Why Mac McClung Is Not a Full-Time NBA Player Despite G League Dominance
A record-breaking night puts Mac McClung back in the spotlight, but not on a full-time NBA roster.
Published March 25 2026, 11:28 a.m. ET
Questions about Mac McClung’s official NBA status keep popping up, and it does not help that he keeps breaking records. On March 24, the Windy City Bulls guard earned a franchise record and career-high 59 points with 10 assists against Birmingham.
He also became the NBA G League’s all-time leading scorer. However, fans rarely see him on NBA courts, which fuels the idea that he is not really in the league. But the truth is much simpler.
Why is Mac McClung not in the NBA?
Mac is currently on a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls and has appeared in four NBA games for Chicago this season.
Since going undrafted in 2021, Mac has bounced across both the NBA and G League. He has spent time in the Lakers, Bulls, 76ers, Magic, and Pacers organizations, and he is now back with Chicago on a two-way deal.
In the G League, he has played for South Bay, Windy City, Delaware, and Osceola. According to ESPN, he appeared in nine career NBA games with five teams at that point, and current season data now shows him with 10 career NBA games after his latest Chicago stint.
However, Mac has still not locked down the kind of full-time NBA role fans usually mean when they say a player is “in the league.” He has gotten call-ups, two-way deals and even a standard contract with Indiana earlier this season, but those chances have been brief.
According to ESPN, front-office personnel said he still needs to be a more consistent perimeter shooter, and that his 6-foot-2 size works against him. Mac is in the NBA pipeline right now, technically on Chicago’s roster through a two-way contract. What he still does not have is a secure, everyday NBA job.
That does not mean teams overlook him. When Indiana signed him to his first standard NBA contract in October, Mac said, “I believe I’m built for this stage.” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle echoed that confidence. “He’s an attacker, he’s aggressive, and he’s healthy, which is important right now,” Carlisle said, per The Washington Post.
Mac McClung’s career is growing rapidly.
He grew up in Gate City, Va., where basketball made him a hometown sensation and internet star at the same time. According to Texas Tech, Mac became the all-time scoring leader in Virginia High School League history with 2,801 points. He later played two seasons at Georgetown before transferring to Texas Tech, where he led the Red Raiders in scoring at 15.5 points per game in 2020-21 and won Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors.
That viral fame has followed him for years, and sometimes it has helped him while also boxing him in. Mac told ESPN he once stepped away from dunking to shift that narrative. "I stopped dunking for a year," Mac said. "I was like, I'm not even going to dunk. Like, I don't even want to be a part of that. And I just want to show people my game."