The Indiana Pacers intend to sign three-time NBA slam dunk contest champion Mac McClung to a multiyear, non-guaranteed contract, league sources confirmed to The Athletic on Monday night. The deal marks McClung’s first standard NBA contract, as Indiana looks to bolster its backcourt amid a rash of guard and wing injuries. The Pacers plan to waive center James Wiseman, the 2020 No. 2 pick, to clear a roster spot for McClung, per the sources.
McClung is most known in the NBA realm for his highlight-reel jams during All-Star Weekend. The 26-year-old’s three slam dunk titles are tied with Nate Robinson for the most in league history. However, the Pacers are likely more interested in McClung’s ability to run their offense than his aerial displays. The bouncy 6-foot-2 guard made his NBA debut in the 2021-22 season with the Chicago Bulls and has appeared in only six NBA contests for the Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia Sixers and, most recently, the Orlando Magic. McClung has played more than 10 minutes only twice in the NBA, but that could change very soon when he joins an extremely banged-up Pacers backcourt.
Indiana was already without star point guard Tyrese Haliburton for the entire 2025-26 campaign due to a torn right Achilles he suffered in Game 7 of the NBA Finals in June. But just three games into this season, the team is now without this year’s starting point guard Andrew Nembhard (left shoulder), veteran backup point guard T.J. McConnell (left hamstring), fourth-year wing Bennedict Mathurin (right toe), and rookie guards Taelon Peter (right groin) and Kam Jones (lower back). What’s more, veteran forward Obi Toppin left Sunday’s loss at Minnesota due to a right hamstring injury.
Undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2021, McClung has starred in the NBA G League. He won a G League championship in 2023 and league MVP in 2024, both with the Osceola Magic. McClung has been selected to the All-NBA G League First Team in each of the last two seasons.
Wiseman was simply the odd man out once the Pacers chose to bring in McClung. After tearing his left Achilles during the Pacers’ season opener last season, Wiseman returned to the franchise on a two-year, partially guaranteed deal. As Indiana adjusted this season to life without longtime starting center Myles Turner, who joined the Milwaukee Bucks in free agency, Wiseman was supposed to be a part of Indiana’s “center by committee” approach alongside Isaiah Jackson, Jay Huff and Tony Bradley, according to Pacers coach Rick Carlisle. But of Indiana’s four centers, Wiseman was the only one who did not appear in each of the team’s first three games, thus foreshadowing his eventual departure once the team added a ballhandler.
The Pacers advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in 25 years last season and have reached the Eastern Conference finals in back-to-back campaigns. But in Haliburton’s absence, along with a slew of others, they’re off to an 0-3 start in 2025-26. Indiana will resume its season Wednesday at Dallas, where McClung could make his season debut.
