There was a time when Zion Williamson and Mac McClung were the best two high school dunkers in the country.
That was in approximately 2018 — when both were seniors — and it saw the two high flyers pitted against one another across the high school basketball mixtape circuit, McClung at Gate City high school in Virginia and Williamson for Spartanburg Day School in South Carolina.
On Saturday night, it was McClung who revitalized the dunk contest after yet another dead period in the event’s history. He was nearly perfect on his way to a victory despite only recently being signed to an NBA contract. The 76er, who’s on a two-way contract, only had one sub-50 dunk and took home the trophy, even reportedly signing a Puma shoe deal on the night of the victory.
Williamson, who was voted to his second All-Star appearance this season but will miss the game Sunday while recovering from a recently aggravated hamstring injury, said he’s open to competing in the dunk contest next year. It’s something he has yet to do since being the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2019.
“I’ll think about it,” he said in an interview with Complex. “I’ll put heavy consideration into doing the dunk contest. I feel like if I am going to do it, I’d probably do it next year.”
Williamson, now in his fourth season, hasn’t participated largely due to injury, though he did reject an invite in 2021 during his second season.
The dunk contest has had a star problem for years now. This year’s edition featured KJ Martin, Trey Murphy III, Jericho Sims and the aforementioned McClung. The first three are at least decent young role players in the league — Murphy III is a second-year starter on a potentially playoff-bound Pelicans team, but isn’t someone casual NBA fans may recognize. Ja Morant is among the supposedly many NBA players who’ve elected never to participate.
Last year’s winner, Knicks forward Obi Toppin, triumphed in a largely forgettable contest. The 2020 edition featured a quality back-and-forth with Derrick Jones Jr. and Aaron Gordon in a dunk-off to win it all, but otherwise, it’s been a mostly panned event since Gordon’s duel with Zach LaVine in 2016.
McClung has added some juice to the competition. But a showdown with Williamson may bring in an added energy if the Pelicans star can remain healthy.