When he combined it with his raw power, a lot of Dwight’s one-on-one possessions ended up with thunderous dunks. His high-flying ability was obvious in the Dunk Contest as well, where his original ideas, like dunking with a cape from a free-throw line, quickly made him popular.
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In 2010, another big man by the name of Blake Griffin emerged and broke into the scene just like Howard did a few years back. Griffin was also freakishly athletic like D12.
When Griffin was hitting his stride in the NBA, Howard was already a dunk legend, having won the NBA Slam Dunk contest in 2008. The media was eager to know if Howard was bothered by Blake’s fast rise to NBA stardom. Dwight admittedly said yes.
“It does,” Howard told ESPN when asked about Griffin in 2011. “But, hey, he’s hot right now. And when you play in L.A., on the biggest stage in the world, people are going to see you more. So I’m happy for him.”
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D12 offered to help Blake
Despite his candid admission about Griffin, Howard made it clear as day that there was no animosity or any of the sort between them. If anything, Superman was even open to helping Blake should the then-Los Angeles Clippers star decide to join the dunk contest.
For Howard, there was no better player to reach out to than him due to his similarities with Blake as far as athleticism goes.
“The way people want to see the dunk contest now, you have to be super creative,” Howard said at the time. “But if he wants some help, I got five dunks nobody’s ever seen before.”
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“If he wants some help with dunkin’, I’m here,” Dwight added. “I’m the man.”
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Blake was never a dunk contest guy
As Howard had anticipated, Griffin participated in the 2011 NBA Slam Dunk contest. Even though he didn’t ask for Dwight’s help, Blake’s dunks were also explosive and gained a lot of attention from other NBA players and fans.
Like Howard, Griffin also used props. In fact, to this day, Blake’s car dunk while a choir was singing “I Believe I Can Fly” in the middle of the court is still one of the most viral moments in NBA history.
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Years later, Griffin made a shocking admission. As it turns out, he was never really interested in being a dunk contest participant.
“I always felt like I was just like an in game [dunker], I wasn’t really like a dunk contest guy,” Griffin told Parker and Boston, then added — “So, uh, for me, it was kind of more about the in-game dunks.”
In retrospect, even though Howard and Griffin were more like counterparts, they belong to the same category in the NBA lore. Today, they are both remembered for being two of the most athletic and electrifying players of their generation, even though their style of play eventually separated them.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jan 21, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.