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NBA Slam Dunk Contest: Mac McClung defeats Jaylen Brown to go back-to-back

jack baer
Staff writer
·3 min read
291

The best dunker the NBA can find is still a G Leaguer.

Osceola Magic guard Mac McClung delivered another set of wild dunks to defeat the Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown in the final of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday night. McClung becomes the fifth back-to-back dunk contest winner in NBA history, joining Michael Jordan, Jason Richardson, Nate Robinson and Zach LaVine.

The night wasn't as exciting as his breakout performance last season, but he was still the standout in a field that included the first All-Star to participate since 2018.

Here are all four participants:

For his part, Brown delivered two dunks in the finals that were warmly received by judges, but not necessarily the crowd. His first was a tribute to the late Terrence Clarke, a Boston native, and his second featured Donovan Mitchell and a rhinestoned glove on his left hand, a shot at the frequent criticism that he only drives with his right hand.

Jaylen Brown's dunk contest scoring was ... questionable

The real drama came during the first round, when the NBA's five judges delivered some scores that rankled many fans, including the loudest ones at Lucas Oil Stadium.

McClung had the high score of 97.4 to advance. The next spot came down to New York Knicks G Leaguer Jacob Toppin, the younger brother of 2022 champ Obi Toppin, and Brown. Toppin delivered what seemed to be the superior dunk, going 360 through the legs to the approval of the crowd.

That dunk was only scored a 47.2, with some speculating the judges penalized him for needing a second try. Brown also needed a second try to complete his dunk.

Brown had the final dunk of the round. He brought out teammate Jayson Tatum and YouTuber Kai Cenat to help, with Tatum lobbing the ball and Cenat sitting in front of the basket. The result was pretty meh, especially when the crowd realized Brown had faked covering his eyes as he come down from the rim.

There was loud booing as the replays were shown.

The judges, however, were fans of the dunk, or at least Brown's All-Star status. They gave him a 47.6, eliminating Toppin and sparking several questions about what they were actually watching.

Between those numbers and the finals scoring, it was a curious night for the NBA and could have been a highly controversial one had McClung not held serve.