Luster fading in dunk contest Hawks' Smith defends crown in four-man field By SEKOU SMITH The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 02/18/06 Houston — The past, present and future of the Hawks' slam-dunk legacy will meet at Toyota Center Saturday night when second-year forward Josh Smith defends his title with Dominique Wilkins and Spud Webb on hand to watch. Wilkins, a two-time winner (1985 and 1990), is considered one of the league's all-time great dunkers, while Webb (1986) remains the smallest man ever to win a slam-dunk title. (Knicks mighty mite Nate Robinson will challenge that tonight when he battles Smith for the title.) The Hawks are the only franchise with three different winners of the contest, and if Smith defends his title successfully, will become the only franchise with two players who have won multiple titles. We sat down with Smith, Webb and Wilkins this week to get their impressions of dunk contests past, present and future: Q: What does the dunk contest look like to you now, 20-plus years after Dominique won his first one? DW: I think it's changed a lot; the participation just isn't what it use to be. Last year was one of the better contests I've seen in the last six or seven years. I think Josh and Amare Stoudemire were a big reason for that. They pushed that competition level to a high that only comes with great, great talents. But even after all these years, the thing you remember is the excitement. I was as excited last year as I can remember, mostly because it felt like a changing of the guard with Josh winning the way he did. SW: Well, I have to say I liked the format better 20 years ago. You do one dunk and then the next guy goes and tries to top that. I don't like the format now. And it's a shame, because these guys now are so talented and so physically impressive. If you put them in that old format, I think it would bring out the best in all of them. Because they can do dunks you only dream about. JS: The thing that always got me was the excitement. The dunk contest was the thing everybody wanted to see from All-Star Weekend. My first memories are watching [Michael] Jordan win it. After that, I have to admit I stopped watching it for a while. Then I remember watching Vince [Carter] tear it up [in 2000]. But I've studied it more since I got older than I remember sitting around and watching it growing up. Q: You had to have a favorite part of the contest when you were in it. What was it? JS: Putting on Dominique's jersey for me last year was the best part. It was my tribute to him and all the past winners. I felt like it was the right thing to do with the Hawks on the path to winning another one. I'd have worn Spud's jersey too if I had one of his jerseys around. SW: My favorite part was going against Dominique. We were best friends, and you were going against a guy you spent every day with in terms of what we were trying do for the Hawks. So nobody cared who won. Well, I think Dominique did. (Laughing) But it was just fun watching all the young guys and seeing that look in their eyes. They were so competitive. We all were, really. DW: Yeah, I guess he's right about that. (Laughing) It was the same thing for me. Competing with Spud, and the one in Chicago with Jordan and myself going at it was really fun. Q: Many people have complained the contest lacks creativity these days and that everything that could be done has been done. Why do you think the contest has lost so much of its luster? SW: The one thing missing is guys like Jason Richardson, Vince Carter and Kobe Bryant. People want to see the very best dunkers. And those guys need to be out there competing against Josh. If you had all those guys out there, that would really be something. We had Jordan, Dominique and all the best dunkers of the time participating back then. That's what the fans want to see. That's what everybody wants to see. And I think deep down, that's what all these guys competing today want to see. You want the best of the best out there going at each other. DW: I agree that to an extent some of the luster has been lost. People have their own reasons for not wanting to participate. But I think for the fans, guys in their 20s need to be out there. Q: When do you realize the full value of winning the dunk contest, and how does it change your life? JS: I noticed it immediately because other teams starting paying a whole lot more attention to me right after [All-Star Weekend] last year. I couldn't run up and down the floor without somebody trying to run stride-for-stride with me. Nobody wants to get dunked on, so I guess that's what they knew about me and that's why they paid so much attention to me. And it hasn't stopped. Q: It's been 20 years since Spud won his title. A lot of people are predicting this year will mark the return of the little man with the 5-9 Robinson poised to steal the crowd and the show with his freakish leaping ability. Can he carry on Spud's legacy or is the title coming back to Atlanta? JS: I know that the crowd is going to be pulling for [Robinson]. That allows me to go in as the underdog even though I won it last year. And I kind of like that. People didn't know what to expect from me last year. Everybody just assumed Amare was going to win it because of who he is. But you have to go out there and perform. You know me. You know I plan to put on a show. SW: I've actually never seen Nate dunk. So I don't really know what he can do. I had to call [Knicks assistant] Herb Williams to find about him. Herb told me some of the things he can do, and if Nate can knock any of them down he has a good shot. So part of me is pulling for Nate. But my money is on Josh. DW: If Josh does some of the things he did last year, they don't have a chance. Win or lose, I've got to roll with Josh. He wore No. 21 last year, man. That was the moment for me. That's why he's my guy. 资料来源 http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0218slamdunk.html --

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