Found February 17, 2008 on MixMakers.net :
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"We gotta check in that cape and see if there's some helium in there." Dwight Howard's Superman routine stole the show at the NBA Slam Dunk contest. Magic Johnson loved it. Kenny Smith loved it. The whole crowd loved it. But it probably wasn't even his best dunk, and technically it wasn't even a dunk because he never touched the rim. That didn't matter, though, because the judges loved it, too. Dwight Howard is the 2008 slam-dunk champion. Just like Charles Barkley predicted. Howard defeated defending champion Gerald Green in the finals. Rudy Gay and Jamario Moon both got knocked out in the first round. Green had one of the night's best moments, which was overshadowed by Howard but still worth mentioning. He placed a cupcake with a lit candle on it on the back of the rim, and he blew out the candle while dunking the basketball. Embedded here is Howard's Superman dunk.
27 Comments:
  • SUUUUPPPPAAA-MANNNN!!! Wow... Still speechless and laughing and impressed at this one...
  • i love how like the 'underwear' part of the costume is at his like belly button lol
  • he threw the ball in......just like magic said.
  • It's the greatest non-dunk of all time.
  • That ball could have hit that rim and shot into the upper deck.
  • Happy Birthday, ballers. Here is a close-up video of Gerald Green blowing out the candle. Tonight's contest really made me wish I had ups. And wasn't short. Or terribly unathletic like I am.

  • Here is the full video of the cupcake dunk.

    Barkley: "This is a bad idea. Like Roger Clemens going before Congress."

    Sorry, Charles. You're wrong. Gerald Green deserved a 50 for this one.

  • I could've seen him getting a 50 for this...it DEFINITELY deserved more 10's than the dunk after his... This was a GREAT dunk to pull off!
  • Here are all the dunks from the final round.

  • Very entertaining contest. I must say Jamario kinda let me down a bit though.
  • I haven't enjoyed a dunk contest like this one in YEARS!!! My son and I just loved it!!! Wow!!! Dwight Howard couldn't lose!!! Every dunk he did was awesome!!!
  • When he did the first dunk...the backboard one... I was like 'How can he ever top THAT!' ! LMAO... Little did I know... but I do now!!! WOW!
  • Yea I thought that dunk was great. I didnt think he would be able to top his first dunk. But the superman dunk was creative, funny, and nice. It had all the elements needed to win a dunk contest. But Green's cupcake dunk was really good too.
  • That superman thing was entertaining but dont you have to actually dunk the basketball in order to get rated in the first place?
  • WIkipedia says this about a dunk...

    "A slam dunk (or simply a dunk) is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air and manually powers the ball downward through the basket with one or both of his hands"

    Howard did jump in the air and manually powered the ball downward through the basket with one hand. Therefore, it IS a dunk.
  • Thanks for the definition... :-) I'm glad they did count it!
  • Nerd alert.
  • Wikipedia is no authority and I'd have to disagree with that definition. If that's true, then some jump-shots should be considered dunks. When 7 footers shoot threes and when superstars shoot over players for game winners they are sometimes 2 feet off the ground- average player 6'8", arms 3 feet in length. This means that they are actually shooting at a downward angle. I've noticed it on many occasions. Therefore they are in the air and manually powering the ball downward through the basket.

    The definition should have included something about the body's proximity to the rim, hands being above or touching the rim etc.

    I didn't like li because he didn't jump from that far away and he didn't make the distance, which is why he had to throw it in. His body was on the down side of the arc and still about 2 feet away. I thought it was awful, but a spectacle nonetheless.
  • I love what the announcers said "when Kobe Bryant is impressed...you know you're doing something right." Dwight Howard won that competition with his FIRST dunk. He was a fan favorite and he more than delivered. Gerald Green impressed me with the birthday cake and the no shoes dunks, but there was nobody in the building that could have beaten Dwight Howard last night. He had the crowd and judges in the palm of his hands and deserved that win!
  • mmaaannn i hella posted my article before you. =[ and i gots no love on it.
    dammit its the picture! i knew it!
    i wish i had a snazzy pic for my article. boo.
    well props for the article anyway!
    DH hhheeellllaaaaa hella hella SUPERMAN'D' THAT SLAM DUNK CONTEST!
  • im a hater that wasn't a dunk
  • superman that...ooooohhhh...youuu!!! that was off the hook.. even from australia..
  • Although it was pretty cool looking, it's the only "Dunk" you will ever see in a dunk contest, where the guy doesn't actually touch the rim. He jumped from far away and wasn't about to get to the rim, so he threw the ball and fortunarly for him it went in. To me, it is not a "Dunk" maybe by definition, but not by my standards. It was just unorthodox.
  • I wish they would have let him play the music beforehand like he wanted to do. He wanted to get the crowd hyped...and then dominate that semi-some would call it a dunk-throw down. Regardless, it was still awesome.
  • If he would have jumped off of one foot he would have made look easy. Going off of 2 feet slows your forward momentum. That dunk was great.
  • Dwight has revived the NBA dunk contest watch starting next year more stars will participate.......but damn this man can FLY
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