Osceola Hosts Long Island for a G League Playoff Matchup at Silver Spurs Arena Tonight
OSCEOLA – The NBA G League offers players the opportunity to develop as individuals and teammates, while also demonstrating why they may deserve additional opportunities.
Over the course of the Osceola Magic’s 2023-24 campaign, it’s safe to say that Mac McClung has taken full advantage of what the G League has to offer.
On Friday, the 6-foot-2 guard was recognized for his tremendous body of work as he was named the 2023-24 G League MVP.
“It means a lot; I really got emotional thinking about it because it shows the relentlessness in my story,” said McClung. “Maybe you look at me as a dunker. Maybe you look at me as a highlight tape. And last year, they said I couldn’t shoot, but then I shot (close to 40 percent) from three. This year, I’m G League MVP. It’s one of the moments in my life that I’m most proud of myself (because it shows) that relentless pursuit.”
Although McClung is certainly an accomplished dunker, as his back-to-back NBA All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk championships would certainly indicate, this season he’s proven that he’s an all-around basketball player.
Over the course of Osceola’s 2023-24 campaign, McClung led the entire G League in scoring with 25.7 points per contest on 50.9 percent shooting from the field and 39.6 percent shooting from 3-point range. He also averaged 4.7 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per outing.
“Coach (Dylan) Murphy put me in the right position (to succeed),” said McClung of Osceola’s first-year head coach. “He really wants me to be aggressive, get going, and get my rhythm.”
His sensational season has been a huge part of Osceola’s team success. The Magic’s G League club finished their regular season campaign with a 22-12 record – the best mark in the East. Osceola also averaged a league-high 120.1 points per game and shot a league-best 49.4 percent from the field.
“From the general managers to the coaches to the players and talent we have, it’s a credit to all of it coming together,” McClung explained. “We have some of the best players in the league on our team right now. We’re all coming together. I feel like (that success is due to) a combination of things.”
McClung will now look to showcase his talent on the G League postseason stage. After a first-round bye, Osceola will host the Long Island Nets at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee on Friday at 7 p.m. ET. Tickets are still available for that contest here.
Among the many other gifted players on Osceola’s roster are Orlando two-way standouts Kevon Harris and Trevelin Queen, as well as rookie Jett Howard, who the Magic selected with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
“It’s incredible,” sad McClung of Osceola’s collection of talent. “When I was getting this point guard role, I was like holy cow, I have a lot of mouths to feed. (laughter) But it’s been the best challenge for me to help me grow and be around players who are NBA players. I feel like now I could make the transition even better (to the NBA) than I could even last year, because I’m used to playing with guys who need shots and (had to) figure out how to get them the ball in certain situations. It’s so fun playing with all this talent.”
The Magic’s G League team returns to the postseason for the first since 2021, when they won the championship in the Disney bubble. It marks the fourth trip to the playoffs for them overall since inaugurating in Florida in the 2017-18 season (there were no G League playoffs in 2020 because of the pandemic). They played in Lakeland from 2017 to 2023 before relocating to Osceola Heritage Park prior to the start of this season.
The G League is the NBA’s official developmental league, preparing players, coaches, officials, trainers and front office staff for careers in the NBA, while acting as the league’s research and developmental laboratory. The G League features 31 teams – 29 with one-to-one affiliations with NBA franchises.