NEW ORLEANS –

The city was all abuzz about Howard and one of the greatest dunk finals in recent memory. With the theatrics of Howard and Green last year in Las Vegas, the dunk contest appears to be coming around, but for the most part, I’ve felt, like many other fans, that the competition is just not what it used to be. You know, where’s MJ and ’Nique when you need them? I took a stroll down memory lane. In my mind, one of the best highlights from years’ past was courtesy of Brown and his Reebok Pumps. His ’91 “no look” stands out among the best. It’s another reason why I appreciated Green’s revival of the classic last year in Sin City.

I got some time with Brown Friday afternoon at the House of Blues in the French Quarter. Reebok was hosting an event and turned the popular club into the Create N Finish Lounge. It was great to reminisce about the ’91 comp when he went head-to-head with Seattle’s Shawn “The Rain Man” Kemp in a showdown. “I’m the guy they say that took it away from Kemp,” he joked. “That was a special moment for me in my career.”

As cool as it was to get a first-hand perspective on the dunk competition from the man himself, it was even better to learn the kind of respect Brown has for playground hoops.

“People get the wrong idea about streetball,” said Brown, who now works in radio and hosts his own show on Sirius. “And 1 is not true streetball. If you try and do those moves in the park – it’s a travel. There’s a difference between playground basketball and entertainment basketball. I played playground hoops in Jacksonville, Florida.”

“Streetball definitely shaped me,” he added. “I believe in the playground game. I wouldn’t be as tough if it wasn’t for the park. I played in the playground all the time from sun up to sun down, and to this day, some of the greatest players I ever played against played on the playgrounds in Jacksonville.”

Brown said he continued to play streetball even as a senior at Jacksonville University where the 6-1 guard received NBA attention.

“I was getting ready to turn pro and all I wanted to do was play in the park,” he said. “There were two guys, Kenny and Tennessee, that played back home where I’m from, and they are still in my mind two of the greatest I’ve ever played with, or against, even though they never made the league. If you played on either one of those guys’ teams, you know you were guaranteed to run the entire day, because their teams never lost a game.”

Brown, who was selected by the Boston Celtics with the 19th pick in the ’90 Draft, spent 12 seasons with the Celts, Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic. Reebok’s event on Friday was off-the-chain. They closed the House of Blues down for the exclusive release party, which showcased some kicks that haven’t even dropped yet, from the new Iversons, Greens, and Yao Mings.

The retro Browns were still my fav. They brought me back. I even got Dee to sign me a pair. Gerald Green made an appearance as well as did Yao. It was a crazy afternoon.

I have to hand it to Reebok PR extraordinaire Mandy Murphy for doing a great job hosting the event, and to my fellow journalist Brad Graham of Handle magazine in Australia. He’s got more contacts than most in the US, and he lives on the other side of the world.

A couple of quick hitting perspectives from the weekend: Andre Barrett was awesome in the D-League All-Star Game. He finished tied for a game-high in dimes with seven assists. Check out my other blog on Dre’s performance. Streetball legend “Black Jack” Ryan set some new showmen records during the festivities. He may be the greatest player never to play in the league?

I also wanted to give a quick shout to the Dime/Bounce crew in New Orleans. Pat Cassidy and Austin Burton are two of the unsung All-Stars from the weekend.

And, finally, some food for thought. Dee Brown says the late, great Reggie Lewis is one of the most underrated players of all-time and ranks Lewis, MJ and Tim Hardaway among the greatest he ever played with or against in the league. He still says, though, that Kenny and Tennessee, would give those guys a run for their money.

That begs the question: Will some of our streetball legends ever get the credit they deserve on the national stage?

One thing’s for sure, the park will always be home to some of the greatest All-Stars the game has ever seen. Never forget it!