Over the weekend, the NBA All-Star Saturday night festivities took place, bizarrely in the afternoon, with the Slam Dunk contest being the headlining event of the day. Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson ended up winning the event, although many fans were wondering why Chicago Bulls guard Mac McClung was not in the contest.
McClung has won the last three Slam Dunk Contests, and although he has not been able to carve out a consistent spot on an NBA team for himself, he has been with the Bulls for a couple of weeks now, meaning he had every reason to be out there on Saturday in Los Angeles.
Recently, McClung showed off some of the dunks he would have gone with had he been selected to defend his title in the event, per Chaz NBA on YouTube.
Clearly, McClung still has every bit of the athleticism needed to win the event, but fans in Los Angeles instead had to settle for a bizarre array of dunks from Johnson, Jace Richardson, Jaxson Hayes, and Carter Bryant throughout the night.
The dunk contest, and the NBA All-Star weekend as a whole, has received some immense criticism in recent years for a perceived decline in quality, with many fans lamenting the fact that big-name players often decline to take part in the event these days.
Two years ago, Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown changed that by competing in the contest, but that still didn't stop more criticism from coming the NBA's way.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, the league will desperately be hoping that the players in the All-Star game itself will put forth some kind of effort after years of boring play resembling a game at a middle school recess, as opposed to a showcase of the best basketball players on the planet.
Tipoff is set for 5:00 pm ET from Los Angeles.
