Meet Mac McClung, the Philadelphia 76ers guard who dazzled judges and won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest with a near-perfect score

Mac McClung is a 24-year-old guard for the Philadelphia 76ers, who signed him to a two-way contract just days before the Slam Dunk Contest.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that McClung started with the Sixers' G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, in October after he was released by the Golden State Warriors.

The Philly team signed McClung to a two-way contract on February 14, allowing him to split his time between the Sixers and the Blue Coats, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia.

The young guard also made history as the first G League player to participate in the annual dunking competition.

McClung nabbed perfect scores on three of his four dunks in Saturday's competition.

McClung showed off his acrobatic moves Saturday night, jumping over people and soaring through the air to earn a perfect score of 50 on three of his four dunks of the night.

McClung finished the first round with a score of 99.8 on his first two dunks. He scored a perfect 100 on his final two dunks, beating out New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III for the win, according to Sporting News. 

Many sports fans are sharing the top moments from his performance online, which you can watch in full here. 

The young player started dunking while playing at Gate City High School in Gate City, Virginia.

Videos of McClung's dunks made him a viral sensation. A compilation of his senior year performances posted on YouTube by sports website Ballislife has more than three million views as of Sunday.

USA Today reports that McClung also broke Virginia state scoring records held by now-retired NBA players Allen Iverson and JJ Reddick before winning the Ballislife All-America Game Slam Dunk Contest in 2018.

On Saturday, McClung paid tribute to his alma mater, donning his high school jersey for his final dunk of the night.

He started his college career at Georgetown University after de-committing from Rutgers University.

He appeared and started in 29 games in his first year at Georgetown, coached by New York Knicks legend Patrick Ewing.

McClung averaged more than 13 points per game in his freshman season but missed 11 games the following season. On March 29, 2020, he shared an Instagram post announcing he would declare for the 2020 NBA Draft.

McClung withdrew his name from the draft and transferred to Texas Tech University.

In May 2020, McClung announced he had committed to play for the Red Raiders. He spent a year with the team before declaring for the 2021 NBA Draft, thanking Texas Tech in another Instagram post for giving him "the best year of [his] life."

The dunker became an undrafted free agent in 2021 and went on to play in the NBA summer league and G League.

CBS Sports reports McClung bounced around the league for the 2021-2022 season, signing with the Los Angeles Lakers before being waived and joining their G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers.

He was later named G League Rookie of the Year, averaging 21.6 points per game, according to Delaware Online.

He appeared in his only two NBA games — once with the Lakers and once with the Chicago Bulls — in the same season. 

McClung made history at this year's contest.

ESPN reports the 6-foot-2 McClung became the shortest player since 1986 to earn three perfect scores at the Slam Dunk Contest.

Spud Webb, a 5-foot-6 former NBA point guard who played for the Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings, also won the event that year.

Some of the biggest names in basketball gave McClung props after his dominant performance.

Videos showed celebrities like Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, Gabrielle Union, and Jonathan Majors, in awe of McClung's performance at Salt Lake City's Vivint Arena.

On Twitter, the stars continued to show their love for the guard.

"Man was a viral HOH high school dunk phenom, still working his way to the League, but lemme go get that dunk contest trophy right quick and bring it back to life!!! Unreal," Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry wrote.

Magic Johnson tweeted that McClung "saved" the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, an event that has dwindled in excitement in recent years.

"Mac McClung has personally saved the slam dunk contest with his performance tonight!!" he wrote. "He put on a show!"

After the event, McClung told CNN the contest was a "blessing" he'll brag about to his kids one day. However, he added that his work isn't finished.

"But yeah, the goal is to play in the NBA. I'm gonna keep working every day," he said. "I'm very hungry and I'm resilient so I'm gonna keep working."