Happy New Year 2025

Tag: dunk

Mac McClung, who has played in 1 NBA game this season, wins 3rd straight dunk contest

Mac McClung forged his own personal dynasty during NBA All-Star Weekend.

The guard, who has only played in one game for the Orlando Magic during the regular season, took San Francisco by storm on Saturday and won his third consecutive NBA Slam Dunk Contest. It’s the first time any NBA player has won the event three times in a row.

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Osceola Magic guard Mac McClung celebrates after dunking over a car at the All-Star festivities on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

The G League star had four perfect dunks, each scoring a 50. McClung dunked over a car and over 6-foot-11 Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star Evan Mobley. He defeated San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle to maintain his championship.

“It kind of feels like a blur,” he said. “It’s something I love doing. That’s where my creativity comes from. I genuinely love this contest and I love to dunk.”

McClung, who plays for the Osceola Magic in the G League, is the second dunker to win the contest three times. Nate Robinson won in 2006 and then again in 2009 and 2010.

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Osceola Magic guard Mac McClung dunks during All-Star festivities on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

“I think the contest is a beautiful thing,” McClung said. “I know people probably want bigger stars in it and I would love to see that. I think it’s important for the people in it to want to do it…. This contest is a special thing. We all love it.”

McClung’s performance sparked reactions from Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant and Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

“mac might make me decide to dunk,” Morant wrote on X.

“If you do it. I’ll do it with you,” Antetokounmpo added.

McClung only has five NBA games under his belt. He’s played for the Philadelphia 76ers, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers in addition to the Magic.

He said he prepared for the contest for nearly nine months and isn’t sure if he’ll go for a fourth title.

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Osceola Magic guard Mac McClung celebrates with Julius Erving after winning the slam dunk contest on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Matas Buzelis, of the Bulls, and Andre Jackson, of the Bucks, were eliminated in the first round.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.

February 16, 2025
Cavs’ Tristan Thompson sparks skirmish over last-second slam dunk vs Raptors

Cleveland Cavaliers veteran Tristan Thompson ruffled feathers in the team’s 131-108 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

The longtime center, who is only averaging about 7.8 minutes per game these days, scored a last-second dunk at the end of the blowout win. Raptors fans booed Thompson as he jogged back down the court. A few Raptors players got into Thompson’s face as well once the buzzer sounded to signal the end of the game.

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Cleveland Cavaliers’ Tristan Thompson, #13, has words with the Toronto Raptors in an NBA basketball game in Toronto on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

The skirmish was broken up, but Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic called the last-minute slam “disrespectful.”

“I think what Tristan did there was no class and disrespectful,” Rajakovic said. “I’m not going to stand for that, for sure. I love when my team stands up for themselves. That was no class.”

Raptors guards Scottie Barnes and Jamal Shead were among those who confronted Thompson. Barnes declined to comment after the game, but Shead agreed with Rajakovic.

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Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson, #13, dunks the ball against the Toronto Raptors during the second half at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Feb. 12, 2025. (John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images)

“What he did at the end of the game was just a little bit disrespectful to the game of basketball, not just us,” Shead said. “We had a couple of choice words. We’re adults, we’ll move on from it.”

Cleveland star Donovan Mitchell was seen with his hands over his head in disbelief after Thompson’s dunk. Head coach Kenny Atkinson didn’t have many answers for it.

“I’m not sure what he was thinking,” Atkinson said. “Sometimes, though, you’re playing the game and you just have a reaction. I know with Tristan, there’s no bad intention there. I think just sometimes you’re playing and the goal of the game is to score. Unfortunate.”

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From left to right, Toronto Raptors’ Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley sit on the bench during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Toronto on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Thompson, who is from Canada, had four points in four minutes. He is averaging 1.7 points and 3 rebounds per game in 28 games this season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.

February 13, 2025
Democrat Fetterman says RFK Jr. confirmation as HHS secretary ‘not a slam dunk’

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services is “not a slam dunk,” as President Donald Trump’s nominee works to shore up support.

In an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” Fetterman said he has met with Kennedy twice in his office and that whatever his decision ends up being on the HHS nominee, it will be “an informed view.”

“I’ve invested a lot of time to really understand his background and to learn more about the man,” Fetterman said, adding: “I approached with an open mind and I watched the hearing. And that’s how the process works.”

TRUMP HEALTH SECRETARY NOMINEE RFK JR SURVIVES HEATED HEARINGS AHEAD OF CRUCIAL CONFIRMATION VOTES

Sen. John Fetterman during the 60th presidential inauguration in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Asked if he’s reached a decision on whether he’ll vote “yay” or “nay” for Kennedy, Fetterman said he has spoken to colleagues on both sides regarding the matter.

“It’s been challenging for sure. Absolutely. It’s certainly not a slam dunk for the nomination,” Fetterman told “Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream.

“I’ve made an investment to really understand and talk to all of the nominees, and I treated everyone with respect and I took the time to listen, and that’s been part of my commitment,” he added.

Kennedy, a lifelong Democrat who switched his presidential campaign against Biden to run as an Independent before ultimately dropping from the race to back Trump, made it through back-to-back grillings by the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday and the Health Committee on Thursday. He still faces crucial committee and full Senate confirmation votes in his mission to lead 18 powerful federal agencies that oversee the nation’s food and health.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., testifies during a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

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Most of the tough questions and sparring over his stances on vaccines, abortion, Medicaid and other issues came from Democrats on the two committees, but Thursday’s hearing ended with the top Republican on the Health panel saying he was “struggling” with Kennedy’s nomination.

“Your past of undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told the nominee.

The physician from Louisiana, who is a crucial vote and who has voiced concerns over Kennedy’s past stance on vaccines, asked whether Kennedy can “be trusted to support the best public health.” The senator told Kennedy, who seeks to lead key health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, that “you may be hearing from me over the weekend.”

Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Robert Kennedy Jr. walks to a meeting with Sen. John Fetterman on Capitol Hill on Jan. 9, 2025. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

Kennedy, whose outspoken views on the pharmaceutical and food industries have also sparked controversy, has said he aims to shift the focus of the agencies he would oversee toward promotion of a healthy lifestyle, including overhauling dietary guidelines, taking aim at ultra-processed foods and getting to the root causes of chronic diseases.

A strong pro-life advocate, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told “Fox News Sunday” that he is supporting Kennedy despite the nominee’s past comments saying he supported codifying Roe v. Wade and abortion “even if it’s full term.”

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“I am now OK to supporting RFK Jr. because I think during the course of the hearing he’s committed to a Republican pro-life agenda, President Trump’s pro-life agenda,” Graham said when asked about those specific past remarks from Kennedy. “So I will take him at his word. I’m comfortable with what he said on the pro-life issue. He has been radically pro-choice as a person. But I do believe that as secretary, he will implement a pro-life agenda that will be pushed by President Trump. I will be a yes, but I’ll also watch every move he makes.”

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on X: @danimwallace.

February 2, 2025