Top 50 NBA Players All-Time: Magic's Dwight Howard On The List?

Dwight Howard played for the Magic from 2004-12.

Jeremy Brener | Jul 28, 2022

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.

Published Jul 28, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.