What is the Julius "Dr. J" Erving trophy and why is it named after the legendary player? All you need to know

Nearly 30 years after his retirement, the NBA has finally named a trophy after Julius "Dr. J" Erving. The winner of Saturday night's AT&T Slam Dunk Championship will receive a hardware named in honor of probably the first true aerial artist in the league.

Erving won the 1976 ABA Slam Dunk title and his high-flying act brought the dunk to a level that made basketball even more popular.

The NBA desperately wanted to infuse something new into the dunk contest after years of increasingly boring performances from players. Over the last few years, the contest has gotten so bad that many were calling for the league to just scrap it.

Former participants, players and even fans were already calling the Three-Point Shootout the marquee competition to watch. The dunk has become a snooze fest that some paying fans grumble about.

Renaming the prized hardware as the Julius "Dr. J" Erving trophy was a step in the right direction. Before the start of the season, the NBA had already made some changes to who the awards would be named after.

The regular-season MVP is now named after Michael Jordan, while the late Bill Russell has his name on the NBA Finals MVP trophy.

Having Erving's name on the dunk trophy seemed to fit right in with the NBA's new strategy to make things more interesting for the fans.

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Mac McClung made Julius "Dr. J" Erving proud tonight

Mac McClung was the deserving winner of the Julius "Dr. J" Erving Slam Dunk Champion Trophy

After getting the trophy name right, the NBA wanted to bring a bolt of energy to the competition. Commissioner Adam Silver had to scour everywhere, including the G League, to bring in the kind of dunk artist that will bring excitement and flair back to the competition.

Enter Mac McClung, who has been touted since high school as one of the best dunkers ever. And boy, did he not disappoint.

The diminutive guard, who has been toiling in the G League since becoming an undrafted rookie in 2021, wowed the crowd with his first dunk. He didn't stop for the rest of the night with a complete and mind-boggling quartet of slams.

Only Lisa Leslie's much-criticized 49, for McClung's second dunk stopped him from getting a sweep of perfect slams for each round.

Mac McClung wasn't to be denied. Heavy expectations, the hype, and Leslie's 49 wouldn't stop him from saving the dunk contest.

He threw a hybrid 360, windmill stuff that combined agility, grace and power to own tonight's dunk contest. Not since Aaron Gordon and Zach LaVine dueled for the slam contest a fewyears ago were basketball fans going gaga after a dunk.

On the night the NBA officially named the prize, the Julius "Dr. J" Erving trophy, Mac McClung made one of basketball's greatest dunkers proud.