The Atlanta Hawks’ rookie forward Josh Smith walked away as the Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk champion this evening at the NBA All-Star weekend in Denver. Smith scored a perfect 50 on 3 of his 4 dunks and donned the jersey of former Hawk and dunk champion Dominique Wilkins in the finals.

Smith, a southpaw, displayed the athleticism that has made him a crowd favorite (albeit a small crowd) at Philips Arena. “J-Smoove”, as he is called, out-dunked Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns to capture the title and completely captivate the crowd at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Not since Vince Carter has a player displayed the hang-time and verticality that Josh Smith did tonight. We should be proud to have such an enormous talent as a member of the Hawks (hopefully) for years to come. Congratulations, Josh, the new human highlight film.

UPDATE: I failed to mention it last night, but Josh attended McEachern High School in Powder Springs, GA until his Senior season when he transferred to NBA factory, Oak Hill Academy. So it’s especially cool to see a metro-Atlanta kid, playing for his hometown team, honoring ‘Nique and jamming like a madman.