ESPN I realize the abondance of Dwight Howard hypes around the league. But this news is really interesting. I mean, the ASG dunk contest is getting a little boring because everybody in this league can dunk that 10ft hoop. It'll be really exciting to see someone do that on a 12 ft one. That'd be amazing especially if somebody does a 360
Yeah, but they say he'll push for it again. Apparently, the reason for the rejection last year for not technical difficulty, but lack of balls by the league officials
Um if he has the ups to dunk a 12ft goal why not try dunking it from the free throw line? Can you imagine a 7ft that big dunking from the free throw line.. Dayammmmm That would be as exciting if not more than dunking a goal 2 foot higher.
Still cannot believe that the league does not see how boring and lame the dunk contest is. A high dunk would be amazing. Players would care, fans would care, and the league can go home happy.
dunk from the free throw while doing a counter clockwise 720 and moving the ball between your legs and finishing w/ a left handed windmill and your whole arm in the goal
man, howard got screwed last year. I still remember how high he slapped up that sticker before a dunk. he's awesome.
I'm surprised he's even back. Stupid judges screwed him and we never got to see the kiss of death live.
Rather than raise it for all contestants, why not be "special" and have one standing by, that only he would use, to elevate the difficulty for his dunks (like when contestants use props or other players)? No way the judges could deny him then.
12 feet is about 2/3 up the backboard. In the picture above, his left hand is only several inches higher than where the rim would be. Assuming that is his maximum reach, I doubt he could do anything more than a standard one hander on a 12 foot rim. As most people reading this are likely aware, you have to be able to reach significantly higher than the exact height you want to dunk. Consider how many people say they can touch the rim of a 10 foot goal but couldn't even begin to actually dunk the ball. Would it really be that impressive anyway? I mean, I'm 5'9" with a very average wingspan and I've dunked a 10'4" rim before. There are plenty of people my height/wingspan and smaller that could also do that. So is it really that big a deal for someone 15" taller than me w/ a significantly bigger wingspan to dunk a rim that's 20" taller than the one I can dunk? It's not like nobody has dunked 12 feet before (not to mention shorter people). Of course, I take it all back if he actually does something impressive like a 360 or a windmill. I just don't think he can.
There's that possibility.. and there's also the chance that someone shorter than him attempts it. How would you judge it if someone like Josh Smith comes in and flies in for a jam at that height? Do you judge it the way they judged Spud on the 10 footer? Just a lot more possibilities are opened.. which would bring interest and intrigue back (hopefully)
They should let players do anything possible to try and make the dunk contest exciting again. If they aren't going to have the dollars to bring in the Kobes, TMACs, Vinces, Lebrons, and others, then they have to have new dunks that nobody has done in the contest before, which there are almost none of. And please don't let anyone attempt a dunk more than 3 times (Chris Andersen and Nate Robinson). Right now the 3 point contest and the skills challenge are far more exciting than the dunk contest.
I disagree that Slam Dunk competition is getting worse. Vince Carter revitalized in 2000. Competition between Jason Richarson and Dasmond Mason lasted good 2 years with some amazing highlights. Josh Smith's run couple yrs ago was also amazing. But I still think Birdman was the most entertaining player to watch since MJ.
