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Mac McClung once again took center stage during the All-Star Game on Saturday night, making history as the first player to clinch three consecutive titles in the slam dunk contest.
McClung kicked off the contest with a spectacular dunk over a car, reminiscent of Blake Griffin’s iconic moment in 2011, thereby setting a high benchmark from the start.
However, it’s worth mentioning that in the final round, San Antonio rookie guard Stephon Castle scored 99.6 and just missed out on first place, expressing dissatisfaction with the judges’ evaluation.
“I believe my third dunk deserved a score of 50,” Castle remarked. “We could have had a dunk-off. I’m not sure if that’s what the audience would have preferred. But all in all, I felt good about it.”
MAC MCCLUNG WINS AGAIN BY LEAPING OVER A CAR #AllStarWeekend pic.twitter.com/WfuLpdZBbC
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) February 16, 2025
Damian Lillard was also aiming for a remarkable three-peat by winning the three-point contest for the third year in a row, but he fell short in the opening round with a score of just 16 points.
In contrast, Tyler Herro triumphed over Buddy Hield in a close finish, winning 24-23. Although Hield had the advantage of competing in his home arena, he stumbled early in the final round, which cost him the victory.
The skills challenge sparked a bit of controversy as well.
Team Cavs, featuring Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley, took home the trophy, but Team Spurs, represented by Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama, drew attention for their unconventional strategy and were ultimately disqualified for not taking their shots seriously, believing they had discovered a loophole in the rules.
“We experimented with a strategy we thought could win us the best time,” Paul stated, advocating for Team Spurs’ approach to the officials following their disqualification.
Wemby and CP3 attempted to game the Skills Challenge and faced disqualification! pic.twitter.com/XlnFjlpkxX
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) February 16, 2025
According to the rules of the skills challenge, players are allowed a maximum of three valid attempts and must move on after either making a shot or missing three attempts.
“I mean, if the competition permits that, then there’s definitely a loophole,” Wembanyama explained, admitting it was his idea to implement Team Spurs’ non-shooting strategy. Unfortunately, Team Rooks, featuring the French duo Zacharrie Risacher and Alex Sarr, did not advance to the final round.
