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THEY
call him Thunder, D12, Man Child, Dwizzle. But after
what he did in the National Basketball Association (NBA)
Slam-Dunk competition, the main event of All-Star
Saturday Night at New Orleans Arena, he might as well be
called Howard The Dunk.
Whee-hoo!
What a class act he was. What an amazing combination of
athleticism, power, ingenuity and wit! Dressed as
Superman at one point with red cape flapping in the
wind, Dwight Howard won everyone over, getting the nod
from the judges and the viewers via text messages and
Internet votes.
And he
was smiling all throughout. Feeling confident, but not
haughty. Having fun. Having it all.
I THINK
the dunk contest is back,” he announced after the
competition. And it was. This basketball art form has
had an elaborate evolution from its early beginnings.
That’s why everybody looks forward to the NBA Slam-Dunk
contest—the centerpiece event of the All Star Games—year
after year after year.
Other
terms for slam dunk include “jam,” “stuff,” “flush,”
“cram” or “throw down,” in case you don’t know. The
first slam-dunk contest was held during an American
Basketball Association All-Star Game. And there is a lot
of other interesting trivia about it, way before Dwight
Howard did his magic at center court last Saturday.
For one,
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was one of its earliest exponents,
such that he used his power in it in the US NCAA,
leading to the formation of a no-dunking rule between
1967 and 1976. It was called the “Lew Alcindor Rule”
Michael
Wilson, a former Harlem Globetrotter and University of
Memphis basketball player, holds the world record for
the highest dunk at 3.65 meters, or 12 feet. He dunked
it in on April Fool’s Day, 2000.
But Wilt
Chamberlain was said to have done the same feat on an
experimental basket set up by Phog Allen at the
University of Kansas in the 1950s. Also, Wilt The
Stilt—unlike
Wilson—did
not have the advantage of being given an alley oop to do
the dunk. Unlike other high leapers—Vince Carter, Jim
Pollard, Julius Erving, Scottie Pippen, Brent Barry and
Michael Jordan included, Chamberlain did not need a full
running start to execute his dunk! He began his movement
from inside the top half of the free throw circle. So
who’s your Daddy, eh guys?
OTHER
unforgettable dunks came courtesy of five-foot-seven
Spud Webb, who defeated six-foot-eight Dominique Wilkins
in the 1986 competition. Michael Jordan’s 1987 feat was
described as “the leaner” because Jordan’s body was “not
orthogonal” to the ground—”leaning”—while performing the
dunk. And then there’s Vince Carter’s between-the-legs
slam.
On the
distaff side, Candace Parker was the first woman to dunk
in a women’s NCAA tournament game in 2006. Lisa Leslie
was the first woman to dunk in a Women’s NBA game.
BUT
let’s get back to our hero, Dwight Howard. Do you recall
that he was here in 2005 for NBA Madness? When he came
over with LA Laker Luke Walton, he was already a rookie
sensation of the NBA. But not many Pinoy fans knew him
well, then.
He was,
in fact, the first player in NBA history who went to the
pro league straight out of high school and started all
82 games during his rookie season. He was six-foot, 11
inches tall, still growing and was the No. 1 overall
pick in the 2004 NBA draft.
Howard
came here just before the NBA regular season, had fun,
loved Manila, loved the fans, and showed everyone what a
great person he was. He taught ball skills to kids and
young adults who joined the Madness events, gamely
partied with sponsors and special guests at the VIP
event. He was a good singer, too. And here’s the best
part, he really fell in love with the country and the
people, that the following year, he was still waxing
romantic about the great time he had in the Philippines.
“I got
to travel with another NBA player [LA Lakers forward
Luke Walton] to Hong Kong, the Philippines and Taiwan
all for NBA Madness,” Howard said. “We held clinics,
talked with the kids and there was a smaller version of
the NBA Jam Session that they had during All-Star
Weekend (2005)....Then we had a little all-star game at
the end of the week.”
“The
Philippines was my favorite place because the people
were just so nice over there and they really appreciate
basketball,” he added. “They are probably the biggest
fans of the NBA that you will see in another country.”
SO you
see, while Dwight Howard was doing those dunks last
Saturday, he may have been thinking of Filipino
basketball fans who showed him how absolutely crazy we
are about basketball when he was here. He was made well
aware that the NBA is avidly watched by Filipinos on
cable, and he probably had that at the back of his mind.
Next time he comes—if he comes again with the
Madness—I’m sure Pinoy cage fans will be even more
excited to see him. Pinoys love slam dunks and slam
dunkers, is why. (Pinoy fans lapped up Andre Igoudala
who was here in 2006 for NBA Madness as well.)
Igoudala,
by the way, came with New York Knick Channing Frye and
the Hawks mascot, Harry The Hawk for Madness ’06. We
look forward to welcoming back with a loud quack this
flier called Howard The Dunk. Ker-plunk! |
