WASHINGTON (AP) – Desmond Mason likes to draw and paint. And now
he's a slam dunk artist.
The Seattle SuperSonics rookie won the NBA slam dunk contest
Saturday night, beating 19-year-old DeShawn Stevenson of Utah and
Charlotte's Baron Davis in the final round.
"You've got to be more creative now, and that's what I tried to
do," said Mason. "That's what all the guys tried to do, you could
see it.
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Past dunk champs
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1984 – Larry Nance, Phoenix
1985 – Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta
1986 – Spud Webb, Atlanta
1987 – Michael Jordan, Chicago
1988 – Michael Jordan, Chicago
1989 – Kenny Walker, New York
1990 – Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta
1991 – Dee Brown, Boston
1992 – Cedric Ceballos, Phoenix
1993 – Harold Miner, Miami
1994 – Isaiah Rider, Minnesota
1995 – Harold Miner, Miami
1996 – Brent Barry, L.A. Clippers
1997 – Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers
1998 – No competition
1999 – No competition
2000 – Vince Carter, Toronto
2001 – Desmond Mason, Seattle
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"I think everybody was nervous. It wasn't the strongest dunk
contest ever. But it was fun doing it," he said.
Mason, the oldest competitor in the field of young leapers at
age 23, had a soaring left-handed dunk on his first try of the
final round to get a 45 out of a possible 50. Then he received a 44
with a two-handed cradle on a drive from the right side for a
final-round 89.
Stevenson, who won a high school dunk contest last year before
going right to the NBA, finished with a final-round 85 and Davis a
77.
Knowing he needed a big score to win, Davis tried to dunk with
his headband covering his eyes on his final attempt but didn't hit
the rim and managed just a 33. Had he made it, it may have brought
the only perfect 50 of the night
"I guess you could say it's a bad day for headbands," said
Davis.
Not making the final round were Corey Maggette, Stromile Swift
and Jonathan Bender.
Defending champion Vince Carter, who had three perfect scores
last year, didn't compete because of a sore knee.
That left a field of neophtyes who had never been in the
contest, and three of the participants were rookies.
Mason, who's dabbled in art since he was 15, attended Oklahoma
State and recently attended a memorial service for the basketball
players and staff killed in a plane crash.
"It's hard when you go out and play basketball and you feel
guilty," Mason said. "I feel guilty because I've lost teammates I
cared about."
Davis, mourning the loss of his father who died last week, also
had one of the most creative dunks of the first round. He took a
pass from Charlotte teammate David Wesley, who was shooting the
approach with a video camera, and then dunked. It brought a 49 and
propelled him into the second round.
Mason got the second 49 of the opening round when, on his third
try, he soared over teammate Rashard Lewis, who was bent at the
waist with his warmup jersey pulled over his head.
Then Stevenson earned a 49 by dunking after Utah teammate Bryon
Russell threw the ball off the glass for him.
Showing their nerves in their first appearance in the contest,
Bender, Mason, Stevenson, and Swift all missed their first
attempts.
On his first try, Maggette unveiled the "Super Maggette" that he
promised a day earlier. He raced down the court, stopped at the
3-point line and did a forward flip before gathering himself and
then taking a pass from Clippers teammate Quentin Richardson to
dunk.
In the first round each player got three dunks -- one had to
include a teammate -- with the lowest score excluded.
The judges were Julius Erving, David Thompson, Nate Archibald,
Danny Ainge and Kenny Smith. A maximum of 10 points can be assigned
to each dunk by each judge.
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AUDIO VIDEO
 Slam dunk champ Desond Mason feels it is getting harder to be creative in the dunk contest.
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Baron Davis thought he would have another shot in the dunk contest.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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