2009 All Star Saturday Recap

Derrick Rose won the Skills Challenge. Daeqaun Cook won the Three Point Contest.

Nate Robinson pulled out the Slam Dunk Contest. Draped in green, Robinson showed that Superman is not the only person who can run faster than a speeding bullet and then leap over tall buildings. Nate took off flying through the air, spread his leads to avoid the head of the nearly 7-foot tall Dwight Howard, who was adorning a Superman cape, and continued to fly until he jammed home the green ball. It was a performance that will enter the Dunk Contest's annual highlight reel.

Dwight Howard had a particularly impressive dunk in the finals. The giant threw the ball off of the side of the backboard, caught it with one hand outside of the paint, and threw it through the hole with the force of a Category 2 hurricane.

Howard's other three dunks were overrated. His first dunk, throwing it from behind the basket and completing a nice twisting two-handed windmill slam, was at the same level as the other three competitors' first dunks. Yet, Howard inexplicably received a 50. Rudy Fernandez's second dunk, though it took far too long to complete, was quite remarkable. Pau Gasol threw the ball off of the back of the backboard and Fernandez caught it behind the basket and stuffed it one-handed on the other side of the rim. J.R. Smith's most exciting dunk was a variation of the "Spud Webb" except he dunked it off of two bounces.

Howard dunked on a 12-foot hoop, which was a nice accomplishment. But think, if he and Nate Robinson stick their hands up, there is roughly a 2-foot difference between the two. Howard's 12-foot dunk begins to look a tad pedestrian, but only in comparison to Nate the Great's exploits. From a similar distance away from the rim, Nate showed his array of two-handed reverse windmill dunks. Howard finished the competition with another good dunk, taking off from just inside the free throw line, but one that summed up his outing. It was an above average dunk, but not legendary. And not at the caliber of Robinson's showing. For the second year, all is right with the world. Nate Robinson has won the Slam Dunk Contest.