Dwight Howard Hints At Kobe Bryant Tribute During Dunk Contest

Dwight Howard spoke to reporters about Saturday night's dunk contest and hinted at a Kobe Bryant tribute.

BYCole Blake
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Dwight Howard is set to compete in the 2020 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Saturday night in Chicago. He had hoped Kobe Bryant would be there to help with his performance, but according to ESPN, he may honor him during the event.

"You'll have to wait and see," Howard said coyly when asked if he had anything special planned regarding Bryant.

Saturday night will be the first time the Lakers' big man has entered a slam dunk competition since 2008 when he performed his iconic superman routine.

"During All-Star Weekend, a lot of guys are getting ready for the second half of the season," Howard said. "So it is pretty hard to get those guys to want to be in the dunk contest. But, this is the thing that I enjoy. I have been dunking my whole life basically."

Howard went on to speak about an unofficial dunk contest he competed in at Venice Beach.

"After we finished dunking, I was like, 'Man, that felt really good to really get the crowd into it and just enjoy dunking and basketball again,'" Howard said. "I was super surprised that I was able to get up and dunk like that. So I said, from that moment on I was going to try to get myself ready for the dunk contest."

The 2020 NBA Slam Dunk Contest is scheduled for 9:00 PM on February 15.


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About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.