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One week ago, a large number of NBA fans had no idea who the heck Mac McClung even was.
Sure, maybe fans of college basketball or high school basketball had heard of McClung. Maybe they’d seen a high school mixtape or his game-winning shot for Texas Tech over rival Texas.
But McClung was largely unknown, a sideshow for the real hoop heads.
Then the NBA dunk contest happened, and now everybody knows his name,
McClung, a 6-foot-2 combo guard out of Texas Tech via Georgetown, put down an all-time performance in front of a star-studded crowd.
But now All-Star weekend is over and he’s set to return to his regular spot, on the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League.
McClung has played two games in the NBA, one for the Bulls and one for the Lakers. But the majority of his career has been spent in the G League, where he’s played 31 games over two seasons.
This season, McClung is averaging 17.4 points, 5.6 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game with the Blue Coats, an affiliate of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Philadelphia even gave McClung a two-way contract just days prior to the dunk contest.
Now Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports explains why that may have been a shrewd move by Sixers brass.
Mac McClung’s breakout performance at the NBA Slam Dunk Contest is generating a business boost for the Philadelphia 76ers’ G League team: the Delaware Blue Coats.
Tickets sales are up five times the daily average since McClung won Saturday’s night’s contest, according to Blue Coats spokesman Alex Yoh.
Anticipation is building for tonight’s home game vs. the Motor City Cruise at Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington, Delaware. The arena seats 2,500 fans for home games. Ticket prices for tonight’s game range from $11 to $64. – via Front Office Sports
Now, as someone who has actually attended a Blue Coats game, I can assure you that’s not common. More often than not the team is trying to give tickets away. It often gives them to college students at the nearby University of Delaware.
But we’re in the Mac McClung Era now, and now those tickets are a prime asset.
Welcome to a new world order.