The best dunkers the NBA can find are still G Leaguers.
Osceola Magic guard Mac McClung made yet another wild dunk to defeat Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest finals on Saturday night. McClung becomes the fifth player in NBA history to win consecutive dunk contests, joining Michael Jordan, Jason Richardson, Nate Robinson and Zach LaVine.
While the night wasn't as exciting as his breakthrough performance last season, he was still a standout in a field making his first All-Star appearance since 2017.
All 4 participants:
Meanwhile, Brown had two dunks in the finals and was warmly received by the judges, but not necessarily by the audience.his first was Tribute to the late Boston native Terrence Clarkeand Donovan Mitchell in his second spotlight and a rhinestone glove on his left handa blow against the frequent criticism that he only drives with his right hand.
Jaylen Brown's dunk contest score…questionable
The real drama occurred in the first round, when the NBA's five judges issued several scores that surprised many fans, including the loudest one in Lucas Oil Stadium.
Maklungu won with a high score of 97.4. The next spots went to New York Knicks G Leaguer Jacob Toppin, the younger brother of 2022 champion Obi Toppin, and Brown. Toppin performed what appeared to be an excellent dunk, spinning his feet 360 degrees to the approval of the crowd.
The dunk only earned him 47.2 points, leading some to speculate that the judges penalized him for requiring a second try. Brown also needed a second try to complete the dunk.
Brown made the final dunk of the round. He brought out teammate Jayson Tatum and YouTuber Kai Senato to help, with Tatum lobbing the ball and Senato sitting in front of the basket. The results were pretty damning, especially when the crowd noticed that Brown was pretending to cover his eyes as he came off the rim.
There were loud boos when the replay was played.
But the judges were fans of the dunk, or at least of Brown's All-Star status. They gave him a 47.6 score, eliminating Toppin and raising some questions about what they were actually watching.
Between these numbers and the final score, it was an interesting night for the NBA, and it could have been a very controversial night if McClung had not held serve.
