The field for the NBA slam dunk contest is set, with Mac McClung reportedly joining as the fourth and final participant, per ESPN's Sham Charania. McClung will attempt to win the contest for the third straight year, becoming the first player to hit a three-peat in the event.
Along with McClung, the rest of the field includes San Antonio Spurs rookie Stephon Castle, Chicago Bulls rokie Matas Buzelis and Andre Jackson Jr., a second-year guard with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Orlando Magic’s Mac McClung has committed to the NBA Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star weekend in San Francisco, sources tell ESPN. He will aim for a dunk contest three-peat with the four-man field set: McClung, Stephon Castle, Matas Buzelis, Andre Jackson Jr. pic.twitter.com/WgOeCVwxrR
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 27, 2025
As complaints that the dunk contest has degraded over the years continue to grow, McClung has risen as an unlikely household name with the competition. McClung, who signed a two-way contract with the Orlando Magic in October, emerged from near-obscurity two years ago when he won the 2023 dunk contest.
McClung then went on to win again in 2024, capping off his run by dunking over Shaquille O'Neal and earning perfect 50s across the board.
McClung became just the fifth person to win back-to-back dunk contests, joining the likes of Michael Jordan, Jason Richardson, Nate Robinson and Zach LaVine.
The other three contestants in the event this year will be competing in their first All-Star weekend. Castle and Buzelis are rookies, both first-round draft picks out of UConn and the G League, respectively. Jackson was selected in the second round of the 2023 draft, also out of UConn.
The competition will once again fail to feature any of the league's big names, which has been a issue the league has dealt with for years. In 2024, Jaylen Brown became the first actual All-Star to join the competition since 2017, but fell to McClung amid some controversy about the scoring. Zion Williamson, notorious for his dunking ability, had said last March that he would join the dunk contest if he was voted in as an All-Star. (Given his vote totals, that appears unlikely.)
The dunk contest takes place on Saturday, Feb. 15 during the three-day All-Star weekend. The contest will the be the third event of the night, following the skills challenge and the three-point challenge. Participants in those events are yet to be announced.
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