KryptoNate Leaps Over Superman

Nate Robinson tugged on Superman's cape -- and won. The diminutive New York Knicks guard beat defending champion Dwight Howard of Orlando in an electrifying slam dunk contest on Saturday night, winning 52 percent of fans' votes. Clad in an all-green Knicks uniform with green shoes, Robinson used Howard as a prop in the final round, springboarding over the 6-foot-11 center to jam.

5-foot-9 Nate Robinson of the New York Knicks wins his second Slam Dunk championship with a leaping one-handed KryptoDunk over top the 6-foot-11 defending champion Dwight "Superman" Howard.

It came down to who could out-create the other and thanks to some help from the man-of-steel Howard, Nate was able to overwhelm the crowd and the judges. Decked out in a green uniform with matching Krypto-green armband, sneakers and ball, Nate used Superman as his prop (a la spud webb) and simply soared over top the super hero and slammed home a monster dunk. His smooth landing found him gliding straight into a sideways Crank-Dat Superman Dance with arms outstretched. Yeah, Superman was left looking more like his mild-mannered reporter counterpart Clark Kent, while the green flash of KryptoNate soared overhead and into slam dunk competition lore.

Dwight did have a final dunk remaining and at first it appeared he would fly from the three-point line and render KryptoNate's power ineffective. But it was not to be as Dwight's final dunk was a flight that began from just inside the foul line and looked pedestrian at best for his size. His earlier dunk which began from out-of-bounds in the corner could have easily been the highlight of the night had he not volunteered himself to be Nate's prop in the KryptoDunk. Nate pulled off a move that Superman nemesis Lex Luthor would envy; he beat Superman by using the man-of-steel's compassion and generosity toward us lesser human beings.

In the end it was KryptoNate hoisting up the 2009 Slam Dunk Championship trophy. But unlike the notorious Lex Luthor, Nate was appreciative of Superman's generosity and gave credit to him for his success.

Congratulations to both Nate Robinson and Dwight Howard for putting on a wonderful display of athleticism and good sportsmanship while grandly entertaining us fans. Lebron James officially through his bid into the hat to participate in next year's Slam Dunk Competition to be held in Dallas, TX.

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