Mac McClung literally brought life to the NBA All-Star weekend. Until the fourth and final contestant of the Slam Dunk contest stepped on the floor, it was a dull slow day. Apologies for exposing the legend. Dr. J aka Julius Erving was caught yawning mid-way through the contest. However, the 2x Slam Dunk champion walked onto the court and woke everyone up from sleep. Not to forget, Giannis Antetokounmpo lost his mind.

After a series of mediocre dunks from Stephon Castle, Andre Jackson Jr., and Matas Buzelis, McClung entered the floor with a Kia car. The car was parked in front of the ring with a person popping out of the sunroof, holding the ball behind his neck. Everyone in the crowd knew exactly what McClung was going to pull off. There was utter silence before he took that run up.

The first attempt was a failure. The crowd didn’t react even though Matas Buzelis embarrassed himself with repeated failures in his first dunk. He started his second run up, tension began to shoot up and he did IT. Flying across the car, collecting the ball perfectly, and a reverse dunk. Boom, the arena was electrified. Giannis, who was known for his viral dunk reactions, went speechless. Even director Spike Lee and Dr. J, who looked pretty bored at the party, stood up with excitement.

More importantly, Mac McClung was on the track to become the first player to win three slam dunks titles in a row. Guess what? He did that too. Only Stephon Castle looked like a legit threat and he was also far from defeating the dunking legend. In short, it was more of a McClung exhibition than a dunk contest.

Above all, this spectacular feat gave rise to an ironic comparison. Apparently, McClung has earned more through his dunk contest prize money than his 4-season NBA career. Let’s find out how the NBA world received this dunk.

Mac McClung leaves the NBA world in haywire. 

Looking at the salary and prize money comparisons, there were plenty of arguments, seeking a raise for McClung. A fan wrote, “Kia should give him some money to use the dunk in an ad.” While the career earnings per Spotrac stood at a mere $132k, this fan offered an alternate income opportunity for the 26-year-old dunk master.

Another fan gave the best possible option for the thriving NBA star, writing, “A team needs to sign him!.” McClung has been sticking around the league for quite some time. He made his debut for the Lakers in the 2021-22 season. Since then, he has played for four different franchises with a total of 5 games. Currently, he’s playing for the Orlando Magic’s G-League affiliate, Osceola Magic. So, something that would end the debate is an NBA contract. 

However, on the other hand, leading NBA Insider, Marc Stein refused the comparison and countered it. He wrote, “Couple experts well-versed in NBA finances note that Spotrac does not account for two-way contract money — so McClung’s career earnings are actually higher than listed.” McClung is reportedly said to have earned $310k via his dunk contest prize, almost twofold of his NBA earnings. While the comparison made a lot of noise on the internet, Stein interfered and pointed out the inaccuracy in the Spotrac website when it comes to two-way contracts. 

In the meantime, Marc Stein wasn’t hesitating to celebrate the dunk master, as he wrote, “but that doesn’t detract from how storybook his dunk contest dominance is or the instinct to celebrate him.“ Yes indeed. A fan even went on to call him the “Goat of dunking.” Well, historically speaking, no one can deny that. McClung not only leveled Nate Robinson’s most contest wins but also became the first player to win a three-peat.

Anyway, leaving the financials and labels, let’s all agree on one aspect as rightly pointed out by this fan. They wrote, “That boy has mad bunnies.” Yes, there’s no denial in it. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.