Live Blogging from... the NBA All-Star Dunk Contest!

This competition used to be something magical. Dominique, MJ... it used to be legendary. It used to display all that set basketball apart from other sports - the pure aesthetics of a guy gliding through air the rest of us can only dream of reaching, effortlessly, and punctuating the art with power. Unfortunately, these days, we see little but derivative dunks and people overhyping mediocre attempts. The competition now means nothing. But I'm sick at home, watching this and eating pizza, so... let's go!

Read more...

Jamario Moon, Dunk 1: Impressive. Lobbed it perfectly, caught it with one hand and went for the windmill. Good height, nailed it on the first try, a solid 9 in my eyes. Aesthetically nice and athletic - reminds me of the great old school dunks.
Score: 46

Rudy Gay, Dunk 1: Missed the first attempt. Simple two handed double pump, nothing special. A 7 in my eyes.
Score: 37

Dwight Howard, Dunk 1: Had my favorite dunk of last year, when he slapped up a sticker of himself with a goofy smile on the top of the backboard with one hand while slamming home with the other. Missed the first attempt. Pretty good dunk - bounced off the back of the backboard, and actually kind of screwed up the toss so it bounced off the rubber on the edge of the board, but was still able to grab it and complete a pretty impressive windmill from the side, ducking under the backboard. I think it's a 9; the judges are more impressed.
Score: 50

Gerald Green, Dunk 1: Last year's winner has been talking up this dunk for a while. He calls it "The Birthday Cake". First, a teammate puts a cupcake on the back of the rim and lights the birthday candle in it. Hm. Green goes for the dunk - blows out the candle! - and slams it home. OK, that's a 10 just for creativity and the slow mo replay of him blowing out the candle. Haha, very nice. But apparently a couple of the judges either missed the candle, or don't like gimmicks.
Score: 46

Rudy Gay, Dunk 2: Kyle Lowry throws it off the basket support, Gay runs down the baseline and slams it in. Not really that great, and Chuck hates it, but the judges like it. See, this is why this competition now means nothing.
Score: 48

Jamario Moon, Dunk 2: He runs from way back, Jason Kapono bounces it to him.. failure. Second try - nails it. Takes off with a foot inside the free throw line. Another kind of old school athletic dunk. I like it a lot. Again, aesthetically pleasing. This guy is growing on me.
Score: 44

Gerald Green, Dunk 2: Rashad McCants sits on a ladder in front of the basket, slightly to the side, with the ball. Green at halfcourt. McCants holds the ball out, drops it to Green, who comes in and slams windmill style. Good height. Not particularly impressive.
Score: 45

Dwight Howard, Dunk 2: Jameer Nelson holds a Superman cape and puts it on Howard, who is wearing a Superman costume underneath his jersey - haha, funny. Nelson tosses the ball to Howard from behind the basket, Howards comes flying in, wow, what height, what power! But he didn't actually dunk it, he threw the ball through the basket. Looked good enough though.
Score: 50

So Jamario Moon is unfairly knocked out - Green's first dunk was great from a showmanship perspective, but neither of his dunks were particularly impressive, while Moon looked artful with both of his dunks. Gay is rightfully gone, and Howard powers through with a perfect score, which is fine by me - he deserved it last year, in my opinion. No scoring for the second round - the judges will each reveal who he thinks is the winner after watching all four dunks.

Gerald Green, Dunk 3: A teammate lobs the ball over the basket from behind. Bad lobs the first few times. Green tries for a through the legs dunk and hits it on the second try. Impressive, reminiscent of Vince Carter. Too derivative, but a good dunk in and of itself.

Dwight Howard, Dunk 3: From midcourt sideline, Howard runs in, throws the ball up, it bounces... HOLY CRAP! He taps it off the backboard with his left hand and dunks it with his right! Kenny Smith proclaims it's over, and he's right! Amazing! That one will be remembered!

Gerald Green, Dunk 4: He takes off his shoes, autographs, them, and puts them on the judges' table. Um, OK, you're not good enough to be handing your signed shoes to Doctor J. Then he does the same through the legs dunk with no shoes. Sorry Gerald. Yeah, it's harder without shoes. But the dunk did not look impressive.

Dwight Howard, Dunk 4: This is practically a formality, but let's see. Hm, he's holding one of those small hoops with suction cups on the backboard, and he's calling for the ladder. The small hoop is attached to the backboard, on the right side. The ball rests in it. He grabs the ball from the small hoop and goes for the roundhouse, but misses. He has them raise the small basket. Attempt 2 is successful. Not as impressive as the others, but he'd already set the bar really high.

Chocolate Thunder, aka Daryl Dawkins, declares that Howard brought power and "magistration". I have to agree. All the judges choose Howard, and he wins the fan vote. Howard deserves it, far and away. But props to Jamario Moon, who also impressed. That was actually kind of fun.