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Ja Morant, Giannis Float Dunk Contest Appearance After Mac McClung Dominates

McClung's historic three-peat got the boys talking.

Brigid Kennedy

Mac McClung competes in the slam dunk competition during All Star Weekend on Feb 15, 2025.
Mac McClung competes in the slam dunk competition during All Star Weekend on Feb 15, 2025. / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
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Orlando Magic guard Mac McClung once again dominated the dunk contest during NBA All-Star weekend, notching his third consecutive win and making league history in the process.

The 26-year-old thrilled and wowed spectators with his crazy routes—which included a jump over a Kia K5 as well as 6'11" big man Evan Mobley—on his way to the record-breaking three-peat, and those at home were just as stunned as those on the sidelines.

Even Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant was motivated to join the fun next year after McClung's electric performance, which would no doubt add some star power to the lacking contest.

"Mac might make me decide to dunk," the 25-year-old star posted on X (formerly Twitter).

And even better, Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was on the sidelines while McClung did his thing, said he'd go for it if Morant would.

Definitely an ideal development for the NBA, who surely wouldn't mind dialing up the intrigue on the dunk contest next year.

For his part, McClung has said he was thinking of hanging it up after this go around—but he noted that it's pretty awesome his performance has motivated some of the league's biggest stars to join in the fun, and that he wouldn't say "never" to a return.

"Yeah, I'm flattered," McClung told reporters Saturday night. "I think those guys are so fun to watch. Ja, man, I love watching him. I think he's incredible. I think he'd be awesome in the dunk contest. I'd love to see that. As far as me, though, I don't know, I was probably thinking about hanging it up after this one but I never want to say never."

All-Star Weekend continues Sunday night with the long-awaited All-Star game at 8 p.m. ET on TNT.

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Brigid Kennedy
BRIGID KENNEDY

Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.

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