Stephon Castle Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Howard, Rookies, Stanley, Europe

April 10th, 2025 at 4:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Officially announced last weekend as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame’s 2025 class, longtime NBA star Dwight Howard has decided to play one more season of professional basketball in the BIG3, as first reported by Chris Haynes (Twitter link).

The BIG3 – the 3-on-3 league created by Ice Cube – officially issued a press release on Wednesday confirming that Howard has signed on to play for the Los Angeles Riot this summer.

Howard will team up with former NBA guard Jordan Crawford and former USC standout Elijah Stewart under head coach Nick Young. While Howard played for the Wizards like Crawford and the Lakers like Young, he didn’t overlap with either player during their stints in Washington and Los Angeles.

“I’m excited to join Ice Cube and the BIG3 – especially right after being inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame,” Howard said in a statement. “Words can’t describe how grateful I am for these opportunities. I can’t wait to join the L.A. Riot and try to bring another championship to the city of LA. But, the ultimate goal I have is to help the league go global.”

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

In the final 2024/25 installment of his rookie rankings, Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link) places Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher atop his list, writing that the French forward is delivering on his top-pick status. Spurs guard Stephon Castle, Grizzlies center Zach Edey, Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan, and Bulls forward Matas Buzelis round out the top five in Woo’s rankings, in that order.
Former Pacers and Pistons guard Cassius Stanley has signed with ESSM Le Portel for the rest of the season, the French club announced in a press release (hat tip to Sportando). Stanley, who was in the NBA from 2020-22, was playing in the G League for the Valley Suns this season.
In the wake of EuroLeague shareholders meeting this week to discuss the future of the league and the NBA’s potential foray into European basketball, the EuroLeague Players Association issued a statement calling for “united efforts” to grow the game on the continent, as BasketNews.com relays. “Despite significant progress, it must be acknowledged that there is still much work to be done to unravel the true potential of European club basketball,” the statement reads, in part. “That potential is lost when the relevant leagues, clubs and governing bodies do not work harmoniously, but seemingly against each other, without consideration for the perspective of players and fans who are the lifeblood of any competition.”

Chris Paul Hopes To Continue Playing Next Season

April 4th, 2025 at 1:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Chris Paul will celebrate his 40th birthday next month, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to end his NBA career. In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, the Spurs guard says he’ll talk to his family about it this summer, but he wants to keep playing.

“I’ll be 40 in May. So, yeah man, I’m going to keep playing, I think,” Paul said. “At the end of every season, I evaluate everything. Evaluate playing. Evaluate how my body feels. But the more years that go by, it’s more conversations with my family, with my kids. They have a lot of say so. They got a lot of input. Obviously, I got a lot of homies, friends that have retired or whatnot. And they are always like, ‘Man, play as long as you possibly can. Play as long as you possibly can.’ And I appreciate that. But I also, I just always want to talk to my kids about it because that’s the most important job that I have.”

Paul, who was selected by the New Orleans Hornets with the fourth pick in the 2005 draft, is the second-oldest player in the league, a few months behind LeBron James. He has been extremely durable in his 20th NBA season, starting all 76 of San Antonio’s games, but he’s averaging a career-low 8.8 points per game while shooting a career-worst 42.8% from the field.

Spears notes that rookie guard Stephon Castle is likely to become a starter next season alongside De’Aaron Fox, possibly leaving Paul with a reduced role if he returns to San Antonio. He’ll be a free agent again in July after signing a one-year, $10.6MM contract last summer. Brought in to be a veteran leader, Paul said he has been able to “teach what he can, but not be overwhelming” for the young roster, and it sounds like the Spurs have been happy with his influence.

“He’s a teacher at heart. People just see when he’s on the court, but there’s so much more to what he teaches,” general manager Brian Wright told Spears. “Life routine, big picture, business brand, all of it. He’s professional. He made it his home and jumped right in. We’ve had a lot of things happen this year and he’s never wavered. He’s been the same person. He’s been incredible to have him around.”

Spears notes that Paul was drawn to San Antonio by the chance to play for coach Gregg Popovich and team up with Victor Wembanyama, but they both were hit by serious health issues. Popovich suffered a mild stroke in November, and it’s uncertain if he’ll return to coaching next season. Wembanyama was shut down in February with a blood clot in his right shoulder, although he’s projected to make a full recovery.

“It’s extremely tough,” Paul said. “I’ve played against Pop for a number of years. It’s a huge reason why I came here. And so was Vic — two of the main reasons why I came here. But getting to know him the way that I have trumps any other thing that’s going on. I’m grateful for even the opportunity for the time that we did get to play together.”

Stephon Castle, Zaccharie Risacher Named Rookies Of The Month

April 1st, 2025 at 2:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Spurs guard Stephon Castle has been named the Western Conference’s Rookie of the Month for March, while Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher has won the award for the Eastern Conference, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).

Castle, who has emerged as the frontrunner to be named the 2024/25 Rookie of the Year, advanced his case by averaging 19.5 points, 4.8 assists, and 4.4 rebounds in 28.9 minutes per game across 17 outings in March. He posted a shooting line of .456/.302/.686 as the Spurs went 7-10 during that stretch.

As for Risacher, 2024’s No. 1 overall pick averaged 16.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.0 assist in 27.1 minutes per game in 14 March contests, including nine Hawks victories.

While Castle is the betting favorite, Risacher continued to make his own case for Rookie of the Year consideration by posting a strong .533/.393/.739 shooting line on the month for an Atlanta team headed for a play-in berth.

Through the first four months of the season, no player had won a Rookie of the Month award more than once in either conference, with Jaylen Wells, Yves Missi, Isaiah Collier, and Castle splitting the honors in the West while Jared McCain, Alex Sarr, Kel’el Ware, and Risacher did the same in the East. That makes Castle and Risacher the first repeat honorees of the season.

According to the league (Twitter link), Donovan Clingan, Zach Edey, Quinten Post, Kyle Filipowski, and Collier were also nominated for Rookie of the Month recognition in the Western Conference for March, while Matas Buzelis, Justin Edwards, Jamal Shead, Sarr, and Ware were the other nominees in the East.

Southwest Notes: Missi, Reeves, Sheppard, Castle

March 29th, 2025 at 8:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

Amid everything that has gone wrong for the Pelicans this season, they seem to have found a long-term solution at center, writes William Guillory of The Athletic. They weren’t expecting an immediate impact from Yves Missi after he fell to the 21st pick in last year’s draft, but he’s been proving since training camp that he can contribute and may be headed for a spot on the All-Rookie team.

Guillory notes that the Pelicans were planning to open the season with a starting lineup that didn’t include a traditional center. If that didn’t work, they signed veteran big man Daniel Theis as a backup plan. But Missi quickly showed that he could handle the job, and he’s started 62 of the 68 games he’s played.

“He’s been a huge positive for us all year. Coming into the season, his role wasn’t where it is now, but he kept working, kept earning trust from the coaching staff and his teammates,” coach Willie Green said. “Even though we haven’t been that successful as a team this year, Yves’ development has been a big success for us.”

Missi is averaging 9.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 26.9 minutes per night. Guillory points out that he leads all rookies in total rebounds, is tied with Miami’s Kel’el Ware for the most double-doubles, and is behind only Portland’s Donovan Clingan in blocked shots. The injury woes that decimated the Pelicans’ season will continue, with Dejounte Murray, Herbert Jones and Trey Murphy all uncertain for the start of training camp this fall, but they can count on Missi’s presence in the middle.

“It’s tough. It’s different than anything I’ve ever experienced in my life,” Missi said of his rookie season. “The funny thing is, looking back to (the start of the season), if you told me then, ‘Yeah, you’re going to do this and that during your rookie year,’ no way I would’ve believed it.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Rookie guard Antonio Reeves wasn’t aware that he made 12 straight shots over a recent three-game stretch, but that shooting touch is a major reason why the Pelicans drafted him, per Rod Walker of NOLA. The second-round pick has split the season between the NBA and the G League, but he’s been getting more playing time with New Orleans lately. “He’s doing fantastic,” Green said. “The thing he’s doing is building on what he already has. He really comes in and works on his shots. We see that carry over when he does play. And he’s becoming a really good defender.”
After missing 11 straight games with a fractured right thumb, Rockets rookie guard Reed Sheppard has been upgraded to questionable for Sunday’s contest, according to Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle. Sheppard has been struggling to earn playing time all season, and he’s not guaranteed any minutes as Houston tries to hold on to second place in the West. “We’ll see,” coach Ime Udoka said. “(The rotation) does tighten toward the end of the season, for sure, and kind of implementing him back in there in these last eight (games) might be tough with the time he’s missed. But we also do want to see him get some live action. So whether he gets some practices in the G League or whatever it is to get that in, being that we don’t do as much here, we’ll see.”
Spurs guard Stephon Castle continued his push for Rookie of the Year honors on Thursday with 22 points, a season-high 11 rebounds, and eight assists in a narrow loss to Cleveland, notes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express News. “He kept us in the game at moments,” Keldon Johnson said. “It’s only up from here. I feel like he’s already a special talent, but I feel like the sky’s the limit for Steph. I feel like the game is already slowing down for him, but once he keeps growing — he works his ass off — he’s going to be great.”

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Davis, Castle, Morant, Aldama, Thompson

March 19th, 2025 at 6:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

In a season that’s been filled with bad nights for the Pelicans, Monday may have been the worst, writes Rod Walker of NOLA.com. New Orleans tied a record for the largest margin of defeat in franchise history, falling to Detroit by 46 points, and lost Trey Murphy early in the game with a shoulder injury that could affect his availability for training camp.

New Orleans trailed by 23 points after the first quarter and 31 points at halftime as the home crowd loudly booed the poor effort. It was the fifth loss of the season by at least 30 points, according to Walker.

Coach Willie Green called his players “soft” after the game and said they “looked like a team that forgot how to play basketball.” He also stressed the importance of continuing to compete, even though the Pelicans have been eliminated from the playoff race.

“I think the start of the game with Trey going down, it kinda rocked us from there,” Green said. “We didn’t have a rhythm offensively and we kinda felt sorry for ourselves a bit. You can’t do that. But it shook our guys up, especially with all we’ve been through this season.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Mavericks were encouraged by Anthony Davis‘ first practice session with their G League affiliate, tweets Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. However, coach Jason Kidd cautioned that Davis still has a long way to go in his recovery from a left adductor strain. “He’s trending in the right place,” Kidd said. “He had a positive experience in the practice. He’ll continue to do things this week. Hopefully the outcome continues to be positive. A lot of good things, but he’s still some time away for him being in a game.”
The Spurs have been impressed by Stephon Castle‘s ability to handle the challenges of his rookie season, per Mark Medina of Athlon Sports. The fourth overall pick has experienced the typical ups and downs that most rookies face, but he has managed to stay focused on developing his overall game while playing elite-level defense. “There are definitely All-Defensive awards in his future,” teammate Harrison Barnes said. “It’s just with his ability to guard one through four. And he’s strong. There’s still years before he’s going to fill out his body and be the type of player that he is going to become. But I think that he shows a great aptitude to defend at a very high level.”
Grizzlies guard Ja Morant will miss his third straight game tonight due to left hamstring soreness, according to Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link). Santi Aldama has been upgraded to questionable after missing seven of the last eight games with a strained right calf.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka said Amen Thompson was able to participate in contact drills on Tuesday as he attempts to return from a sprained left ankle (Twitter link from Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle). It still hasn’t been decided whether Thompson will play Friday at Miami.

And-Ones: Flagg, 2025 Draft, Hayes, Kaminsky, Records, RoY

March 13th, 2025 at 4:43pm CST by Rory Maher

Duke forward Cooper Flagg, the projected No. 1 pick of the 2025 draft, sustained a left ankle injury after corralling a rebound and landing on an opponent’s foot in the first half on Thursday vs. Georgia Tech (YouTube link via ESPN).

Flagg was eventually helped to the locker room with the assistance of teammates, and while he was later ruled out for the remainder of the contest, he was at least able to return to the bench to cheer on the comeback victory.

“He sprained his ankle,” head coach Jon Scheyer said (Twitter link via Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com). “X-rays were negative, which is great. We just have to understand there’s going to be swelling and to see how he recovers and how he goes from there.”

In their latest 2025 mock draft for ESPN.com, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo (Insider link) unsurprisingly have Flagg going first overall (to Washington). Two other Blue Devils — center Khaman Maluach and wing Kon Knueppel — also go in the lottery, coming off the board with back-to-back picks (seventh and eighth overall, respectively).

UConn’s Liam McNeeley is the final lottery pick of ESPN’s mock, going 14th to Atlanta (via Sacramento), while South East Melbourne forward Malique Lewis is the last player selected at No. 59 (Cleveland). Lewis, who spent last season in the G League with the Mexico City Capitanes, grew up in Trinidad and Tobago.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Killian Hayes has rejoined the Long Island Nets following a 10-day contract with Brooklyn, the G League team announced today in a press release. The former lottery pick averaged 9.0 points, 5.2 assists and 3.0 rebounds in six games with Brooklyn from February 20 – March 1. He has spent most of ’24/25 with Long Island.
Veteran NBA big man Frank Kaminsky is no longer on the Raptors 905 roster, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca, who points out (via Twitter) that the former Wisconsin star has been battling a knee injury and recently announced he and his wife are expecting a child. Kaminsky, who spent last season in Serbia, last played in the NBA with Houston in ’22/23. The 31-year-old appeared in 23 regular season games with Toronto’s NBAGL affiliate in ’24/25, averaging 12.9 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 4.1 APG on .483/.349/.769 shooting in 26.8 MPG.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst takes a look at some of the NBA’s most unbreakable records. Some records are season-long (Wilt Chamberlain for multiple statistics in ’61/62), some are career-long (Moses Malone‘s 6,731 offensive rebounds), and some are for a single game.
Zach Harper of The Athletic checks in on the underwhelming Rookie of the Year race. Harper currently has Grizzlies wing Jaylen Wells as his top choice for the award, followed by Spurs guard Stephon Castle and Wells’ teammate Zach Edey.

And-Ones: Eaglestaff, Kyrie, Australia, MVP Race, Rookies, More

March 12th, 2025 at 9:51am CST by Luke Adams

North Dakota junior Treysen Eaglestaff will enter the NCAA’s transfer portal while testing the NBA draft waters, agent George S. Langberg tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).

Eaglestaff wasn’t included in Givony’s most recent top-100 list of prospects for the 2025 draft, but he had a strong season as a scorer for the Fighting Hawks in 2024/25, averaging 18.9 points per game on 416/.359/.794 shooting in 33 outings.

Eaglestaff’s scoring average was buoyed by some massive performances, including a 51-point outburst in the quarterfinals of the Summit League tournament against South Dakota State last Friday. The 6’6″ shooting guard also put up 40 points in a loss to Alabama on December 18. He knocked down a career-high eight three-pointers in both of those games.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

There may be too many hurdles to clear to make it actually happen, but after Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving expressed interest in playing for the Australian national team at the 2028 Olympics, Hawks guard Dyson Daniels is fully on board with the idea, per Grant Afseth of RG.org. “Oh yeah, I love it. I love it,” Daniels said. “I know he wants to do it. We want him to come play for us. There’s a lot of stuff that has to get cleared for him to come play, but we welcome him with open arms. He’s a brother. He’s an Australian.” Irving has Australian citizenship, but he previously played for Team USA in international competitions, so both USA Basketball and FIBA would need to sign off for him to play for the Boomers.
In a pair of stories for The Athletic, one panel of NBA writers debates which player is most deserving of this season’s MVP award, while another panel takes a closer look at an uninspiring race for the No. 10 spot in the Eastern Conference. While a recent three-game winning streak for the Bulls has put them in prime position for a play-in spot, the general consensus on the MVP race is that it remains too close to call between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic.
Elsewhere at the Athletic, draft expert Sam Vecenie has updated his rookie rankings for the 2024/25 class, placing a pair of Grizzlies – Jaylen Wells and Zach Edey – in his top three, sandwiching Spurs guard Stephon Castle at No. 2. First overall pick Zaccharie Risacher of the Hawks and Heat big man Kel’el Ware round out Vecenie’s top five.
It has been five years since the NBA shut down its 2019/20 season due to COVID-19. In an extensive oral history, Baxter Holmes and Tim MacMahon of ESPN revisit that period, sharing a number of interesting behind-the-scenes details on how the league came to its decision and how teams and players reacted.

Spurs Notes: Wembanyama, Biyombo, Rebounding, M. Johnson

February 22nd, 2025 at 5:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Spurs were “jolted” by the news that Victor Wembanyama has a blood clot in his right shoulder, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (Insider link), who says the team was relieved to have caught the issue before it got more serious. While the Spurs remain optimistic about the big man’s ability to make a full recovery, his health issue is just the latest development in what has been a trying season in San Antonio, Windhorst notes.

Head coach Gregg Popovich, of course, has been away from the team since early November after suffering a stroke. And while the blockbuster De’Aaron Fox trade earlier this month was a major positive, it has had a “destabilizing” effect on a club not accustomed to major in-season roster moves, Windhorst writes. Windhorst also describes the Spurs’ trip to France last month as “emotionally taxing.”

“This has been one long, crazy season,” a team source told ESPN.

The Spurs were 18-16 at one point, but have dropped 14 of 20 games since then. With a 24-30 record and Wembanyama lost for the season, their chances of earning a play-in spot are slim, while their odds of securing a top-10 pick in this year’s draft are on the rise.

In addition to holding their own first-round pick, the Spurs control the Hawks’ unprotected first-rounder. If the season ended today, those selections would be 10th and 11th in the lottery order, with a combined 5% chance of turning into the No. 1 overall pick, according to Tankathon.

Here’s more on the Spurs and Wembanyama:

Wembanyama’s dominance helped to hide the team’s overall lack of frontcourt depth, which became worse when Zach Collins had to be sent to Chicago in the Fox deal, Michael C. Wright observes in an ESPN overview of the effects of losing Wembanyama. Wright expects Bismack Biyombo, who signed a second 10-day contract with San Antonio on Friday, to eventually receive a standard deal for the rest of the season. Wright also states that Fox, Chris Paul and Stephon Castle are likely to share the court more often in three-guard lineups.
The Spurs got a taste of what life without Wembanyama might be like in Friday’s 15-point loss to the Pistons, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. They defeated Phoenix on Thursday, just hours after learning that Wembanyama was lost for the season, but Detroit presented a much tougher matchup with its combination of size and physicality. San Antonio was out-rebounded by a 53-32 margin and couldn’t match up with Pistons center Jalen Duren, who finished the night with 21 points and 15 rebounds. “We knew they’re a big, physical team,” Keldon Johnson said. “Knowing that we are a little bit smaller right now, we are a little bit lacking in size right now, that we got to do it collectively and stay locked in and as a unit we get the rebound.”
Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff recognized the job that Mitch Johnson has done in keeping the team competitive after Popovich’s health scare, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Bickerstaff pointed out that not only is Johnson filling in for a legend, he took over the position with no warning or time to prepare. “You can tell by the way they play he’s got them to buy into him,” Bickerstaff added. “You watch how selfless they play, how they play together, how they compete their tails off. To me, those are the telltale signs of players believing in their coach. They’re organized on both sides of the ball. So you can tell day by day they’re getting the preparation they need to build what a team should look like. He’s done a phenomenal job.”

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Southwest Notes: Morant, Powell, Wemby, Castle

February 18th, 2025 at 2:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Several of the stars who were traded ahead of this month’s deadline – including Jimmy Butler, Zach LaVine, and Brandon Ingram – were on the block for a while, while others – such as Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis, and De’Aaron Fox – were either total surprises or (as in Fox’s case) weren’t necessarily expected to be on the move this soon.

So which stars might emerge as new trade candidates ahead of the 2025 offseason? Howard Beck of The Ringer said during a live episode of The Real Ones podcast over the weekend that one executive he spoke to about that subject offered up an interesting prediction.

“I’m constantly checking in with executives around (the) trade deadline about what we saw, what we didn’t see, what’s next,” Beck said (Twitter audio link). “And in this league, you are always, always, always on the lookout for who’s the next wave of stars that are going to get dealt, right? … And somebody out of the blue said, ‘Keep an eye on Ja [Morant] this summer.’

“… I’m not saying it’s going to happen. I’m not saying it should happen. I’m just saying it’s one of those things I’m just kind of keeping an eye on if they were to flame out (of the playoffs) early.”

At this point, the idea that Morant will emerge as a trade candidate seems more like wishful thinking on the part of an opposing executive than something likely to actually happen. The Grizzlies‘ star point guard is just 25 years old, is still under contract in Memphis for three more years beyond this season, and has stayed out of trouble off the court since being suspended twice in 2023 for wielding a gun in social media videos.

Still, in the wake of Dallas’ decision to deal Doncic, team executives will likely be loath to assume that any rival star is entirely untouchable.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

The Mavericks haven’t shared an official update on Dwight Powell‘s health for over a week, but Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal (Twitter link) hears that the big man has been doing full workouts during the All-Star break. Powell, who has been out since January 17 due to a right hip strain, doesn’t typically play a significant role for the Mavs, but the team would love to have him available with frontcourt regulars Dereck Lively, Daniel Gafford, and Anthony Davis all sidelined due to injuries of their own.
Michael C. Wright of ESPN takes a behind-the-scenes look at Victor Wembanyama‘s first All-Star appearance, noting that the Spurs flew their massage therapist, physical therapist, and performance coach to San Francisco to run the big man through his usual pregame routine, since he wanted to win every event he was involved in. That included Saturday’s skills challenge, in which Wembanyama and teammate Chris Paul attempted to exploit a loophole and were ultimately disqualified. “I don’t regret it,” the first-time All-Star said of the scheme to intentionally miss their required shot attempts as quickly as possible. “I thought it was a good idea.”
After a busy All-Star weekend, first-year Spurs guard Stephon Castle spoke to Marc J. Spears of Andscape about his experience in San Francisco, what he has learned from Paul, and what it’s like to play with Wembanyama, among other topics. Castle also expressed optimism about his ability to play alongside new San Antonio point guard De’Aaron Fox going forward. “I love playing with D-Fox,” the rookie told Spears. “He plays super-fast. That is how I like to play. Super unselfish. He can go get a bucket whenever you need him to. Yeah, he’s super cool and a great guy off the court, too.”

Three-Peat For Mac McClung In Dunk Contest

February 15th, 2025 at 11:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mac McClung ensured his place alongside the other legends in NBA dunk contest history by winning the event for the third straight time Saturday night.

McClung got perfect scores on all four of his dunks and was a clear favorite of the Chase Center crowd. His final-round victory came over Spurs rookie Stephon Castle, who registered a 99.6 score with two impressive slams of his own. Andre Jackson Jr. and Matas Buzelis were eliminated in the first round.

McClung brought some excitement to the event on his first dunk when he leaped over a car and threw the ball down behind his head. He followed that by jumping over his dunk coach for a twisting slam, then dunked two balls at once — one held by a friend on a spinning hoverboard and another by a man on a ladder — and finished off the night by jumping over 6’11” Evan Mobley (who was standing on a small platform) and touching the ball against the rim before slamming it home (video collection via YouTube).

At a press conference following the event, McClung deflected a question on whether the three-peat means he should be considered the greatest dunker of all time (Twitter video link from Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic).

“I definitely don’t think that’s something for me to say,” McClung responded. “… I was just extremely honored to be part of this weekend. The biggest thing is I genuinely love this contest, and I’m very honored to be here and just very appreciative.”

McClung is on a two-way contract with the Magic and has only made one brief appearance in an NBA game this season. He plays for Osceola in the G League and has never been able to break through at the NBA level, getting into five total games with four teams since 2021.

McClung’s performance got the attention of other players around the league, including a couple of stars who hinted that they may consider participating in future dunk contests. Grizzlies guard Ja Morant tweeted, “Mac might make me decide to dunk,” and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo responded, “If you do it. I’ll do it with you,” later adding, “I just gotta to warm up for three weeks prior to the contest.”

Damian Lillard missed the chance for another three-peat on Saturday, being eliminated in the first round of the Three-Point Contest after winning the event the past two years. Tyler Herro claimed this year’s crown by a point over Buddy Hield, with Darius Garland finishing third.

“I was definitely nervous going into the first round. But I thought I shot it pretty well in the second round, and then Buddy had the chance to tie it at the end,” Herro told reporters, including Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “Obviously a great competition, a bunch of great shooters. … Also, it felt cold in the arena the first time I went. For the second time, I felt more loose going right away.”

Mobley teamed with fellow Cavaliers All-Star Donovan Mitchell to capture the Skills Challenge in the night’s first event.