NBA Slam Dunk Contest

NBA Slam Dunk Contest News

**Contestants**
Pos.	Player	Team	Ht.	Wt.
SF	Rudy Gay	Memphis Grizzlies	6-9	220
SG	Gerald Green	Minnesota Timberwolves	6-8	200
C	Dwight Howard	Orlando Magic	6-11	265
SF	Jamario Moon	Toronto Raptors	6-8	205

Final Round

[10:57PM] Cheryl opens the envelope to a drumroll to announce that Dwight Howard is the winner of the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.

[10:51PM] The judges go down the line and announce their picks for the winner. It's Dwight Howard across the board, but we're still waiting on the fan votes to come in.

[10:45PM] Dwight Howard has one of those small door top basketball hoops for kids. They get him a ladder and he sticks the mini hoop to the corner of the backboard. Next they place the fullsize ball on top of the mini hoop. Howard jumps and grabs the ball, attempting a windmill, but misses. They reload and this time he nails it, emphatically.

[10:44PM] Gerald Green takes of his shoes for this one. He autographs them and sets the shoes on the judges table. He goes for another between the legs dunk which looks like the one he did before. Again they don't show a score.

[10:42PM] Dwight Howard has a cheerleader assisting this time. Howard tosses the ball off the backboard, bats it back against the backboard with his left hand, then throws it down with the right hand. Another 50?

[10:41PM] Gerald Green pulls his shorts up high for some reason and is waiting for a good pass from his teammate. He tries to catch and go between his legs but misses the dunk. He tries again and gets it to go this time. Impressive dunk, even if it's been done before. They don't show the judges score.

Round 2

[10:32PM] Dwight Howard is being assisted by Jameer Nelson. Howard takes off his jersey to reveal a Superman shirt. He also dons a red cape. The crowd applauds as Howard is ready to fly. He leaps into the air and catches an ally oop from Nelson and throws it down with ridiculous force. The replay shows the insane elevation he reaches. The crowd goes nuts as the Superman theme plays in the arena. He gets so high that he only has to throw it through the hoop. Perfect 50 from the judges.

[10:30PM] Gerald Green is placing the ladder out again. McCants is sitting on top of the ladder. McCants holds the ball out, Green grab it and windmills it through. Great elevation on the dunk. Score of 45.

[10:28PM] Jamario Moon is getting help from teammate Jason Kapono. Moon has placed a piece of tape a few inches above the free throw line. Moon is planning to ge a bounce from Kapono. Moon makes the drive, but he steps far over the line and misses the dunk. He tries again, still stepping over the tape, but catches the bounce and throws it down. Not sure what the tape was for. He gets a score of 48.

[10:26PM] Rudy Gay is ready for round 2. Teammate Kyle Lowry is assisting on the play. Lowry tosses the ball off the bottom of the backboard and is followed by Gay who throws it down. A good dunk, but not great. The judges give him a 48 anyway. Charles and the gang disagree with the judges.

[10:19PM] Gerald Green is up now to attempt a dunk he calls the birthday cake. His assistant is holding a cupcake and there is a ladder on the court. His assistant is climbing the ladder in front of the basket. The cupcake has been placed on the back end of the rim and the candle has been lit. Charles Barkley says this is a bad idea and all he's going to do is make a mess. Green catches the ball in mid air, blowing out the candle as he dunks the ball. Miraculously, the cupcake stays on the rim. He gets a 46 from the judges.

[10:16PM] Dwight Howard is the third participant in the dunk contest. Howard is behind the basket setting up for something. Not sure which way down the court he's going. He tosses the ball off the backside of the backboard, catches it mid air, but misses the jam. He goes for the same dunk again and makes it look easy this time. Nice! He gets a perfect 50 from the judges.

[10:15PM] Rudy Gay has his turn now. First attempt at a reverse clanks off the rim. He goes for a second attempt and gets the windmill to go. Not an overly impressive dunk that gets him a 37 from the judges.

[10:14PM] Jamario Moon is up first. He tosses the ball up high to catch it off the bounce. He does a 360 in the air before catching the ball and throwing it down. A pretty impressive dunk that gets a score of 46.

[10:09PM] Magic Johnson is one of the judges for the dunk contest and talk with the TNT crew. Dr. J is sitting next to him and is also a judge. The judges also include Daryl Dawkins, Dominique Wilkins, and Karl Malone. Charles Barkley points out that Terrell Owens is in the audience.

[10:00PM] Steve Nash is introduced and talk about NBA Cares program. He introduces Dr. John who performs Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World.

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