The Delaware Blue Coats, the G League affiliate of the Philadelphia 76ers, are benefiting in a major way from Mac McClung's outstanding performance at the 2023 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
After the 24-year-old guard electrified Salt Lake City crowd on All-Star Saturday Night, ticket sales for the Blue Coats have gone up "five times the daily average," a team spokesman told Front Office Sport's Michael McCarthy. The Blue Coats have also been inundated with interview requests for McClung, who was the first G League Player to participate in and win the competition.
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McClung, who became a viral sensation while playing for Gate City High School (Va.), generated more than 500 million video views within 12 hours of the contest, per the NBA. He also gained 250,000 followers on Instagram in the 48 hours after the contest, jumping to 1.1 million followers overall.
"I really believed I could do well in it, but I never pictured it would get this response," McClung told FOX Sports' Melissa Rohlin. "You don't look at things like that. You just be present and when stuff like that happens, it's just such a gift.
"And then the love from LeBron [James] and Steph Curry, it's got me really speechless."
McClung registered three perfect scores on Saturday, closing out the contest with a 540 dunk. He flew by K.J. Martin, Trey Murphy III and Jericho Sims on his way to the trophy.
Now that the Slam Dunk Contest is behind him, McClung will turn his attention toward the rest of the G League season — and eventually earning a permanent spot on an NBA roster. The Sixers signed him to a two-way contract before the All-Star break, so he could be called up to the main roster at any time.
"I want to make an impact in the NBA and that's definitely my main focus," McClung told Rohlin. "But [the Slam Dunk Contest] is definitely something I will never forget for the rest of my life."
