Mac McClung

[Pakuni]

Not really. He won his first dunk contest in 1987. He had already been frozen out of the All Star game by Isiah, won NBA rookie of the year, dropped 63 on the Celtics during his injury shortened second year, and released two generations of Air Jordans by that time.

Jordan was creating buzz REALLY early in his rookie year. I think what made the old-timers sit up and take notice was the 63 point game in the playoffs.

Yeah ... this was published more than two years before Jordan won a dunk contest.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Ironically, Mike Dunleavy's look was the same one fans had when he was coaching the Bucks.

[MU82]

McClung won't get generational wealth from this, but IMHO he'll make more money off of it than some might think.

Heck, there are social media influencers making big bucks -- and they didn't win dunk contests. With some marketing help (preferably not from Marquette!), he can parlay this into some nice coin.

It will be short-term $$$, obviously, as his "accomplishment" is very much flavor of the day, but it's something.

As for how much $$$ ... all of us talking about specific money are talking out of our arses here. Nobody here has a clue how much he's already been promised or what he'll end up with out of this. (I include myself in that.)

[StillAWarrior]

Yea, Gordon and Lavine had an amazing dunk contest and I’m not sure how much that lifted their endorsements. Those two are also pretty established NBA players. McClung is less established than Juan Anderson.

Everything I’ve seen, is Jordan had quite a bit of buzz around him before 1987. The Jordan 1’s were really popular and he was Rookie of the Year and an All Star by that time.

I said above, McClung isn't going to make "a lot" of money by the standards of guys who are established in the league and having "real" NBA careers. But, for a kid who is a G-Leaguer and likely not every be a particularly successful NBA player, I suspect 20 years from now he'll be able to point back to that dunk contest and will have had "a lot" of income that he never would have had otherwise.

[StillAWarrior]

McClung won't get generational wealth from this, but IMHO he'll make more money off of it than some might think.

That's my point. Someone up thread mentioned that McClung is less established than Juan Anderson. That's undeniably true. And Anderson will make a lot more playing basketball than McClung. But I'd bet that McClung will make a lot more than Anderson in endorsement money over the next few years.

[Herman Cain]

He wasn't Michael Jordan back then. That dunk contest is what first made him a real star.

Back in the day  in the summer of 85ish time period, there was nightclub that had just opened in mini castle in Chicago, called The Limelight. Some of my friends wanted to go and see the place, when we got in I vividly remember seeing Michael Jordan in there , with Orlando Woolridge . They were laughing and having a good old time and no one was bother them. Yeah Michael was on The Bulls, but he was still of a profile at that point he could be seen in public places like that and not a crazy big deal.  It was shortly after that he started taking off to become the celebrity he is now. 

[Lennys Tap]

Not really. He won his first dunk contest in 1987. He had already been frozen out of the All Star game by Isiah, won NBA rookie of the year, dropped 63 on the Celtics during his injury shortened second year, and released two generations of Air Jordans by that time.

Jordan was creating buzz REALLY early in his rookie year. I think what made the old-timers sit up and take notice was the 63 point game in the playoffs.

You are correct. And Jordan was 2/3 of the way through a season in which he averaged 37.1, 5.2 and 4.6. He was already a star. The idea that the dunk contest made him “Michael Jordan” is just not true.