Carter, Cooper among Hall of Fame finalists
Eight-time NBA All-Star Vince Carter is one step from the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Carter — who played 22 seasons, the most in league history — was among the Hall of Fame finalists announced Friday at AllStar weekendin Indianapolis. The finalist nod came in Carter's first year of eligibility.
Also among the finalists: former Lakers guard and five-time NBA champion Michael Cooper, four-time WNBA champion Seimone Augustus, former Detroit Pistons and Clippers guard and current Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Phoenix Suns alltime leading scorer Walter Davis, former Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan, and three nominees as contributors — Lakers great Jerry West, who was enshrined as a player in 1980, former player and coach Doug Collins, and Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon.
The Class of 2024 is set to be unveiled at the Final Four in Phoenix on April 6.
McClung eyes second dunk contest crown
Mac McClung's life changed dramatically last year when he won the dunk contest on All-Star Saturday Night.
And now he's trying to do it again.
McClung, who plays for the G League's Osceola Magic, is trying to join Michael Jordan, Jason Richardson, Nate Robinson and Zach LaVine as the only back-to-back dunk contest champions. He'll go up against Boston's Jaylen Brown, Miami's Jaime Jaquez Jr. and New York's Jacob Toppin tonight.
“I think I'm more nervous this time, I think it adds a little pressure,” McClung said. “But I'm just reminding myself to have fun with it. We've worked really hard so hopefully it all comes to fruition.”
Jaquez, a rookie out of UCLA, said his decisionmaking process on entering the contest was simple: The NBA called and asked, and he said yes.
“It was that easy,” Jaquez said.
Pacers' Mathurin rises to occasion
Indiana guard Bennedict Mathurin put on a show for Pacers fans Friday night, earning the Rising Stars MVP award after scoring 13 points in a 2613 victory in the championship game.
San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama scored 11 points, but his team was eliminated in the second game.
Jalen Williams, Mathurin's teammate, scored the other 13 points to give coach Jalen Rose the title.
In addition to Mathurin's big night — he scored a game-high 18 in the first game — Rose and coach Detlef Schrempf, both former Pacers players, advanced to the championship round. And Indiana rookie Oscar Tshiebwe led Schrempf's team with eight points in the title game.