gate City, VA. He then vaulted over a standing man while contorting his body in mid-air. His third dunk was an astonishing double slam—with one basketball from a spinning hoverboard assistant and another from a man perched on a ladder. To seal the win, the 6’2″ guard dunked over 6’11” Evan Mobley on a platform.

All told, the time it took McClung to vault to his third straight slam dunk title took more time than the five minutes of game action the G League MVP has seen for the Orlando Magic. Yet, each February, the 6’2”McClung continues to captivate the basketball world.

Make no mistake, McClung is no overnight sensation, far from it. He’s been thrilling audiences with his creative leaping craft since his childhood days in the small town of Gate City, located in the southwest tip of Virginia, just a few miles from the Tennessee border. It was in his home there where his parents built the hyper-competitive, overzealous tyke his own basement gym. McClung became so addicted to making up new and inventive ways to dunk a basketball that his father would often ban him from the basement so his older sister could concentrate on her homework upstairs.

McClung first started  on regulation 10-foot rims as a sophomore playing varsity basketball at Gate City High School. His reputation as an acrobatic dunker grew exponentially throughout the rest of his high school career. During his junior season, at about the time college recruiters starting taking notice of the dunking dynamo, McClung poured in a career-high 64 points in a loss to Dan River High School at the  (VHSL) Region 2A West tournament.  This accomplishment drew lots of attention from major colleges across the nation as it was not only a school record but the highest scoring output among Virginia public schools since 1984.

For his junior season, he averaged 29.3 points, 5.5 assists and 3.1 steals per game for the Blue Devils and was tabbed Southwest Virginia Boys' Basketball Player of the Year by the . In the summer, he committed to play for  in college.

McClung kicked off his senior season by scoring 47 points, on 18-of-23 shooting, in a 96-43 win over . He would go on to break the VHSL single-season scoring record during the 2018 VHSL regional playoffs, a mark previously held by  , surpassing Iverson's record of 948 points in just 25 games—five fewer than it took Iverson to amass his record, according to the Bristol Herald Courier.

He ended his high school career with Gate City's first state championship, scoring 47 points in an 80–65 title-game win over 's . The 47 points broke a VHSL all-classes scoring record for a championship game that had been held by former NBA player . McClung finished the season with 1,153 points and 2,801 for his career, also a VHSL all-classes record, and was again named Southwest Virginia Player of the Year by the Herald Courier.  He then won the slam dunk contest at the .

McClung’s verbal commitment to Rutgers didn’t last long as he eventually decided to take the same college route as Iverson, signing with the Georgetown Hoyas, where he averaged 14.2 ppg. in a two-year, 50-game career. As a junior, McClung played his final year of college ball at Texas Tech where he averaged 15.5 ppg. in 29 games for the Red Raiders.

McClung went undrafted in 2021 before joining the for the Los Angeles Lakers summer league team. He signed a free agent contract with the club in August before eventually being waived. He has bounced around several NBA G-League rosters in the years since.

While his career has been just a footnote in actual NBA competition, he owns one weekend in February each year. He’s hinted that he might go out on top and not go for a fourth straight NBA Slam Dunk title. Certainly the 2,000 residents of Gate City, VA and the global basketball community will be rooting for the show to continue.