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Super Slam: Howard Flies To Dunk Title

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The Associated Press

Published: February 17, 2008

NEW ORLEANS - Look, up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's Dwight Howard - super slam dunk champion.

A red cape trailing behind him, Orlando's man of steel made like Superman and won perhaps the best dunk contest, definitely the most creative, in NBA history to close a memorable All-Star Saturday.

Using a variety of props as well as teammate Jameer Nelson, Howard scored perfect 50s from judges on his first two dunks before the contest was turned over to fan voting for the first time in the final round.

Fans, too, picked the 6-foot-11 Howard, who dispelled an old dunking myth: Big men can fly high.

In any other year, Minnesota's Gerald Green would have easily walked away with his second straight dunking crown, but he was upstaged by the amazingly athletic Howard, whose performance has to rank up there with anything Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter or even tiny Spud Webb ever did above the basket.

The dunk contest, bland for so many years as the game's high risers seemed to run out of ideas, was freshened up by some of the most creative aerial assaults in memory.

Howard, Green, Toronto's Jamario Moon and Memphis' Rudy Gay all used tape, ladders, teammates and even a tasty dessert to show their stuff.

Howard started things off with a see-through dunk. Standing on the baseline, he tossed the ball off the reverse side of the backboard, caught it with both hands, and after peering through the glass at the rim, dunked left-handed.

The crowd roared and a celebrity panel of judges including Magic Johnson, Karl Malone as well as Dominique Wilkins, Julius Erving and Darryl Dawkins - three of the game's most famed dunkers - all gave him perfect 10s.

Not to be outdone, Green tried to blow the field away. Literally.

After Timberwolves teammate Rashad McCants climbed up and placed a cupcake with a single candle in it on the back of the rim, Green soared in and puffed out the flame before throwing down a nasty left-hander.

In the second round, McCants sat on the top step of the ladder and handed the ball off to a rising Green, who crushed another dunk.

That's when Howard stripped off his blue Magic jersey to reveal an "S" on his chest. He then donned the cape, and after a running start from near midcourt, took off just inside the free-throw line and fired down the ball.

In the final round, Green performed two acrobatic dunks, one in only green socks after removing his sneakers. But neither of those could top Howard's last two efforts.

First, Howard bounced the ball off the floor, tapped it left-handed off the backboard and dunked with his right hand. For Howard's finale, Nelson affixed a miniature Orlando backboard next to the rim and balanced a ball on it.

Howard flew in from the right side, picked the ball off cleanly and slammed it in. He then only had to wait for fans to text message a result that seemed to be a no-brainer. Howard won in a landslide, receiving 78 percent of the vote.

Earlier, Jason Kapono showed nobody's close to him from long distance.

The NBA's best 3-point shooter this season, the Toronto forward with the silky touch won his second straight 3-point Shootout, tying a 22-year-old record with a final round of 25.

Kapono missed his first two shots in the last round before dropping 10 straight. By the time he approached the last rack of balls, Kapono had already clinched the win and didn't have to fire up another shot.

But he knocked down a few more anyway, matching three-time winner Craig Hodges' mark of 25 set in 1986. When his final shot swished through, Kapono, who made all five money balls - worth two points apiece - and went 20-for-25 in the last round, slapped high-fives with other All-Stars and hugged Raptors teammate Chris Bosh.

Cleveland's Daniel Gibson finished second. He scored 17 points in the final round, finishing three points ahead of Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, who replaced the injured Bryant.

With a nearly perfect run through an obstacle course of dribbling, passing and shooting, Utah point guard Deron Williams defeated New Orleans playmaker Chris Paul in the final round of the Skills Challenge.

HAWKS-KINGS TRADE: Atlanta traded four players and a draft pick for Mike Bibby, the point guard it hopes will end the league's longest streak without a playoff appearance.

The Hawks sent starting point guard Anthony Johnson, 2007 first-round pick Shelden Williams, backup point guard Tyronn Lue, veteran forward Lorenzen Wright and a 2008 second-round pick to the Kings.

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