3-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champ Mac McClung returns for second stint with Windy City Bulls
Mac McClung's well-traveled NBA career hasn't exactly been a slam dunk. After finally signing his first multi-year contract with the Indiana Pacers, the three-time dunk contest champion was released earlier this month. Now he's trying to make the jump from the G League back to the NBA in his return to the Windy City Bulls.
It's the former G League MVP and champion's second stint with the Windy City Bulls.
"I'm a competitor. All the other stuff, they can just watch and kind see what they like and don't like," he said. "All I care about is winning, and I'm a competitor. I think that's relatable to a lot of people, and that's who I am."
McClung scored his first NBA points on a 10-day contract with the Bulls in 2021. He made his Windy City debut a week later, and has bounced around the G League and NBA ever since.
"It can be a rollercoaster if you let it, and I think just gratefulness every day is like … this opportunity I'm grateful for, whether it goes the way you want or it doesn't. But all I know is I'm just trying to keep getting better," he said.
McClung has played in nine NBA games with five different teams, but has done one thing no one else has – become a three-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion.
"Man, it's crazy. It's once a year, so I almost forget that's a part of my life until that month comes up, but it's such an honor. It's such a cool weekend to be a part of, and one day I'll kind of accept it more, I think, but it's really cool," he said.
McClung said going through that process and perfecting it probably hasn't made him a better player, but it's been fun.
"Obviously, being athletic, I think, helps in the game of basketball. But when it comes to the game, I don't think so, but it's just been a really fun thing outside of the game I've got to be able to do, and kind be creative, and it's almost like another love."
Fans aren't the only ones who marvel at McClung's incredible dunks. His teammates are well aware of his skillset as well, and might have even asked to see a thing or two at practice.
"My first day, they asked me to dunk a couple times. I told them I'm getting old, so I've got to save it. So, I try to be really specific with when I do dunk and when I don't," he said.
"I've seen them all. When he first came, I told him the most amazing thing he done, I feel like, was to jump over a car," Windy City Bulls forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili said. "I told him straight, first time I met him, I'm like, 'That was amazing,'"
A player who has gone viral and has millions of followers is still as humble as can be.
"It's surprising every time. Being at the game the other day, or looking at your messages sometimes, your story matters to people, and you forget that as a human being, and I'm really grateful, and I don't take that for granted," McClung said.
McClung also isn't taking another opportunity of playing basketball in Chicago for granted.
"It's legendary. You can feel it when you're in here [The Advocate Center] or when you're in the arena," he said. "I'm honored to be a part of this program."