NBA Slam Dunk Champion, Japanese Basketball Icon in Line to Play in Greensboro on January 30 and 31
G League Greensboro Swarm

NBA Slam Dunk Champion, Japanese Basketball Icon in Line to Play in Greensboro on January 30 and 31

Published on January 21, 2026 under NBA G League (G League)
Greensboro Swarm News Release


GREENSBORO - Basketball icons Mac McClung and Yuki Kawamura are in line to face the Greensboro Swarm, the NBA G League affiliate of the Charlotte Hornets, on Jan. 30 and 31 at Novant Health Fieldhouse.

McClung, the reigning three-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion (2023-25), and Kawamura, widely regarded as the face of modern Japanese basketball and its National Team, are expected to be with the Windy City Bulls as it faces the Swarm, who are amidst its best start ever to a season.

The back-to-back set opens Friday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m. ET, as the team hosts HBCU Night, and closes Saturday, Jan. 31, at 6 p.m. ET for Sports Industry Night. Both contests carry limited availability.

Fans can purchase tickets for Jan. 30 here, with seats for Jan. 31 available here. Media interested in attending either/both of these games should contact Ben Creider (bcreider@hornets.com) at their earliest convenience.

McClung, 27, returns to Greensboro just three hours from his hometown of Gate City, Virginia - the high school jersey he wore during his 2023 and 2024 NBA Slam Dunk Contest titles. With friends and family expected for the weekend, McClung is in his fifth professional season with stints across five NBA franchises. Most recently, he played three games for the Indiana Pacers this season, averaging 6.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals before being waived.

Kawamura, 24, joined the Chicago Bulls on a two-way deal this month, having played in the Memphis Grizzlies organization this past season. A native of Yanai, Yamaguchi, Japan, he is regarded as a prominent face in Japanese basketball, having represented Team Japan during the 2024 Olympics, in which he averaged 20.3 points, 7.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds across three games.

An international standout, Kawamura is the first player ever to jump straight to the NBA from Japan (Japanese B. League) and the fourth player from Japan to play in the NBA, joining Rui Hachimura, Yuta Watanabe and Yuta Tabuse. Standing at 5-foot-8, he is also the ninth-shortest player in NBA history.

Unlike McClung, Kawamura is eligible to be transferred to the Chicago Bulls before or during the back-to-back slate, due to his two-way contract designation.

The pair arrive at Novant Health Fieldhouse to face a Swarm team fresh off its first-ever NBA G League Tournament appearance. Amidst the team's regular-season segment, Greensboro initially led the league through seven games, posting a 6-1 record and riding a six-game winning streak, the longest regular-season stretch in franchise history. It currently carries a 9-3 record with the team setting its franchise-scoring record earlier this month.

Its Jan. 30 contest will air on NBAGLeague.com, with its set closer streaming on Amazon Prime Video, locally on WMYV and on Chicago Sports Network.

Check out the Greensboro Swarm Statistics

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NBA G League Stories from January 21, 2026


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