G-League (developmental championship) player Matthew “Mac” McClung triumphed like last year in the NBA All-Star Weekend dunk contest on Saturday in Indianapolis.
Despite his all-purpose size (1.88 m), McClung once again showcased his phenomenal relaxation to light up a dunk contest without much madness.
McClung innovated with a first dunk by jumping over a player, recovering the ball above his head, deliberately releasing the ball in the air before taking it back to spike it.
To beat Celtics winger Jaylen Brown in the final, McClung (25) performed a superb jump over former standout pivot Shaquille O’Neal (2.16 m), earning the maximum score from the jury.
The evening began sluggishly with the very poorly designed skill competition, which pitted three teams of three players against each other over several events, between passing, shooting and ball control.
A very messy moment which saw Victor Wembanyama continue his contrasting weekend, after being quickly eliminated from the young talents tournament on Friday. His team, with Anthony Edwards and Paolo Banchero, finished last, showing little energy to the task, unlike the winners, the local Indiana Pacers (Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner and Bennedict Mathurin).
Milwaukee Bucks leader Damian Lillard won the three-point shooting contest like last year, beating Karl-Anthony Towns and Trae Young in a close final.
Two other triggers then put on the show with a three-point duel between Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry and American Sabrina Ionescu, gunner for the New York Liberty and Team USA.
Ionescu challenged Curry after completing a record-breaking skill contest last year. The meeting was organized for charitable associations.
Ionescu, who shot from the NBA line (further than in the WNBA women’s championship) but with slightly smaller WNBA balls, lost to Curry.
The All-Star Game takes place on Sunday and will conclude the All-Star Weekend festivities.
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