Dwight Howard never did hit the Pelicans with the sort of dunk that would require his New Orleans cap, but he had happy memories of the time he win the dunk contest with his superman slam at New Orleans Arena.

He will not, however, reprise that performance in the dunk contest next month either.

Howard, who won the 2008 dunk contest at New Orleans Arena, said the NBA invited him to dunk again this season in New Orleans, but he declined.

“Couldn’t do it,” Howard said.

Howard, 28, said he would participate again, “If I wasn’t so old. I’m getting up there in age, man, I tell you. I got a lot of years.”

Howard, however, said he had thought about that night just because with the return to New Orleans.

“It was a night to remember,” Howard said. “It was probably one of the best memories of me being in the NBA being in the dunk contest here in New Orleans. The fans were amazing here. Every time I come in this building, I get chills thinking about it.”

“I remember that whole experience,” Howard said. “Being here, the fans were amazing. I saw in past years, nobody tried to really engage the crowd. I like to entertain. I tried to really engage the fans, give them something they’ll remember.”

Though he enjoyed the experience, Howard said he does not blame other top players from skipping it, saying that dunking in games and in contests require different talents.

“A lot of people see guys dunk in games and say they should do the dunk contest because they dunk in games,” Howard said. “It’s a different atmosphere. In games, you have the adrenaline going. You have your teammates out there. Everybody’s out there playing. You’re going up and down. In the dunk contest, it’s just you, the basketball and the rim. It’s a different situation. You have to build your own adrenaline. You have to get yourself going. It’s tough. Not a lot of people are dunk contest dunkers. It doesn’t matter if you’re an elite player or not, the dunk contest is a different animal.”