The Early Years
It’s hard to understand the real size of NBA players through watching them on TV. But even with that caveat, when I first saw Dwight Howard on television during the 2009 NBA Finals, I knew that he was significantly larger than everyone else on the court. I also had a hunch that he could literally carry the rest of his Orlando Magic teammates on his broad shoulders if he needed to. Howard’s real rise however started well before his Finals debut.
One year after “The Chosen One” aka LeBron James was the first pick, Dwight Howard was selected by the Orlando Magic first overall in the 2004 NBA Draft. He immediately started every game for the Magic and averaged a double-double for the season. Not bad for a 19 year old. Over the next two years Dwight would increase his on-the-court numbers en route to his first NBA All-Star appearance in 2007.
Then, from 2008 to 2011, Howard put together arguably the best four year stretch of his career. Four First Team All-NBA selections, three Defensive Player of the Year Awards, career highs in the both points, rebounds, and blocks, two Eastern Conference Finals appearances and one NBA Finals appearance.
During this time, Howard also beat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers head-to-head in the postseason and finished in the top five in MVP voting all four years.
But then, everything started to slowly unravel.