The NBA dunk contest is always a joke. The judging parameters are a complete mystery, there are really only so many ways you can dunk, and it always just seems a little hokey to me.
That’s why I haven’t watched the dunk contest in years. After Saturday’s 2009 version, I won’t be back.
The only reason I tuned in this year was to see Blazer rookie Rudy Fernandez. I was shocked when he actually got voted into the contest and thought he might be in over his head, but I was still curious.
Sure, anyone who watched the Spanish national team last summer in the Olympics saw Fernandez display awesome power and creativity in his dunks. He has continued to dazzle with acrobatic, body-contorting dunks in the NBA this season.
But in the cheesy, overly theatric dunk (read: popularity) contest I knew he wouldn’t get a fair shake and he clearly didn’t.
His first dunk, a behind-the-back flip off the glass to a right-hand finish, was powerful, precise and tastefully done in a black No. 10 jersey to honor the late Fernando Martin, the first Spaniard to play in the NBA. It netted him a scant 42 points from the judges, the lowest score of the first round of dunks.
It also provided some insight for all of us into the ignorance of Kenny Smith and Reggie Miller, the contest commentators, when it comes to NBA history and international players. When Fernandez tore off his jersey to reveal the tribute, neither had a clue as to what it meant and proceeded to rip Fernandez and then the entire country of Spain.
Those of us with even a hint of global perspective were impressed with Fernandez’ sense of history and his perspective on his own international appeal. He clearly understood his place as the first European player to participate in the contest and commemorated it appropriately with the tribute.
For his second dunk, Fernandez defied dunk-contest detractors (like yours truly) who believe it’s all been done before. His wrap-around alley-oop dunk off the back of the glass was truly innovative and would have been far more exciting had he pulled it off in the first few tries.
But it took him nine tries to convert, thanks mainly to the errant setup of Pau Gasol. (Sorry Rudy, that’s what you get for trusting a Laker, even if he is a fellow Spaniard.)
Still, the dunk was exciting, acrobatic and original, which is more than could be said for any other dunk of the contest.
Yet the judges gave him another 42, effectively ending his night.
The rest of the night was a lot of professional-wrestling-style theatrics and lame-duck gimmick dunks, all praised with perfect scores from the judges.
Rudy told The Oregonian’s Geoffrey Arnold after the competition he had another groundbreaking dunk – one that would feature him flipping the ball soccer-style over his head with his feet for an alley-oop dunk – in store for the final round.
Unfortunately for Fernandez and basketball fans everywhere, he was denied his rightful place in that final round. The fix was already in and the fog machine already fired up for the over-scripted and over-propped finish.
Thanks for nothing, David Stern and TNT. I, and I’m sure millions of other domestic and international viewers, will resume our perennial indifference to this event.
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Dunk contest leaves Fernandez, creativity out in the cold
Daily Emerald
February 16, 2009
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