NBA

Trey Murphy III, Jericho Sims, Kenyon Martin Jr., And Mac McClung Are The 2023 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Participants

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Zach Wolpin
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Zach Wolpin Sports Editor

Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.

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Sports Editor

Updated15 Feb 2023

2023 slam dunk contest pic

The “first-half” of the 2022-23 NBA season is coming to an end as the 72nd annual all-star game festivities start this Friday. It’s a special time of the year where the league’s best talent are able to showcase their skills on a national stage. There are also the smaller events on Friday and Saturday where younger players have become household names in years past. Just yesterday the league announced the four participants for this years slam dunk contest. 

This years festivities are being held in Salt Lake City and the competitors are once again a young group of up and coming players who are trying to become more well-known. Participating in the dunk contest can elevate their name and brand while also showcasing why they were chosen for this event.

Competing in the 2023 NBA slam dunk contest are Jericho Sims from the Knicks, Trey Murphy III from the Pelicans, Kenyon Martin Jr. from the Rockets, and finally Mac McClung from the 76ers.

All four participants in the dunk contest are 24 or younger

This years field on contestants for the 2023 NBA slam dunk contest are an interesting group, but we’ve seen this trend in years past. Younger players are given the chance to grace the stage that has seen some of the greatest dunkers the league has ever seen. The past two winners of the dunk contest, Obi Toppin (2022) and Anfernee Simons (2021) were both third or fourth year players.

What makes the four participants in this years dunk contest similar is that they are all role players on their team and are not big-time names just yet. All of them are explosive in-game dunkers and have given the league a small taste of what we might see this weekend.

Sims, Murphy III, and Martin Jr. all have played in the league for at least two seasons now, but the most surprising name out the four is 76ers guard Mac McClung. Others may know him from his YouTube high school highlight reels from a few years ago. On Tuesday he signed a two-way contract and was elevated from Philly’s G League affiliate and is playing with the 76ers at the moment.

McClung had the chance to put his name on a national stage and could change the trajectory of his career. The 2023 NBA slam dunk contest will start at 10:00pm EST on Saturday night being aired on TNT.