Top 50 NBA Players All-Time: Magic's Dwight Howard On The List?
ORLANDO - In 2004, the Orlando Magic were going through a transition after trading two-time defending scoring champion Tracy McGrady to the Houston Rockets and drafting Dwight Howard with the No. 1 overall pick out of high school.
With McGrady's individual success, Howard had a lot of pressure on him to perform. But he rose to the occasion.
By his third season, Howard was an All-Star and by 2008, he was considered the best center in the game. Howard made five All-NBA First Team appearances from 2008-12, his final five seasons with the team.
Howard landed at No. 43 on Nick Wright's Top 50 NBA Players list of the last 50 seasons.
Howard began his Hall of Fame career with eight seasons in Central Florida, averaging 18.4 points per game, 13 rebounds and 2.2 blocks. He also made the All-Star team six times and was named the Defensive Player of the Year three times. In his best year, 2008-09, Howard helped lead the Magic to the NBA Finals.
Since leaving the Magic, Howard has played for six different teams, including three one-year stints with the Los Angeles Lakers. Now that he's a journeyman, it's often easy to forget about how good "Superman" was when he played for the Magic.
Howard is currently a free agent with no guarantee to catch on to an NBA team next season, so if he has played his last game in the league, it's good to know that he still has the respect he deserves.
