Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant is known for his spectacular moves, starting from super athletic blocks to slam dunks, he has got it all. While Morant is someone ideal to participate in the Slam Dunk Contest and many would even argue of him winning it just by the amount of different dunks we have seen from him in every season till now. However he was not a part of the recently concluded NBA Slam Dunk Contest and NBA Analyst Kevin O’Connor takes a dig at the Grizzlies star especially after Mac McClung’s heroics at the event.
While the All Star game this season was a major snoozefest, the Slam Dunk Contest was the exact opposite. While there also were not any big stars, Mac McClung showed the world that even if there was he would still be taking the Slam Dunk trophy home. The youngster who is on a two way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers showed great explosive ability and simply murdered the rim every time he attempted a dunk..
The Dunk Contest now has made the G-Legaue player very famous as he has gained a lot of followers on social media and people simply cannot stop talking about him. Even Shaquille O’neal who motivated him before his first attempt was in shock after he watched McClung in action.
Discussing the Dunk Contest, O’Connor took a dig on Ja Morant who is always appreciated for his athleticism but here the NBA Analyst feels that the Grizzlies star was afraid of the Dunk expert, McClung.
“Let’s be honest, Ja Morant saying at the podium, ‘I’m not doing the dunk contest,’ Ja Morant is afraid of Mac McClung,” O’Connor said in the Mismatched episode.
He also shared that McClung is focused on getting an NBA contract but he will surely return to the Dunk COntest to defend his crown next year. Hence O’Connor feels that it would be exciting to see the NBA stars trying to dethrone him. “Mac McClung is gonna be there next February trying to defend his title, right? Go back-to-back and show new dunks,” O’Connor said. “So, I’d love to see these NBA stars, well-known NBA players, trying to take him down.
O’Connor feels that the Slam Dunk will be more of a prestigious award if McClung had won against the likes of Zion Williamson and Ja Morant. However this season players like Jericho Sims, Trey Murphy and Kenyon Martin Jr. participated apart from McCLung, so it was not much of a fight as the youngster was simply exceptional.
“It would’ve been way more meaningful if Mac McClung took down Zion (Williamson) and Ja instead of, you know, Trey Murphy and Jericho Sims. I mean, all due respect to KJ Martin and these guys,” O’Connor concluded.
While it would be great to see stars take part in the All-Star weekend events more and more, they also need to focus on the season at hand and cannot risk an injury by any chance. So it remains to be seen if Morant takes this up as a challenge or not.
