Certified G League living legend Mac McClung is off to Europe after signing with Basquet Girona of the Liga ACB. The question has long been why the NBA couldn't find a place for him. In particular, the question has to be why the Sacramento Kings weren't willing to give him a chance at point guard.
After McClung's college career came to an end, he declared for the 2021 NBA Draft. No team selected him, which became an ill portent of what was to come for him in the big leagues. He would end up playing for 11 different NBA and G League franchises during his five-season run.
It wasn't all bad. McClung single-handedly revived the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, winning it three years in a row. In the G League, he won a championship and was a two-time MVP, a three-time All-NBA G League First Team member, the Rookie of the Year, and a two-time scoring champion.
All of these accolades should have been enough to find him a spot in any NBA franchise's rotation. Several tried, but none of them wanted to commit to McClung in the long-term. European teams have reputedly been chasing him for a while, but it's only now that he's willing to move on from the NBA.
The Kings missed out on McClung
Sacramento has been struggling at the point guard position for a while. It's an inability to attract talent, to hang on to the talent they do have, to develop young talent effectively, and to build teams around the talent they don't completely screw up. It's been two decades of this ridiculousness.
McClung checked a lot of boxes for the Kings. He is a high-octane, three-level scorer who had a career-high 59 points in a game with the Windy City Bulls. His dynamic ball-handling skills combined with his explosive speed made him unbelievable in the G League. The NBA was a bit different.
At 6'2" and 185 pounds, McClung was considered too small and a defensive liability. Almost the entire league said the same thing about Jalen Brunson, who is 6'2", 190 pounds, and led the Knicks to their first NBA Championship in 53 years. McClung could have been that guy for the Kings.
Sacramento is a long way away from the title, but having someone of McClung's scoring pedigree in the rotation at the one could have helped get them to the postseason. The NBA is entering its small guard era, and a player like McClung may find more opportunities after running the EuroLeague.
Add us as a preferred source on Google