DALLAS -- Nate Robinson became the first player in history to win three Slam Dunk titles, capturing his third on Saturday night by defeating DeMar DeRozan in the 2010 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest.

Robinson's final-round dunk that clinched victory was an impressive, two-handed reverse that he converted after lobbing the ball to himself off the backboard and catching it in mid-air.

Robinson had some decoration for his final attempt, and it came in the form of four Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. He invited them out not to use as props, but to celebrate the city hosting the festivities.

"We were in Dallas, so right when they said I was in it, I was like, I've got to be creative," Robinson said. "I've got to think of something fast, and I'm a football guy, so I see them all the time -- especially on that big JumboTron, you can't miss 'em. I was like, why not? We're in Dallas, so just pay homage to them."

After successfully throwing down his last dunk, Robinson grabbed the cheerleaders' pompoms and celebrated by shaking them over his head, Terrell Owens-style.



While Robinson's final effort was impressive, the rest of the night was largely lacking in entertainment value, or anything that could be considered legendary or might go down as memorable in the event's storied history.

DeMar DeRozan was Robinson's final round competition, getting himself there by earning the night's only perfect score of 50 from the judges.

DeRozan was assisted by teammate Sonny Weems on his second attempt of the opening round, following Weems along the baseline as Weems threw a pass off the side of the backboard, which DeRozan caught and windmilled before throwing it down at the front of the rim. It was the best dunk of the night, and unfortunately for DeRozan, he was unable to duplicate that excitement in either of his final round attempts.



Shannon Brown came into the event as one of the favorites, launching a website and Twitter campaign to get him into the contest which went by the name, "Let Shannon Dunk." As my colleague Matt Moore suggested afterward, perhaps this was not the best of ideas.

Shannon Brown and Kobe BryantBrown has the hops but brought zero creativity to the evening. His first attempt would have been stellar had he been able to make it -- a spinning, one-handed Statue of Liberty-type dunk that surely would have scored higher than the 37 he earned on the one he ended up making.

Brown's second attempt involved Kobe Bryant, but honestly, he might as well have had me there throwing that lob to him near the rim. Because just like the talent we've seen from Brown's dunks during the season, Bryant's skill that he could have brought by trying a more challenging pass wasn't utilized.

Brown totaled 78 points on his first two dunks, enough to tie him with the admittedly just-happy-to-be-there Gerald Wallace. But not enough to get either player into the final round.

In recent years, we've been a bit spoiled with costumes, props, and other gimmicks that weren't necessarily appreciated at the time but were sorely missed in hindsight. There were no cupcakes, phone booths, or elevated rims tonight, and whether it was specific to this group of participants or just a sign of how our definition of entertainment where the Dunk Contest is concerned has changed, any of those things would certainly have been welcome in this one.

Regardless of how exciting the night was or wasn't, it belonged to Robinson. A third Dunk Contest championship is something no one in the event's history has ever achieved. But don't expect him to be back to try to win number four.

"No more titles," Robinson said. "Finished. It's the last one."

Source: Brett Pollakoff, FanHouse