With the beginning of the NBA playoffs, the question of “who is the best player in the league?” looms large in the minds of sports commentators, analysts and everyday fans. Many believe the answer to this question lies in the recipient of the Most Valuable Player award, a race which this year is currently neck-and-neck between Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Outside of MVP contention, players from the seasoned veterans of LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo to the relative newcomers of Jayson Tatum, Ja Morant and Villanova’s own Jalen Brunson could have a claim on the podium of “best in the league.”

However, all of these answers are wrong. None of these players is the best fit to be crowned the reigning king of the court. 

The underrated gladiator I have in mind could dunk on LeBron. He could box out Kobe. He could even steal the ball from Michael Jordan. This player led the Delaware Bluecoats (the Sixers’ G-League team) to the 2023 NBA G-League Championship and won the 2023 NBA Slam Dunk Contest with an almost perfect average score.

The best player currently in the NBA is the 24-year-old, 6’ 2” shooting guard out of Texas Tech on a two-way contract for the Sixers and the Bluecoats: Mac McClung. Now, let me explain.

First of all, McClung spent the first two seasons of his college career at Georgetown University, the best college basketball program in not only the Big East but the nation as a whole. Spending two seasons under a coach as successful as Patrick Ewing gave him the tools he needed for a wildly successful NBA career.

As we all know, one’s skill and value as a professional basketball player is mostly dependent on how many teams one has played on, and McClung has played on four teams so far.

McClung remained undrafted after the 2021 NBA Draft, and after a brief stint on the Lakers’ summer league team, he signed with the Lakers’ G-League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers. In January of 2022, he signed with the Chicago Bulls, drifting between the main roster and its G-League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls. At the end of the month, he signed a two-way contract with the LA and South Bay Lakers.

After spending a microsecond with the Golden State Warriors in the preseason, he joined the Bluecoats at the beginning of the 2022-23 season, eventually signing a two-way contract with the 76ers and accepted an invitation to, and then won, the 2023 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.

On April 7th, McClung and his comrade Jaden Springer led the Bluecoats to the G-League championship. McClung scored a career-high 35 points in game one of the finals.

As McClung’s career exemplifies, a player’s likelihood of winning a championship increases dramatically with each additional team they play on. McClung having played on four teams clearly makes him much more likely to win a “chip” than players like Steph Curry or Giannis Antetokounmpo, who have only played for a measly one team each.

McClung’s limited appearances in the NBA have also demonstrated his MVP-caliber skill. In the Sixers’ regular season finale on April 9th, he dropped 20 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in his fourth ever NBA regular season game. He nearly dropped his first triple-double in his first ten games. How many players have ever accomplished such a spectacular feat before?

And just to circle back, McClung’s stellar performance in the Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend does not get enough recognition. He did not just win the dunk contest. He won with a near-perfect score. He scored a perfect 50 on three of four of his dunks, with a 49 from one judge, knocking down the score of his second dunk to 49.8.

His dunks left onlookers speechless. 

“Mac McClung has saved the dunk contest,” judge and former player Karl Malone said.

Dunk contest attendees saw greatness that night. Could the dregs of the league like Ja Morant, Jayson Tatum or Nikola Jokić get a near perfect score in the dunk contest? I do not think so.

And who else won a dunk contest early in their career and is considered the greatest basketball player of all time? Michael Jordan. It seems like McClung is following in the footsteps of greatness. A coronation as the new GOAT seems imminent.

The rightful recipient of the MVP award and title as greatest player in the league seems obvious. The combination of Georgetown Hoya, G-League Million Miler and Dunk Contest Champion that exists in Mac McClung is just impossible to beat.

Why stop at the MVP award? Give him the Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year awards, too. He should get his own shoe line with Nike. It should be the McClung Brand, not the Jordan Brand. He is going to play 25 seasons. He is going to take the career points record from LeBron.

Mac McClung is going to become the greatest professional player of all time. Just wait.