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Shaquille O'Neal earned a reputation for being one of the most ferocious dunkers in the history of the NBA. Despite never participating in the dunk contest, O'Neal's reputation as a dunker precedes him. From broken backboards to stunning posters, Shaquille O'Neal has both done and seen it all. Enter Jordan Kilganon, a dunker whom many NBA fans may be familiar with.
Kilganon has done everything from participating in dunk contests around the world to doing motion-capture work for the NBA 2K games. As the story goes, seven years ago, when Kilganon was competing in The Dunk King 2, O'Neal was sitting courtside as a judge.
The highlights from the event have continued to go viral with Kilganon and his fellow competitors throwing down dunks that NBA fans had never seen. Now, seven years later, Kilganon has told the entire story of his championship-winning performance in an Instagram video.
"I did this dunk in front of Shaq ... It was the semifinals of The Dunk King 2, and it was me versus Dominic Carter who started the round by absolutely crushing this windmill. I was in the zone, so I looked lovingly into Shaq's eyes and punched a 360 scoop to get a perfect score from the judges. Then I got lucky.
"Dominic missed his dunk So all I had to do was a simple layup and I would have moved on to the finals. But I said go big or go home. ... Moment of truth, boys. And nailed it. Still the cleanest car dunk to date."
Shaquille O'Neal credits a relatively unknown player with saving the NBA dunk contest
While Jordan Kilganon's highlights have continued to earn the high-flying dunker plenty of attention over the years, the NBA dunk contest has stagnated. Since the legendary dunk-off between Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon, players have struggled to replicate the same magic.
Year after year fans have continued to nostalgically remember the dunk contests of the 80s and 90s when it felt like there were plenty of new and unseen dunks. This past year at NBA All-Star Weekend, Mac McClung, a two-way player who struggled to find a home in the NBA, changed that.
As an undersized player with some remarkable dunks that fans hadn't seen before, McClung left both judges and fans in awe of his athleticism and dunking abilities. Although many recall his highlight reel dunks from high school, his dunk contest performance saw him become a household name among fans.
The way Shaquille O'Neal sees things, McClung saved the dunk contest. Speaking backstage at All-Star weekend, O'Neal was asked what he thought of McClung's performance. Without missing a beat he quickly replied, saying that McClung saved the dunk contest.
With McClung being invited to the 2024 dunk contest, fans, and Shaquille O'Neal are hoping to see more highlight reel dunks they've never seen before.
Guess the Lakers players!
