NBA 2009 Dunk Contest

[AquaTech]

Alright, it looks like we're gearing up for another incredible dunk contest this year!
Contestants:

Dwight Howard
Nate Robinson
Rudy Fernandez
J.R. Smith

I remember last year's contest had a TON of hype leading up to it. They all put out preview tapes and were trash talking a bit. This year it isn't like that, but the list of dunkers is much better if you ask me!

Dwight will win again, I'm sure of it. Nate Robinson is my favorite athlete period, I bet he'll be in the finals with Dwight. Rudy and J.R. both have something to prove. It will be a good one indeed.

Your picks/analysis/thoughts?

 

[½NIÇK½FBM]

Dwight Howard IS the dunk contest. Nobody would care about the dunk contest at all if it wasn't for him.

 

[XACE-K]

Dwight was beast last year and Nate was beast 3 years ago. Since they're my 2 favorite in this, I'll pick them to go to the finals.

My only problem is that I just wish the dunk contest was like how it was back than. It had great players in it for all spots but since than, it's just at most 2 great players.

 

[Nike.]

The D-league Slam Dunk contest was won by James White. He DID A WINDMILL FROM THE FREETHROW LINE.

Old vid of him:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR2XFpaoOxo

 

[AquaTech]

The D-league Slam Dunk contest was won by James White. He DID A WINDMILL FROM THE FREETHROW LINE.

Old vid of him:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR2XFpaoOxo

That's not the D-League dunk contest, it's a foreign league he was in 2 years ago. But yeah, James White is a beast.
For those curious, he does free-throw line dunk WINDMILL around 3 minutes.
He does the between-the-legs dunk from free throw line at 4:50. Be sure to watch the replays.

 

[Nike.]

You must not have been watching today yet, have you? They had a seperate Dleague Slam Dunk ontest Earlier today

 

[AquaTech]

Oh my bad, you did specify it was an old dunk contest. What did D-White do today?

 

[½NIÇK½FBM]

Dang it Nate Robinson won. Why did Dwight do that generic dunk from the freethrow line??

Whatever. At least LeBron is gonna be in it next year.

 

[Nike.]

Yea, this years dunk contest was lameeee

 

[SharkAttack]

I agree to some degree. The first two rounds were boring. This was primarily because nobody was able to pull off their first dunk. If Hernandez would have gotten his 2nd dunk off on the first try that would have raised the roof, but after 6-8 attempts it lost it's steam.

The finals were better though. Dwight Howard's dunk by bouncing it off the side of the backboard and in was amazing. Dunk of the night in my opinion because that one is basically imposible and he did it in one try. Robinson's dunk over Howard was cool to. He didn't get completely over him but to be able to jump over a person that tall and bulky at his hieght and then dunking it is extremely difficult. It would have been easy to run into Dwight and then fall over him.

I didn't like Dwight's last dunk. I think he intended to dunk from the foul line but missed it or something. Jordan was able to do it in the 80's so Howard dunking after passing the line wasn't that spectacular.

I would have liked Howard to win all because the finals were basically even. Robinson's 1st dunk was better than Howard's 2nd but Howards 1st dunk was better than Robinson's 2nd. With Dwight having the best dunk of the night that dunk would have broken the tie. I think Dwight not doing something amazing with his 2nd dunk cost him the competition.

 

[Endless Nightmares]

lol i liked the "Kryptonite" angle that Nate pulled off, with the green and neon

 

[t3h n00b]

I thought it was a great contest, I think Dwight should have kept the second hoop and raised it for the finals. Thought it was weird that his first dunk got a 50 though, even the announcers didn't think it would be above 45.

 

[Nike.]

I agree to some degree. The first two rounds were boring. This was primarily because nobody was able to pull off their first dunk. If Hernandez would have gotten his 2nd dunk off on the first try that would have raised the roof, but after 6-8 attempts it lost it's steam.

The finals were better though. Dwight Howard's dunk by bouncing it off the side of the backboard and in was amazing. Dunk of the night in my opinion because that one is basically imposible and he did it in one try. Robinson's dunk over Howard was cool to. He didn't get completely over him but to be able to jump over a person that tall and bulky at his hieght and then dunking it is extremely difficult. It would have been easy to run into Dwight and then fall over him.

I didn't like Dwight's last dunk. I think he intended to dunk from the foul line but missed it or something. Jordan was able to do it in the 80's so Howard dunking after passing the line wasn't that spectacular.

I would have liked Howard to win all because the finals were basically even. Robinson's 1st dunk was better than Howard's 2nd but Howards 1st dunk was better than Robinson's 2nd. With Dwight having the best dunk of the night that dunk would have broken the tie. I think Dwight not doing something amazing with his 2nd dunk cost him the competition.

This was a perfect summary of the contest.

 

[AquaTech]

Nate was awesome. I knew he would make it to the finals, but didn't think he could beat Dwight.
I also think this year's contest was not as good. I feel like Dwight let it slip away instead of Nate winning it.
J.R. got robbed on his first dunk.
Rudy sucked all around.
Dwight's 12 foot dunk was a little anti-climactic, he could have thrown it down harder. Nate's dunk over Dwight wasn't as impressive as his dunk over Spud Webb somehow...
But Nate won, so as far as I'm concerned it was a good year. Especially since the nation voted it.

 

[t3h n00b]

I have a terrible feeling that next year's contest will be underwhelming, since LeBron James is going to give it crazy publicity. But I really liked this one compared to previous years, well at least Howard and Robinson. I hope they both are in it again next year.

 

[Nike.]

videos from contest:

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120668

 

[KING BRISKET]

Not hatin, but it seems like Dwight Howard tries to impress everyone with his props more than his dunks

 

[AquaTech]

Not hatin, but it seems like Dwight Howard tries to impress everyone with his props more than his dunks

Agreed, he went a little overboard this year. Sucks because he could have dazzled in the athletic department, but only one of his dunks relied on that (side of backboard alley-oop). The 12 foot dunk wasn't too good because he got so high but didn't do anything with it. I think he'll be back next year to take on LeBron, hopefully with a better game plan.

 

[JLynn943]

When I watched it, I remember thing that it must have been pre-determined that Howard and Robinson were gonna be the two to advance. Nate's one first round dunk was identical to one of JR Smith's with the only difference being that JR Smith waited until 2 bounces, yet Robinson got more points.

The contest wasn't about the best dunks, it was about Dwight Howard and Nate Robinson.

 

[AquaTech]

And that's the way it should have been. Nobody cares about Rudolph Fernandez, or J.R. Smith.
Nate's dunk scored higher even though it was "identical" because he is so much shorter. It looks better when you do the same dunk with 36 inches of air under you rather than 22.

 

[JLynn943]

I'd prefer it be an actual contest, not a hype fest.

It totally lacked creativity this year, and I think that's because everyone was more worried with hype than doing anything impressive. I don't think Nate deserved to advance, and Howard definitely didn't deserve 50s, but whatever, what's done is done.

I just hope next year people actually try.

 

[KING BRISKET]

I'd prefer it be an actual contest, not a hype fest.

It totally lacked creativity this year, and I think that's because everyone was more worried with hype than doing anything impressive. I don't think Nate deserved to advance, and Howard definitely didn't deserve 50s, but whatever, what's done is done.

I just hope next year people actually try.

Lebron James
Kobe Bryant
Vince Carter (he hasn't lost his hops yet)

Any suggestions for a 4th player. I'm just trying to decide which 4 players today would make for an unforgettable dunk contest. I was thinkin maybe Josh Smith or Dwight Howard(minus the props of course)

 

[Zero Beat]

Lebron James
Kobe Bryant
Vince Carter (he hasn't lost his hops yet)

Any suggestions for a 4th player. I'm just trying to decide which 4 players today would make for an unforgettable dunk contest. I was thinkin maybe Josh Smith or Dwight Howard(minus the props of course)

1988's Michael Jordan. Call it a night.