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Everybody’s path to success is different, even among teammates. In 2022, Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine and 2023 NBA Dunk Contest champion Mac McClung were teammates.
The latter was on the time via a pair of 10-day contracts amid heavy COVID absences. He saw just over 2.5 minutes in mop-up duty of a 131-117 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, who were dealing with similar COVID issues, in December of 2021.
On Saturday, McClung revealed that LaVine’s impact on him preceded their brief time together.
“I love Vince Carter,” McClung said naming other dunkers he idolized in a video posted on Twitter by Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints. “Just watching the Zach LaVine and the Aaron Gordon dunk contest, it was something that I enjoyed so much. And I was like, ‘Man if I get to be a part of this someday, I hope to make an impact like those guys’. And got a lot of inspiration from them.”
Carter’s showing in 2000, which included the elbow in the basket, is the stuff of legends at this point. Still, LaVine and Gordon’s showdown in 2016 is considered one of the best dunk contests in the 40-plus-year history of the event.
Gordon, then of the Orlando Magic, most notably put the ball under both legs while jumping over the Magic mascot – Stuff the Magic Dragon. That was not his final dunk, however, which was not enough to overtake the defending champion LaVine, then a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
McClung, 24, signed with the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-way contract after averaging 17.4 points and 5.8 assists for their G League team, the Delaware Blue Coats. He has also had stints with the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers’ affiliates.
He has just two games of NBA experience under his belt, the fewest of any champion.
Late Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was the youngest champion in league history winning the event as an 18-year-old rookie in 1997.
Zach LaVine’s Game Still Evolving
LaVine’s game has evolved a lot since he won those back-to-back dunk titles with the 27-year-old earning back-to-back All-Star selections in 2021 and 2022 with his first playoff appearance also coming in 2022.
This season was admittedly not up to his All-Star standards with a slow start following knee surgery in the offseason.
“I know who I am as a player. I think the league knows that too,” LaVine told NBC Sports Chicago Bulls insider K.C, Johnson of his All-Star absence. “I think bigger picture you’re not worried about All-Star, you’re trying to get your team back in the playoff picture.”
The Bulls have struggled mightily losing six straight but LaVine has played better lately.
Chicago’s $215 million man has gone from hitting 62.8% of his looks within five feet to 65.7% following a locker room blowup during halftime of a 150-126 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 20. He had an even bigger leap going from 33.3% to 54.2% on looks in the non-restricted paint area.
Teammates DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic along with LaVine himself all had to address the blowup in the aftermath.
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LaVine has said his critical turnovers are usually the result of trying to make the right play. He has generally said all of the right things when asked about his current situation even in light of disagreements with head coach Billy Donovan.
But, for a player that has set some lofty goals for himself, more needs to be done on the floor to be more than idolized for his slam dunk exploits. LaVine has already experienced it some during the team’s trip to Paris for an international showdown with their division rival Detroit Pistons; a game the Bulls won 126-108 with LaVine going for a game-high 30 points.
Aaron Gordon Snubbed Again
Gordon tried again in 2020 only to fall short again, this time to current Bulls forward Derrick Jones Jr. who was with the Miami Heat. He said afterward that he was done with the entire spectacle only to place the caveat of a corresponding All-Star spot when asked recently.
“If I’m in the All-Star Game, I’ll do the dunk contest,” he told Rohan Nadkarni of Sports Illustrated.
He did not make the cut this year despite playing arguably the best basketball of his career.
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