IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE, IT'S DWIGHT HOWARD: The Orlando Magic forward making a dunk wearing a Superman costume during the NBA A--Star Slam Dunk Contest, which he won. -- PHOTOS: REUTERS, AFP

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A red cape trailing behind him, Orlando's man of steel looked like Superman and won perhaps the best dunk contest, definitely the most creative, in National Basketball Association history to close a memorable All-Star Saturday.

Fans, too, picked the 2.5-metre tall Howard, who received 78 per cent of the vote, to dispel the myth that big men cannot fly high.

Howard said: 'Everybody always says, big men can't jump and big men don't look good dunking.

'With me being so tall, I knew it was going to be tough. I tried to play to the crowd and have fun.'

The dunk contest, bland for so many years, was freshened up by some of the most creative aerial assaults in memory.

Minnesota's Gerald Green, last year's champion, tried to blow the field away. Literally.

After Timberwolves teammate Rashad McCants climbed up and placed a cupcake with a single candle in it on the back of the rim, Green soared in and puffed out the flame before throwing down a nasty left-hander.

He also took off his shoes and made a between-the-legs pass and dunk in his stockings.

'At first I thought he was going to take the cupcake, eat it and then dunk it,' Howard said. 'I thought he would have won with that.'

But he stripped off his blue Magic jersey to reveal an 'S' on his chest. As the crowd stood, he tied the cape around his massive shoulders. 'I didn't have time to get the telephone booth,' he quipped.

After a running start from near mid-court, the Magic's main man took off just inside the free-throw line and fired down the ball with authority to help him win by a landslide.

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