Howard was the leading vote-getter with 755,933 votes. Bryant was second with 719,252 votes to lead all Western Conference players, and James was third overall with 643,786.

Yao was second to Bryant in the West with 529,290.

It was no surprise that Howard -- who started his first all-star game last season -- was the runaway choice at center in the Eastern Conference. (Philadelphia's Sam Dalembert is second with just 116,708 votes.)

But what even floored Howard was that he had surged ahead of Kobe and LeBron at the polls.

"I was very surprised. That's crazy," Howard said Thursday.

"It's like a blessing. It's something I couldn't fathom. It's just amazing. Thank the fans. I couldn't imagine it. . . . Kobe. Wow.

"I've been in shock all day."

If there was a question whether Howard had taken the full leap into superstardom, the numbers at the ballot box might be the final seal of approval.

"That's warranted," Coach Stan Van Gundy said. "The thing is, if you go by position, he is probably more clearly the best at his position in the Eastern Conference than anyone else is. Some of those other guys are great players, but they have other people at their position who are pretty close. That's probably what accounts for it.

"He's a guy who people who want to see. There's some attractions in this league and he's one of the top ones."

Howard is averaging 21.2 points per game. He leads the league in rebounding, blocked shots and dunks while Orlando is 17-5 heading into tonight's game against the Phoenix Suns.

General Manager Otis Smith said Howard's Wilt Chamberlain-esque performances and his engaging personality captivates people.

"He's such a likable kid in every arena across the country. He plays like he's enjoying the game," Smith said. "You get 20 [points] and 20 [rebounds] a few times in a few arenas. . . . It makes people wake up."

Winning the dunk contest heightened Howard's profile and revealed his engaging personality on a big national stage.

He won over fans, wearing a Superman outfit while all but single-handedly reviving the event with some dazzling dunks.

Howard has been reluctant to commit to defending the title but finally confirmed to the Sentinel that he will enter again.

"I think the slam-dunk was a big thing," he said. "Everywhere I go people ask if I'm going to do the slam-dunk contest again. I'm like. . . . I left a legacy. I left a mark on the dunk contest, but if the fans want to see me in another dunk contest, I'm going to have to do it."

Superman is nursing a strained oblique muscle in his left side, sustained when he tried dunking over Portland's Greg Oden on Tuesday night. He said he'll play against Phoenix.

"It feels better than it did the other night. I've never pulled my side like that. My body was going one way and I got pulled another way," he said. "I was trying to go up and dunk on Greg. He fouled me and my body kind of twisted. I tried to play through it, but I was hurting."