2009 slam dunk contest rudy fernandez biography
Slam Dunk Contest
NBA basketball contest
"Dunk contest" redirects here. For the song, see Dunk Contest (song).
The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend.Sports Illustrated wrote "the dunk contest was the best halftime invention since the bathroom."
The contest was conceived of and started by the American Basketball Association (ABA) for its 1976 ABA All-Star Game in Denver. The winner was Julius Erving of the New York Nets. As a result of the ABA–NBA merger later that year, the contest moved to the NBA for the 1976–77 season.
There was not another slam dunk contest at the professional level until 1984. The contest has adopted several formats over the years, including, until 2014, the use of fan voting, via text-messaging, to determine the winner of the final round. The current champion of the Slam Dunk Contest is Mac McClung of the Orlando Magic.
History
1976 ABA Slam Dunk Contest
The first-ever Slam Dunk Contest was held on January 27, 1976, at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver during halftime of the 1976 ABA All-Star Game, the league's final All-Star game before the completion of the ABA–NBA merger. In financial trouble and fighting with the NBA for viewers, the ABA started the slam dunk contest as a gimmick to attract viewers nationwide. In Remember the ABA, Jim Bukata recalled, "We were sitting around the office one day, discussing things that would draw more people, and it just came to us…It was Julius [Erving] really giving us the idea that we're the league of the dunkers. So we said, 'Well if that's the case, let's have a contest.' It really was as simple as that. …Three guys talking about what we could do to sell a few more tickets." Bukata was the direct
The Slam Dunk Contest: Past, Present and Future
Various NBA observers (organized by Ted Bauer)
In college, All-Star Saturday night was always underrated as a social force. You grab some brews, order in a few pies, and watch dudes chucking the long ball and slamming it home for three hours with the melodic voice of Kevin Harlan as your soundtrack. You get into the real world, life's realities crush you, and you hold a special place in your heart and soul for that mid-February weekend night when balls arc and men soar. As such, we're nodding to the past (best dunks ever), the present (who will win this year?) and the future (what dunk needs to be attempted?) in this piece. Some people here are NBA experts (they get paid to write about it), some are NBA observers (they get paid to follow sports), and some are just fans. We think it's a good mix.
THE PAST: WHAT'S THE BEST RIMROCKER IN SLAM DUNK CONTEST HISTORY?
ESPN THE MAGAZINE ASSOCIATE EDITOR MATT MEYERS:
No question, the sickest dunk in contest history was in 2000 when Vince Carter took the bounce pass from Tracy McGrady, put it through his legs, and slammed it. (The best look is at 1:19ish of this clip, probably.) We had seen guys put it through the legs, but it was never off a pass, and it was always kind of awkward. Don't even try and bring MJ into the discussion, because Dr. J was dunking from the foul line when MJ was still in middle school.
ESPN THE MAGAZINE SENIOR WRITER CHRIS BROUSSARD:
I hate to pick just one, but I have to go with Dwight Howard's "Superman'' dunk last year. It had it all. There was great showmanship with the cape and the S on the chest, and he displayed great athleticism by catching the ball in midair, leaping from a foot or so inside the foul line and actually "throwing'' the ball down into the rim rather than merely "dunking'' it. Some said it wasn't a dunk, but I thought it was more impressive than a dunk.
ESPNTHEMAG.CO NEW YORK -- Portland's Rudy Fernandez beat out two fellow rookies Monday in an online vote and will round out the field for the slam dunk contest at All-Star weekend. Fernandez received 251,868 of the more than 500,00 votes cast on nba.com, finishing ahead of Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook (147,279) and Milwaukee's Joe Alexander (114,963). The native of Spain, who won a silver medal in the Beijing Olympics, will become the first international player to appear in the contest. Defending champion Dwight Howard of Orlando, 2006 winner Nate Robinson of New York and Memphis forward Rudy Gay already were chosen for the field. This is the first time a vote was used to select a competitor. All four participants will begin appearing in online videos previewing dunks that they might try in the contest, which is sponsored by Sprite. The dunk contest will take place during All-Star Saturday in Phoenix on Feb. 14.Fernandez slam dunk with online voters
I have to admit that, after watching Rudy's demeanor during dunk practice today, I was nervous. Nervous that Rudy was nervous. Nervous that Rudy was going to get embarrassed by some of the most athletic guys in the NBA, and maybe even the world.
But as anyone who watched the dunk contest knows, that wasn't the case. Rudy threw down the most inventive and technically difficult dunks of the night.
Sporting a vintage Fernando Martin jersey, Rudy threw the ball behind his back off the backboard, finished with the slam while drifting away from the basket. You ever seen that before, because I haven't. I've seen guys dunk over tall guys. I've seen guys double-pump. I've even seen guys jump really high and from in front of the free throw line to dunk, but I've never seen someone go behind the back off the backboard for a dunk.
And it wasn't just the dunk; it was the effortless with which Rudy executed it. First try. Seemed like nothing. Does that take away from it for some people, specifically the judges? If anything, he should be rewarded for making it look so easy. And this is from a guy who has played in three games over the last four days.
The second dunk was equally ridiculous. Last year, Dwight Howard did a version of that dunk, but he threw the ball himself and with no angle. Much easier. I don't recall what score he got for that dunk, but I'm guessing it was higher than the 42 Rudy was given. He was probably penalized by the judges for the number of attempts it took to get it right, but it didn't take any more time than driving in a forklift or hanging out in a cardboard box.
If Pau puts that pass on the money the first time, does Rudy make the second round? I guess we'll never know.
The dunk contest is alive and well, which is the good thing, but it's only going to stay that way if guys keeping bringing it fresh every year. The same plays pulling the same props win every time, then we're going to the point where, once again, nobody cares about the ev