Daniel Poneman can’t dunk anything but a donut. But the only person who had more riding on the dunk contest in Salt Lake City last weekend than the young Chicago-based basketball agent was his client.

That would be Mac McClung.

Yes, Poneman, the former child prodigy talent scout from Evanston, who was profiled by The Athletic’s Scott Powers in 2020, just happens to be McClung’s agent.

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So yeah, he was a little nervous about McClung’s first real foray into the national TV spotlight. You know, before he won the world’s dunk-loving collective heart.

MAC MCCLUNG HITS THE 540. PERFECT SCORE. ARE YOU KIDDING ME.#ATTSlamDunk x #StateFarmSaturday
📺: Live on TNT

— NBA (@NBA) February 19, 2023

“My thing was I knew Mac had a very good chance as long as he stuck his dunks,” Poneman said in a phone conversation. “I knew which dunks he was working on and I knew if he landed them, he would probably get 50s. But these were high-level, difficult dunks. The guy has ice water in his veins. Meanwhile, I’m courtside sweating profusely, as nervous as I’ve ever been. He’s walking up to us, like, ‘Should I do this one next?’ I couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘Dude, you haven’t picked one yet?’”

A veteran of high-flying, viral dunks, the 24-year-old McClung, of course, stuck his attempts and then some, winning the contest with an array of spellbinding slams and becoming, overnight, a household name. He was already an online superstar going back to his high-school dunk mixtapes, but he found a new, older audience on TNT.

“Every middle-school kid already knew who he was,” Poneman said. “Now their parents know who he is too.”

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Mac McClung's path back to NBA: 30 cities, 150 teammates and dunk contest

But McClung, who was as famous in some circles as LaMelo Ball and Zion Williamson as a teenager, needed that mainstream moment to keep his career dreams alive. So did the 31-year-old Poneman, who just left the management agency he co-founded to open a smaller boutique one where he can give clients a more personal touch. And if you’re thinking this sounds familiar and cinematic, Poneman mentions it before you can.

“Me and Mac have a Jerry Maguire-Rod Tidwell situation going on,” he said.

So can Poneman show McClung the money? That’s the job, even if McClung won’t say it.

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“He hasn’t changed at all,” Poneman said. “He’s very appreciative of everything. He’s a humble person.”

Poneman said his phone was blowing up during the dunk contest and he hasn’t had much of a chance to reflect on the moment since Saturday night. He had trouble sleeping as he tried to shift his focus to managing the business of McClung. Then there’s the fact that McClung has a lot more to prove than being able to dunk.

Everyone who knew him knew he could win that contest. If you listened to the TNT broadcast, there was a gap between what, say, Kenny Smith knew about McClung and what Draymond Green did. When it comes to McClung, no one discusses his stats from Georgetown, Texas Tech or the G League this season, or that he was the rookie of the year in that developmental league last season.

But McClung isn’t trying to be the Professor or The Main Event. He’s not trying to be the modern version of an And1 Tour entertainer. He’s trying to stick in the NBA. He was just signed to a two-way deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. McClung appeared in two NBA games last season, scoring his first points with the Bulls in December and scoring the last points of the NBA season with the Lakers in April.

So don’t mind Poneman, a Bucktown resident who talked to me from the friends and family room at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, when he wants to bring up how well McClung played Friday night in the Rising Stars competition. Or how he’s improved his shooting since college. Or how he’s a playmaker too.

“Mac doesn’t want to be known as a dunker,” Poneman said. “He’s shooting 50 percent from 3 in the G League. Coming out of college, they said he was a scoring guard who can’t shoot. He’s shooting 56 percent from the floor. Last year, he averaged seven assists a game. He’s a great dunker, but let’s watch this guy play and show he’s an NBA-level player. I think he can prove that with the Sixers.”

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McClung rang the bell before the Sixers game Thursday, but he had had to return to Wilmington, Del., where he plays for the G-League Blue Coats. He had seven points and seven assists in 24 minutes Wednesday and had games Friday night (13 points, 12 assists) at home and Saturday in Washington. He’s now a big draw in the developmental league.

MAC MANIA: The Delaware Governor was on line one. ESPN, CNN and ABC were calling for interviews on lines 2, 3 and 4. @FOS tells how overwhelmed exes at Delaware @blue_coats G League team handled the crazy week following @McclungMac's NBA Slam Dunk win.

— Michael McCarthy (@MMcCarthyREV) February 23, 2023

As a talent scout, Poneman was heady enough that people trusted his opinions as a precocious teenager. He was on the forefront of the Anthony Davis bandwagon when he came out of nowhere midway through high school. Now, thanks to a relationship that goes back to McClung’s Georgetown career, he’s helping guide the next phase of McClung’s career. Given that Poneman is highly attuned to both internet culture and basketball, he’s the perfect shepherd.

While Poneman doesn’t want to tie McClung’s earning potential to his hops, he can’t deny the time to capitalize on his fame is now. And Poneman has some pretty impressive numbers and anecdotes to bring to potential partners. More than half a billion people watched his dunks online within 12 hours of the dunk contest, according to the NBA, and a host of players, from Steph Curry to DeMar DeRozan, have since praised him for rejuvenating a competition that is always in the crosshairs of being labeled as over.

State Farm All-Star Saturday Night, highlighted by the Philadelphia 76ers' Mac McClung’s performance in the AT&T Slam Dunk, generated more than half a billion video views in the first 12 hours. The 520M views are the most-ever for an All-Star Saturday Night and continue to grow.

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) February 19, 2023

Poneman wasn’t interested in talking about the financial rewards coming his client’s way. Though Poneman can joke about facilitating a shoe deal for McClung before he became a household name for his leaping ability, he also knows that the new Puma contract is a good thing for his client. The shoe company certainly got its money’s worth.

At the end of the dunk contest broadcast, Smith joked that people would only care about McClung for 48 hours. It’s a cynical opinion, but he wasn’t necessarily wrong. Fame can be fleeting. The retweets eventually die down. The world moves on. But while you might think Poneman should go for the quick money, he’s sticking to a different plan. He believes in McClung.

“After the dunk contest was over, my email and phone were exploding with every opportunity under the sun,” Poneman said. “The situation Mac is in, we’re filtering opportunities and picking ones that align with who he is and how he wants to represent himself.”

Poneman is more worried about McClung’s branding these days than his own. His agency is so new it doesn’t have a name, website or email address. After fighting so hard to get to this point, Poneman is fine with taking it a little slower these days.

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“With this new venture, I don’t know if I’m going to name it,” he said. “I’m Daniel Poneman. I’m a basketball agent. I represent athletes and I’m good at that.”

Doesn’t that sound like something Jerry Maguire would say?

(Photo of Daniel Poneman: Scott Powers / The Athletic)