Last night we saw creativity, showmanship and theatrics to last us for many years to come. When the smoke cleared, the biggest man in the competition, Dwight “Superman” Howard, emerged victorious.

Needless to say, the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk competition did not disappoint.

The last big man to have the same explosiveness and hops as Howard used to be my personal favorite player in the league, Shawn Kemp, before drugs, alcohol and baby mommas (Kemp allegedly fathered 13 children with 9 different women) took over his life.

Those who surveyed the video vault of YouTube.com were able to see most of the dunks Howard used to bring home a win; of course, a few “super” props and a few thousand of his closest friends screaming in the background didn’t really hurt his chances, either.

The contest hasn’t been as fun as it was since Vince Carter brought home the 2000 championship in one of the top-2 all-time greatest performances. (How can you deny His Airness vs. The Human Highlight Film?)

Argue with me if you must, but the most notable and creative jam last night was Gerald Green’s “birthday cake” dunk. I could go on to try and explain it, but it’s best if you see it for yourself. Ah… who says NBA players aren’t creative?

As much as I’m almost completely tired of seeing Charles Barley all over my TV (his cell phone commercials with Dwayne Wade played every commercial break — and I like the “finally made the 5″ one, too), he correctly predicted both the dunk contest and 3-point shootout winners last night.

The 2008 3-point champion was last year’s champ, Jason Kapono of the Toronto Raptors (formerly of the Miami Heat) with a record-tying 25 in the final round to seal the victory.

The 2008 All-Star Game begins tonight at 8 p.m. Can it possibly top last night’s fun?

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BONUS LINKS:

• TNT did a great job telling the story of the 27-year-old rookie, Jamario Moon, from Goodwater, Alabama.
• The NBA created a page where you can see the top-10 dunks of each of the four participants.
• The Washington Post put together an in-depth story of how Caron Butler went from being a drug dealer in Wisconsin to an All-Star in 2008.
• Someone must be writing and boozin’ –  tries to say the Daytona 500 is better than the Super Bowl. Um… wow.