In 2009, the Orlando Magic won the Eastern Conference and went to the NBA finals for only the second time in franchise history. Dwight Howard was the only star of that team, with players like Jameer Nelson, JJ Redick, and Hedo Turkoglu playing key roles.
Last year, Howard had an MVP candidate by his side in James Harden, but it was not enough to pull them through.
For a long time, Howard was the consensus top slotman in the NBA. While he has limitations offensively with his lack of post moves, he overcomes this with his strength and athleticism. However, since his back injury, his level has visibly dipped.
With the emergence of younger, bigger and stronger centers like DeMarcus Cousins and Andre Drummond, the question begs to be asked: Where does Dwight Howard rank among NBA centers today?
NBA 2kmay not be the most definitive ranking body, but fans make a big deal out of it. For the upcoming NBA 2K16, Howard is ranked third behind Marc Gasol and DeMarcus Cousins but D12 is a mere 2 points behind the two(who are tied at 87). One important consideration here is that Tim Duncan is not listed as a center (but Al Horford is).
Is Dwight Howard really the third best NBA center? Critics say "not anymore."
Hoops Habit listed him as 4th, behind DeAndre Jordan, Gasol and Cousins. But Howard is ranked ahead of Timmy in this list. They say that Howard is the "same player since 2004" as he did not deteriorate that much in terms of athleticism and strength, but neither has he developed. He still has glaring weaknesses.
"The flaws that come into consideration are his struggles from the free-throw line and his ability to stay healthy. The past four seasons or so Howard has had a list of injuries including a herniated disk in his back that required surgery."
Perhaps his best ranking would be in SI's top 100 list, even though he dropped from 9 to 19. Other centers that were ranked ahead were DeMarcus Cousins at 14 and Marc Gasol taking his 9th spot. He's still better than Al Horford at 21 and DeAndre Jordan at 29th. Duncan is listed as a forward at 11.
Other centers are emerging and they could threaten Howard if he continues to decline. Rudy Gobert, Jonas Valanciunas, Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond are seen as the cornerstones of their respective franchises. If they continue to improve, Howard may drop out of the Top 5.