Tag: mac mcclung

Sixers’ Jaden Springer, Mac McClung explode in overtime Blue Coats loss

Young Philadelphia 76ers prospects Jaden Springer and Mac McClung have huge offensive days in a loss for the Delaware Blue Coats.

The Philadelphia 76ers have their eyes set on a title as they continue to build and grow in preparation for the playoffs. While they continue to do that, their young players are in the G League putting in the reps to continue their development.

Second-year guard Jaden Springer, the No. 28 pick in the 2021 NBA draft, has spent the majority of the season with the team’s affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats. In a Thursday matinee, Springer went off for 36 points on 14-for-26 shooting and he pulled down seven rebounds, but it came in a loss as the Blue Coats fell to the Texas Legends 132-129 in overtime.

To Delaware’s credit, they trailed big early and Springer led a spirited comeback. His layup in transition tied the game at 124 to force the extra session at home.

Along with a big day for Springer, the Blue Coats received a big game from Mac McClung. The Sixers signed McClung to a two-way deal shortly before the All-Star break and he had 33 points on 10-for-16 shooting and he drilled six triples on eight attempts. It just wasn’t enough to pick up a win on Thursday.

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Sixers’ Mac McClung has a big night to lead Blue Coats to home win

Philadelphia 76ers two-way guard Mac McClung has a big offensive night to lead the Delaware Blue Coats to a win at home.

While the Philadelphia 76ers are preparing for a grueling stretch in which they will play seven of their next eight games on the road, their younger players are in the G League continuing to get the important reps they need to develop.

The Sixers’ G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, played host to the Texas Legends on Tuesday night and cruised to a 148-116 win. They were led by the stellar play of Mac McClung who is on a two-way contract with the Sixers.

McClung had 27 points on 9-for-13 shooting while knocking down three 3s on five attempts. He added eight assists.

Along with McClung’s big night, the Blue Coats received 27 points from Louis King, who knocked down seven triples. King is also on a two-way deal with the Sixers.

While McClung and King had big nights, second-year guard Jaden Springer struggled. He had four points on 2-for-8 shooting with four rebounds, but he did have two blocks. Charlie Brown Jr. and Jared Brownridge had 14 points each, and Braxton Key had 12 points and six rebounds.

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Sixers’ Jaden Springer, Mac McClung perform well in Blue Coats win

Young Philadelphia 76ers players Jaden Springer and Mac McClung put together very good performances in a win for the Delaware Blue Coats.

While the Philadelphia 76ers have their eyes on the playoffs, their younger players are continuing to develop in the G League with the team’s affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats.

Jaden Springer, the 28th pick in the 2021 NBA draft, has not made a dent in the rotation with the Sixers, but he is taking advantage of the G League. One of Philadelphia’s two-way players, Mac McClung is continuing to put up solid numbers for Delaware.

The Blue Coats earned a 127-112 win over Raptors 905 on Thursday night and both Springer and McCling had terrific showings. Springer had an all-around game of 22 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists while shooting 2-for-4 from deep while McClung had 21 points and five rebounds with two steals.

Along with what Springer and McClung did on Thursday, the team’s other two-way signee, Louis King, had 24 points for Delaware. These guys are obviously using the G League to their advantage as they continue to wait for their next opportunity.

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G League releases mini documentary on Sixers’ Mac McClung’s dunk contest

The G League releases a mini-documentary on Philadelphia 76ers two-way guard Mac McClung after his special dunk contest performance.

The rise of Mac McClung as a household name in the NBA world continues. Since he won the dunk contest with four scintillating dunks at All-Star Weekend in Utah, everybody wants to know about McClung and his story.

McClung has been in the G League all season with the Delaware Blue Coats and the Philadelphia 76ers signed him to a two-way deal shortly before the All-Star break. He has been having a terrific season in Delaware, and he was recently named the G League Player of the Week.

The G League, partnered with The General auto insurance, has released a mini-documentary on McClung with interviews from his high school teammates and his parents. NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal even gave some words of encouragement to the Sixers guard before the dunk contest began.

McClung has a long way to go before he can make an impact on the Sixers, but his athletic ability is intriguing. It will be interesting to see when and where he gets his next opportunity in the league whether it be in Philadelphia or elsewhere.

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Sixers two-way guard Mac McClung wins G League Player of the Week award

Philadelphia 76ers two-way player Mac McClung has been named the G League Player of the Week.

While the Philadelphia 76ers are focused on getting ready for the playoffs in this final stretch of the regular season, their young players down in the G League continue making some strides.

Mac McClung, who Philadelphia signed to a two-way deal shortly before the All-Star break and stole everybody’s attention at the slam dunk contest out in Utah, has been putting up big numbers for the Delaware Blue Coats down in the G League. Over his past three games, he’s averaging 28.7 points, 4.3 assists, and 1.7 rebounds as the Blue Coats have won three games in a row.

That type of production earned McClung the G League Player of the Week award as he continues to work toward an opportunity in the NBA.

On the season, McClung is averaging 18.5 points and 5.4 assists in the 2022-23 season with Delaware. He has shown off his electrifying game and it will be interesting if he ever does earn a shot with the Sixers in the future.

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Sixers’ Doc Rivers provides update on Mac McClung from G League coaches

Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers provides an update on Mac McClung from his G League coaches.

MIAMI — At this point, everybody around the NBA is enamored with Mac McClung and what he can bring to the floor athletically. The Philadelphia 76ers signed McClung to a two-way deal shortly before the All-Star break. Then he went out and wowed everybody by winning the dunk contest pretty handily.

McClung returned to Delaware to continue playing in the G League with the Blue Coats and continue his development. Considering he is on a two-way deal, the Sixers can call up McClung whenever they want, but at this point, he is much better served in Delaware where he can play more.

“I haven’t seen him much, honestly,” said coach Doc Rivers before a win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday. “He’s been down in the G League, so I don’t have the answer to that. I’ve always stayed out of that and allowed those guys to evaluate. It would have been easier for me to tell you something if he was in our training camp and we saw him, but we signed him after that.”

McClung is averaging 17.9 points and 5.5 assists with the Blue Coats, and the coaches have provided an update to Rivers on what he brings to the table.

“Once the season starts, you typically don’t get a chance,” Rivers continued on McClung. “They like him. They like his grit. They like his toughness. So I think those are things he needs to keep doing and probably become a point guard.”

At this stage of the season, McClung is unlikely to see some time with the Sixers. He needs the court time to develop, and he isn’t going to get it over guys like Shake Milton and Tyrese Maxey.

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Sixers’ PJ Tucker gives props to Mac McClung for winning dunk contest

Philadelphia 76ers veteran PJ Tucker gives props to Mac McClung for winning the dunk contest.

CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers made some history over All-Star weekend when Mac McClung won the slam dunk contest title. He is the first Sixer to win the contest, and he has been in the G League all season with the team’s affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats.

McClung has received substantial praise from across the league, including LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey and other Sixers teammates. Now, the veteran on the team is giving McClung his props for what he accomplished.

“I think it’s cool, man,” said PJ Tucker. “I think over the years, we’ve said that a bunch of times it’s been a bunch of guys being in the G League that are really good dunkers that guys wanting to see the dunk contest. I think was cool for him to get a shot at it and actually win it is pretty cool.”

McClung still has goals of reaching the NBA, but at the moment, he is still working down in the G League and preparing for his turn to really play in the league and get an opportunity.

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Mac McClung expresses desire to play in the NBA after signing with Sixers

Mac McClung expresses a desire to play in the NBA after signing a two-way deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.

WILMINGTON, Del. — Mac McClung took the NBA world by storm over All-Star weekend in Utah where he put on an absolute show in the dunk contest. Considering he has been in the G League all season, it was a bit of a surprise to some who haven’t watched his YouTube dunk mixtapes.

The Philadelphia 76ers signed McClung to a two-way deal shortly before the All-Star break, meaning they can call him up to the team whenever they feel like it. This is an opportunity for him to eventually prove himself at the NBA level.

After a tough night shooting (2-for-9 overall) for the Delaware Blue Coats in Wednesday’s loss to the Motor City Cruise, McClung expressed a desire to get to the NBA.

“I wanna be in the NBA,” McClung said. “I wanna make an impact. I can’t have nights like tonight, but waiting my turn and I can control what I can control and that’s about it.”

In terms of if there is anything he can improve on in order to get to the NBA, McClung doesn’t have anything specific he is going to pinpoint. He is just going to continue to grind and wait his turn.

“There’s definitely constant improvement on both sides of the ball,” he added. “I think it’s easy to say ‘Oh, if I get better at this, I’ll get a chance’, but a lot of it is just waiting your turn. I really haven’t had a turn yet so when I have that turn, I believe I’ll make the most of it.”

At the moment, the young man out of Texas Tech has two NBA games under his belt. He played a game each for the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2021-22 season, so he understands that it is a matter of time.

McClung now has a reputation of just being a dunker. At this stage, not a lot of people know what he can do on the basketball court besides dunking, but he isn’t worried.

“That’ll speak for itself when the time it’s supposed to,” he finished. “I just focus on myself and getting better each day really.”

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Multiple Sixers give praise to Mac McClung for winning dunk contest

Multiple members of the Philadelphia 76ers give praise to Mac McClung for his performance in the dunk contest.

CAMDEN, N.J. — Mac McClung has not participated in a practice for the Philadelphia 76ers since signing a two-way deal with the team shortly before the All-Star break, but he put on a show for the franchise during the All-Star break.

McClung was terrific during the All-Star weekend. He had a nice showing in the Rising Stars challenge and stole the show at the dunk contest. He completed four impressive dunks, all on just one attempt, and he scored a perfect 50 on three of those dunks.

As the Sixers returned to practice on Wednesday ahead of a big, post-All-Star break stretch, the talk of McClung was still buzzing.

“That was crazy, man,” Shake Milton said. “For him to come in and win it and then type the dunks he was doing, too, was just crazy man. I wish I could get up there to do those type of things, too. That’s big-time, man. That’s huge.”

The dunk contest had been losing its luster in recent years. Many fans were turned off by the event, and the focus of All-Star Saturday had shifted to the 3-point shootout.

Some say McClung’s performance saved the event for a while.

“Absolutely!” exclaimed Georges Niang. “I don’t care how humble he’s gonna be. I’ll be airing it for him. He definitely did and then they were showing clips on Twitter like stuff that he didn’t even pull off in the dunk contest. I was like, it should be mandatory that he’s gonna be in it every year.”

McClung mentioned he might come up with something new if he is invited back to the dunk contest in 2024. Maybe he will have something new up his sleeve for the next contest.

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Mac McClung discusses next step with Sixers, future dunk contests

Mac McClung discusses what the next step is with the Philadelphia 76ers as well as what he has in store for future dunk contests.

Shortly before the All-Star break, the Philadelphia 76ers signed Mac McClung out of the G League to a two-way deal. The young man out of Texas Tech was performing well for the team’s G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, and the Sixers decided to give him a clearer path to the NBA.

McClung went out and put on a show over All-Star Weekend in Utah, taking home the slam dunk contest title. He had four dunks; three scored a perfect 50. He did all on just one attempt. He drew praise from new teammate Tyrese Maxey as well as NBA superstar LeBron James for his performance.

McClung now turns his attention back to real basketball, and he was a guest on “The John Kincade Show.”