JASON RICHARDSON, Golden State Warriors

Q: On that last 50, when you threw it on the lob, did you know that you had it?

Richardson: Yeah, I knew I had it when I threw it. I knew I could get it. I tried the dunk, I think, once, but I think it was a pretty good dunk.

Q: All week there's been talk about a lack of creativity in this contest, and then tonight you and Desmond seemed to have a classic one-on-one matchup, reminiscent of the dunk contests during the 80s when it used to be at its height. Talk about that.

Richardson: It is getting hard to create dunks now because so many guys have so many different dunks. The last dunk that I did, I tried to take what J.R. Rider started and threw it in reverse. Instead of going front to back, I went back to front. I think it was a little different, and it won it for me.

Q: How does it feel to be only the second person to win it back-to-back and what was it like doing it front of that group of judges?

Richardson: It's an honor to be the only player to win it back-to-back. I know Michael was the only guy to do it. To be in that category with a man who has done so much for this league and probably the best player that's ever played the game, it's an honor. To have one of him as one of the judges up there it was like a dream come true. It to bring something different to the dunk contest, it was just an honor.

Q: How did it feel to get up there in front of Dominique Wilkins?

Richardson: It was amazing, to see him up there actually judging the dunks I do. I think a couple different ones that I did are reminiscent of what he used to do back in the day. It was an honor.

Q: You said after the rookie game that you did your first dunk at 14. Did you think you were going to win it with that 50 there?

Richardson: I thought I was going to be pretty much in the finals, but we have some great dunkers and that's just the way it went. I think Richard, he probably would have done a better job, but I think he was a little nervous. And Amare, he missed a couple of dunks. And Desmond, it was just a good battle between the two. A lot of good dunks overall.

Q: This year you and Gilbert are bringing back two trophies, what do you have for next year?

Richardson: Next year hopefully we'll be playing in that Sunday game and bringing home that trophy.

Q: I wanted to get your thoughts on just comparing your style of dunking, as opposed to in the game and just your approach to a contest like this?

Richardson: Well, when you're in a contest like, this you can do a lot of dunks that you don't have time it do in the game. There's only certain dunks you can do in the game because you have defenders coming and you have too many guys around to move. In here you can be courageous and take your time and throw the ball or catch it and do whatever else you want to do with it.

Q: What's it like to be pretty much the king of All-Star the last two years, performing in the rookie game and the Slam Dunk competition? And how and when are you going to be able to bring a performance over to All-Star Sunday?

Richardson: To come out two years in a row and have a good All-Star Weekend it's amazing. To go out there, I think it's just the crowd, the fans, it's just to pay a tribute to them for supporting the NBA. I just go out there and try to have fun, just chill with the guys that play in the NBA that I don't actually get that much time to hang around each other.

As far as Sunday's game. Everybody wants to be in the Sunday game. That's what you play basketball for, to be one of the top players in the league.

Q: What was it like to put on a dunking show like that in front of some of the greatest dunkers that ever have been in the competition?

Richardson: It was fun. I mean, like I said, you have b drown with the cover-his-eyes dunk, Dominique Wilkins, Michael Jordan, one of the greatest, and Dr. J, you have all of those judges and brought the dunk contest up to the level where it's at right now and to perform like that in front of them is amazing.

Q: Who is your favorite out of all those guys?

Richardson: I like them all, but Dominique is really my favorite player so I have to go with Dominique.

Q: To go back to the rookie game, the move you put on Carlos there at the end, it seemed to upset him a little bit; he said it showed no class. Any response to that?

Richardson: I've been getting that all day long, man. (Smiling).

It's just a lot of people, where I'm from a lot of guys in the NBA, is street ball. It's something that street ballplayers do. It's no difference when Jason Williams took it between my legs. That's just part of basketball. It might not be done in the NBA that much but it's street ball, street ball moves. It would have been no different if I have crossed him over and he fell on the ground. I told Carlos after the game, he came up to me and he jokingly said he didn't like that. I told him man, hey, it's basketball, nothing personal, but I guess he sees it different.

Q: Can you make it three in a row?

Richardson: I don't know, man. It's going to be pretty tough. I'm going to have to think of some dunks when the time comes, but I'll be in the dunk contest next year, too.

DESMOND MASON, Seattle SuperSonics

Q: Did you think you had it wrapped up with that first dunk in the Final?

Mason: No. I knew he was going to come out with something. I knew he'd been saving it. He had been talking about he had a surprise. I knew it was going to come to the last dunk and it was going to be close.

You know, I put my best dunk out there, I missed it. But I had to make my second dunk, so I tried something a little less difficult. He pulled off something at the end.

Q: People have been saying that the dunk contest over the past few years has maybe lost some of it's prestige. Do you think what happened tonight is maybe going to get some other guys involved?

Mason: I think so. You know, tonight's dunk contest was very exciting. I know Jefferson and Stoudemire, they were a little nervous. We were talking about it on the sidelines. I told them, when you relax a little bit and get it under your belt a little bit -- this was my third and it was fine. I think tonight brought it back up a little bit.

Q: Where would you rank this contest as far as the three that you've been in?

Mason: I think it's probably the best, especially at the end with the show down. We had guys executing good dunks. I would say out of all three, this was probably the best.

Q: What was it like dunking in front of the judges, all former winners themselves?

Mason: It was awesome. You're sitting in the box, they are talking to you, just chitchatting, having a good time. It was just a good feeling to be out there.

Just to have your name -- I've won, so to have your name on that list of guys with their acrobatics, it's just a great feeling.

Q: What were you thinking watching Jason's last dunk?

Mason: I knew he had to get it. I think it was 46 to win or even to tie, one or the other. He pulled it off. That's what you do. You get down and you make plays at the end and he did it.

Q: I notice after you got that 43 there, you were talking to yourself, what did you think about that?

Mason: It wasn't a 50 dunk, but I was thinking it wasn't a 43 dunk, it was still a difficult dunk to pull off. To look up there and see a 43, it was kind of disappointing, but that's just how it goes. They gave me some good scores tonight. I'm not really complaining. But I thought that dunk was a little better than a 43.

Q: The style of your dunks was reminiscent of Jordan back in the early contests. Was that planned at all?

Mason: Not really. Just to go out -- I didn't have anything planned. I didn't practice. I didn't try to put together a routine. I just went out and had a good time and getting the dunks that I was capable of doing. Just trying to pull them off and put a little flair into it. That's what I can do.


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