By Scott Anez. WDBO Radio. Orlando.

In recent years. interest in NBA All Star Weekend’s Slam Dunk Contest has waned. Not only have the league’s prime time players taken a pass. but. the contest has lost much of its luster because. frankly. we see these dunks on a nightly basis in the NBA. These dunks have become all too common. The onetime crown jewel of the weekend had become stale. The thrill was gone.

Thanks to our Mighty Dwighty. the thrill is back!

I am not easily awed.  But I have to tell you I jumped outta my chair on each and every one of Dwight Howard’s eye-popping dunks Saturday night in New Orleans.
All four dunks were. and should have been. perfect 10’s.

If I had to pick my personal favorite. it would be dunk #1.  I am convinced that Dwight Howard is the only person on the face of the planet who could have pulled off this stunt.  He starts from behind the basket.  He throws the ball off the back of the backboard. and in one fell swoop. reaches under the board with his left hand and dunks it home.  Gerald Green. Jamario Moon. Rudy Gay:  thanks for comin’ and have a nice trip home.  Game over!  50.
In Dwight’s second and perhaps most memorable slam. D-12 whisks off his Magic jersey only to uncover an appropriate Superman shirt.  The crowd goes nuts.  Teammate Jameer Nelson brings out the red cape and Superman proceeds to leap a tall building in a single bound.  Jameer alleys from back of the baseline.  Dwight oops.  He not only oops. he literally heaves the rock down through the bucket as he towers over the rim.  50.

In Dwight’s third slam. which displayed incredible coordination. he runs. jumps. taps the ball left-handed off the backboard. then slams with his right.  Unbelievable!  50.
For his grand finale. Dwight could have merely shot a free throw grandma-style and gotten a 50!  But Dwight goes for the jugular.  He sets up a little ‘Magic’ mini-hoop on the corner of the backboard.  Jameer sets the ball in hoop.  Dwight leaps up. takes the ball. and slams it home.  Crowd goes wild.  50.

Let the coronation begin.

It was one of those seminal Dunk Contest moments. akin to the Jordan-Wilkins duel in 1988. Dee Brown pumpin’ up his Reeboks in ‘91 and Vince Carter struttin’ his stuff in 2000.

Dwight Howard is a freak of nature.  I don’t know of any other big man in the history of the game who has possessed such incredible athleticism. strength. size speed and style.  Dwight was plenty popular before Saturday night.  That popularity will now be raised to the roof not only here in Orlando but across the globe because of what he pulled off Saturday night.

The NBA Slam Dunk Contest is now officially off life support thanks to the efforts of Orlando’s Superman. Mighty Dwighty!

Andrea Adelson
From the Press Box.

Dwight Howard made it a wonderful weekend to be from Orlando. The Magic big man set the sports world talking with his jaw-dropping performance during the NBA’s slam-dunk competition. and that talk kept going well into Monday.

He was the lead topic during the ESPN Radio show Mike & Mike in the Morning. Hosts Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic were the latest to roundly praise Howard for his creativity and athleticism. reiterating he has re-energized the slam-dunk contest while mentioning past champions who used brilliant ideas to make the dunks must-see TV.

 Guys such as Dee Brown. who pumped up his shoes before unleashing a thunderous dunk during all-star weekend in 1991. So that got me thinking. Why not call Brown and see what he thought of Howard. and whether he thinks the Magic man has brought the slam-dunk contest back from the dead?

 ”Everything he did was great.” said Brown. who runs The Edge. a basketball training facility in southwest Orlando.

 Brown helped Howard before the dunk contest last season. After Howard lost in the first round. failing to show off his kiss-the-rim dunk. Brown called him with some advice.

 ”I told him. ‘You get your wildest dunks from the beginning. Don’t wait until the finals.’ ” Brown said. “You’ve got four dunks; all four have to got be spectacular because you never know what the guys have in front of you.”

 Looks like the advice paid off. Howard’s first dunk. where he bounced the ball off the back of the backboard and slammed it home. got a perfect score. He also did his now-famous Superman dunk in the first round.

 Having someone as high-profile as Howard in the contest definitely helps and gave the entire contest an awesome feeling of energy. But perhaps most important. Howard was just having fun out there — and that made the competition fresh and exciting.

 That was missing from past dunk contests when no-name guys seemed to do the same boring dunks. Gerald Green (his blow-out-the-candle-on-the-cupcake was my favorite) and Howard have come up with great ideas over the last two years to make the dunk contest relevant again.

 ”It’s got the pizzazz back.” Brown said. “Before. people were like. ‘The 3-point contest is marquee.’ Yeah. that is a great skills competition. but nothing brings excitement like a dunk.”

 So be proud. Orlando. Enjoy all the excitement.