Mac McClung of the Orlando Magic secured his place in NBA history Saturday night by becoming the first player to win the NBA Slam Dunk contest for the third consecutive year.
The reigning G-League MVP wasn’t ready to rest on those accomplishments coming into the competition. He made a statement – by jumping over a car – in the first round to impress the judges and help secure his early positioning.
The judges for the contest included Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett, Baron Davis, Jason Richardson and Jesser.
Here’s how the defending champion secured his historic third title:
Mac McClung jumps over a Kia to take early lead
McClung jumped in the air and took the ball out of the hands of a person standing out of the sunroof of a Kia. McClung floated over the car, turned and slammed the ball in behind his head before landing on the other side. His choice could have been a tribute to Blake Griffin.In 2011, Griffin received a lob pass from teammate Davis, who was standing out of the sunroof of a Kia, while in midair jumping over the car.
McClung seems to hang in air for second perfect 50
For his second dunk of the night, McClung again enlisted help; this time, he had a man stand near the basket, holding a ball over his head. McClung then ran along the baseline before he jumped, grabbed the ball and then hesitated, appearing to hang suspended in the air. He then turned his body and flushed home a two-handed dunk.
Mac McClung double dunks
McClung performed a dunk with the help of two men to help put two balls into the basket.The defending champ took the first ball out of the hands of a man spinning on a hoverboard as he jumped over him. Then, he showed the coordination to slam in another ball held near the basket by a man on a ladder before putting home the first ball.
Mac McClung puts the Slam Dunk contest out of reach
McClung secured the victory by jumping over Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley and tapping the ball on the rim.The dunk resulted in a perfect score (50 points) from the judges.
