Mac McClung dunks the ball during the 2025 AT&T Slam Dunk Contest at Chase Center on February 15, 2025 in San Francisco. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
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Mac McClung is a two-time G League MVP. That includes last season when he averaged 23.5 points and 6.7 assists for the Windy City Bulls.
Given that type of performance in the NBA’s developmental league, why isn’t McClung on an NBA roster?
“There’s a lot of guys who should be in the NBA that are not,” McClung exclusively shared. “Starting as an undrafted player and getting in and finding your role permanently is a very challenging task.”
There, though, is still time.
McClung did not sign his non-guaranteed, two-year, $4.9 million, minimum contract with the Indiana Pacers last season until October of 2025. After playing three games with the Pacers and then eight with the Chicago Bulls, he is weighing his basketball options for 2026-27.
But the 27-year-old player, who scored 59 points in a game last year en route to becoming the G League’s all-time leading scorer, likely won’t be back in the G League.
“You never want to say never for any situation, but I feel like I’ve probably applied as much pressure as I can in the G League,” he said. “I’ve done everything I could in that league.”
McClung is spending the summer honing his decision-making. During training sessions he also is sitting down for 10 minutes before making a pressure-packed shot to prepare for spot or end-of-the-bench duty in the NBA.
“I’m just working and waiting,” he said. “And we’ll see what situation comes to be.”
He’s participating in the new DUNKMAN league — 0f which Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal is the commissioner — as well.
The first-ever professional dunking league includes dunkers in four groups of six. McClung is in the final Aug. 11 group of dunkers who will try to advance to the championship Aug. 25.
Before becoming a three-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion, McClung had studied videos of many the future DUNKMAN participants, and Isaiah Rivera, a participant in Group C, even let him practice dunking over his own car.
“These guys have not only inspired me but helped me win these dunk contests,” McClung said. “I kind of wanted to experience this with them.”
Further motivation to compete was the presence of O’Neal. The 15-time All-Star has exchanged texts with McClung since the latter was in high school, and then McClung dunked over the 7’1” O’Neal during the 2024 Slam Dunk Contest.
“He’s been so supportive of me,” McClung said. “Getting to be around him is obviously such a privilege, man, one of the greatest to ever play the game and also such a cool, charismatic guy.”
Shaquille O’Neal, the commissioner of DUNKMAN, watches the action from a courtside seat.
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There’s also the opportunity to be the one to win the $500,000 grand prize out of the 24 DUNKMAN contestants.
“Those guys are amazing,” he said. “If I put enough time into it, if I put enough work into it, am I going to be creative enough? … If those check, I always feel good about the outcome.”
Viewers can watch the live outcome on TNT and HBO Max on Tuesday, but the league has picked up its most traction on social media. The group stages have received more than 150 million social views per week.
O’Neal’s motivation for DUNKMAN was to create a better dunking platform than the NBA’s current version of the Slam Dunk Contest.
“It’s been (bleep) for the last 12 years,” O’Neal exclusively shared. “It hurts my heart.”
And given his dunking resume, McClung was an obvious choice for DUNKMAN — whether or not he makes it back to the NBA.
“This is my story, man,” McClung said. “If it all works out great or doesn’t, I’m really trusting the process.”