HOUSTON (Ticker) NBA Slam Dunk champion Josh Smith is well aware that his biggest challenge is going to come from the smallest player.
Smith will be at a one-foot disadvantage when he faces mighty mite Nate Robinson in the Slam Dunk Contest, part of All-Star Saturday at the Toyota Center.
Quentin Richardson will try to defend his Shootout title and Steve Nash will do the same in the Skills Challenge. But the player catching everyone’s eye will be Robinson, who at 5-9 is the smallest competitor at All-Star Weekend.
But in the Slam Dunk Contest, small can conquer all. Just ask Dominique Wilkins, a 6-6 springer who was outdone by Atlanta Hawks teammate Spud Webb in the event 20 years ago. The 5-7 Webb immediately won over an unsuspecting crowd with a series of lob dunks that endeared him to the judges.
“He was doing all this stuff and I was like, ‘Where did you get that?’” Wilkins remembered. “He was fantastic.”
Last year, Smith honored Wilkins by wearing his No. 21 Hawks jersey and outclassing three other relatively tall players. On one of his dunks, the 6-9 forward soared over Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin seated in a chair in the lane.
However, Smith is aware of the challenge presented by Robinson, the rookie guard of the New York Knicks who has had a handful of flying dunks in games this season.
“I know that Nate is going to be really strong because he’s so short and has athletic ability,” said Smith, who first dunked in the summer between seventh and eighth grade. “It’s going to be hard for me to win it again.”
In order to unseat Smith as the NBA’s highest flier, Robinson sought out Webb and asked him how he prepared for his moment in the spotlight.
“I have talked to him about his whole preparation about when he was going into the Slam Dunk Contest,” Robinson said. “He just said he practiced a couple of days before the event and then every day leading up to it and that is what I did. I have been practicing for two weeks just to get my routine down. I am just going to go in there and not shy away from it.”
Robinson knows that winning over the All-Star crowd which normally is not well-versed in players and their abilities is the first step to winning the contest.
“I have charisma and a lot of energy and I hope that the crowd can see that,” Robinson said. “All I can do is hope so (that the crowd will get behind me). If not, then I will have to steal the crowd away from someone else. If that happens, that is what I am going to have to do.”
“If I was in the crowd and I saw someone that short get up like that, I’d be thinking the same thing,” Smith admitted. “He’d be getting my attention, and I’d be cheering for him, too. But if I can finish my dunks and do what I want to do, I don’t think I’m going to have any problems.”
The other competitors are Philadelphia 76ers 6-6 swingman Andre Iguodala and Memphis Grizzlies 6-9 forward Hakim Warrick. However, Wilkins believes everyone besides Smith is vying for second place.
“Nate Robinson has a lot of jumping ability, but I don’t see Josh losing,” Wilkins said.
However, Knicks forward Channing Frye said everyone is in for a surprise.
“You’re just going to have to watch him,” Frye said. “You will be on the edge of your seat the whole time. He’s got some crazy stuff prepared. The guy is a freak.###He will definitely wow this crowd no matter who is here. I guarantee he will.”
Richardson won last year’s Shootout as a member of the Phoenix Suns. In the offseason, he was traded to the Knicks and has not had nearly the same success.
He is up against a strong field which includes 2001 winner Ray Allen of Seattle, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons guard Chauncey Billups and Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas.
Arenas is replacing Phoenix’s Raja Bell, who had to leave after Friday’s media availability due to a family illness. Allen is considered by many to be the best shooter in the NBA. He finished third in 2000, tied for fourth in 2002 and fourth last year.
Nash is the NBA MVP of the Suns and regarded as the best ballhandler and passer in the game. He also is a terrific shooter, which helped him navigate the diverse obstacle course in a record 25.8 seconds last year.
Nash is up against fellow All-Stars LeBron James of Cleveland and Dwyane Wade of Miami and New Orleans Hornets rookie point guard Chris Paul. James and Wade have terrific all-around skills but are not point guards.
“It’s a disadvantage, being the tallest and heaviest guy in the field and going against guys like Steve Nash, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul,” the 6-8, 240-pound James said. “These guys are smaller than I am, but I just have to maintain focus.”
Paul and Robinson are among the first-year players who will try to end their three-game losing streak to the Sophomores in Friday night’s Rookie Challenge. Iguodala, Smith and three members of the Chicago Bulls Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and Andres Nocioni are among a strong Sophomore squad.
