Rudy Fernandez was eliminated in the first round of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday night. Nate Robinson, 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.Rudy Fernandez into the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest (which airs on TNT this Saturday night), we knew it wasn’t just a victory for Portland, but for fans near and far. After all, it was Europe that watched with glee as its biggest star dunked over Team USA center Dwight Howard in last year’s Summer Olympics. And this year Rudy will get the chance to show up Howard—the defending NBA slam dunk champion—yet again. Really, only one question remains: What will Rudy do? WW, of course, has a few suggestions.
Although Fernandez is a rookie in the NBA, he was an established star in Europe. He became an Internet sensation this summer with a dunk over Dwight Howard in the Olympic Games. Fernandez, who has won a fast-growing following of female fans who wear "I (heart) Rudy" T-shirts, is averaging 10.6 points, 3 rebounds and 2.2 assists a game off the bench. He has hit a 3-pointer in 30 straight games, a new rookie record, and has at least one three in 50 of his 51 games this season.
