Mac McClung’s parents are American professional basketball players. Mac McClung was born on January 6, 1999, in Kingsport, Tennessee, the United States of America.

McClung grew up in Gate City, Virginia, a community of about 2,000 located in the Tri-Cities metropolitan area, straddling the Tennessee-Virginia border. It was here that he began playing football, a sport far more popular than basketball in southwest Virginia.

In a 2018 interview, family members said that McClung was a very ambitious child. His first serious exposure to basketball came shortly before he entered seventh grade, when his mother, Nancy, enrolled him in a local youth league.

McClung’s coach at Gate City High School, Scott Vermillion, said in 2018 that he stuck his head in for a while and almost never came out.

McClung’s father was delighted when the athlete gave up football after his freshman year of high school, as he quickly developed a greater interest in basketball and began training regularly with the goal of joining the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Mac McClung’s career

McClung signed with the Los Angeles Lakers on August 10, 2021 after participating in the NBA Summer League without being selected in the 2021 NBA Draft. He was nevertheless released on October 13.

On October 23, 2021, he signed a contract with the NBA G League club South Bay Lakers of the Los Angeles Lakers.

On November 5, 2021, Mac made his South Bay Basketball debut with a game-high 24 points, nine assists and six rebounds in a 112–105 victory over NBA G League Ignite.

McClung agreed to a 10-day contract with the Chicago Bulls on December 22, 2021. On January 1, 2022, he signed a second 10-day contract with the group. McClung was traded to the Windy City Bulls, the NBA G League club of the Chicago Bulls, on January 4, 2022.

McClung made his team debut the very next night in a 112-108 loss to Motor City Cruise, scoring 19 points and providing nine assists. McClung was added to the main roster on January 6, 2022.

After his 10-day contract ended on January 11, 2022, McClung was acquired by the South Bay Lakers. He won the 2021-22 G League Rookie of the Year.

McClung and the Los Angeles Lakers agreed to a two-way contract on April 9, 2022. Los Angeles declined his $1.62 million qualifying offer on June 29, allowing him to enter unrestricted free agency. He joined the Lakers during the California Classic of the 2022 NBA Summer League.

McClung joined the Golden State Warriors summer team after appearing in two games for the Lakers summer league club. McClung and the Warriors agreed to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract on July 22, 2022. The Warriors released McClung on October 3.

McClung was signed to an Exhibit 10 contract by the Philadelphia 76ers on October 9, 2022, then was released the following day.

For the 2022-23 season, McClung joined the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League. He accepted a request to participate in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 2023, becoming the first G League representative to do so.

McClung and the Philadelphia 76ers agreed to a two-way contract on February 14, 2023. McClung triumphed at the NBA Slam Dunk Contest on February 18, 2023. Except for his second dunk in the first round, which earned a rating of 49.19 of his 20 scores were a perfect 50.

Who are Mac McClung’s parents?

McClung was born to Lenoir McClung and Marcus McClung. Marcus played football and Lenoir was a cheerleader at Virginia Tech, the school where his parents met. While his mother taught driving at Gate City High, his father became a lawyer and worked as the commonwealth’s attorney for Scott County, Virginia starting in 2018.

The 2018 Washington Post article and The Undefeated article cited above both claim that the background of young McClung’s parents helped him significantly in his athletic endeavors.

For much of his formative years, his father served as his coach. The family was also able to afford to enroll him on an AAU travel team in Richmond.