I was pushing for Jamario Moon of my Toronto Raptors to win the NBA Dunk Competition, but I have to bow down to the brilliance that was Dwight Howard tonight. Howard's last dunk, after it was all wrapped up, was pedestrian when taken out of context. But as the capper to an unforgettable trio of dunks, it could be forgiven.
Moon got jobbed in not being around in the final to witness the coronation of Super Dwight up close, but we only remember the winner. Gerald Green, the defending champion, outdid Moon in the first round of the semi-finals with an unbelievable stunt in blowing out a birthday cupcake candle. But Green's second dunk was worth nothing more than 8's, if that. On the other hand, Moon had a twisting reverse dunk from outside the circle, which was well worth the 9's he got. His second dunk would have gotten 9's and 10's if he'd only avoided putting a mark on the floor past the free throw line. Instead of the high marks his long reaching LEFT-HANDED layup getting the hosannas it deserved, he was marked down for not hitting his mark.
I think Green's voting was rigged to give him the one point more than Moon he needed to get into the final. The judges all thought he'd be more theatrical than the little-known Moon. Instead, he duplicated the old Vince Carter through the legs dunk ... twice, leaving them with nothing for the dubious decision.
The three dunks Howard did to start the competition are all going to be in the top ten of all-time. The one everybody will talk about is the Superman dunk. The players will talk about the dunk on the behind the backboard rebound. And his best realy was the third of the three, the volleyball spike dunk off his own over-the-basket tip. No way does Moon compete with that.
Betcha Moon gets his revenge in the playoffs though.
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