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Dwight Howard Rumors
What does it mean to you for you to be a presenter for Dwight’s Hall-of-Fame induction? Wilkins: “It’s an honor and a pleasure that he reached out and wanted me to be a part of presenting him in the Hall-of-Fame. That’s always an honor when a colleague or when you have a young guy that is going down the same road you went down and reach out to you in such a manner. That’s a special, special honor and special trip. I was more than happy to be there for him.”
Where do you rank Dwight as a dunker overall? Wilkins: “He’s one of the best dunkers in history. That’s pretty much automatic. He did some pretty special stuff.”
How do you compare Dwight’s defense to other greats like Hakeem Olajuwon? Wilkins: “He’s one of the best defenders in the history of this league. There is no question on how dominant he was defensively. That’s the truth. A lot of times guys didn’t want to come to the basket against Dwight (laughs). They didn’t want to come to the basket against him. It was his ability to move without the ball. He wasn’t one of those guys that had a lack of mobility. He was very mobile for a big guy. He was very mobile. It’s not just about being athletically solid. But his court awareness and ability to help defensively was huge. You have a lot of big guys where it takes them a little bit more time to get there from A to B. But with Dwight, he was quick for a big guy. He was very quick for a big guy.”
Dwight Howard's five-year run in Orlando was so strong that the rest of his career could be pretty “meh” and he’d still rate as one of the all-time great players. The last part wasn’t “meh,” though many might remember it that way, but it wasn’t at the level of those first five seasons. (Howard made All-Star teams in L.A. and Houston, led the league in rebounding in his first tour with the Lakers and won a title as a defensive specialist in his second stint.) As many of you know, I have a formula called “GOAT Points” designed to measure career strength. Howard ranks 35th all time, which is astoundingly high for a player who was left off the all-time 75 list. (Every other player who would have been in the GOAT Points top 50 in 2021 made it except Tracy McGrady. Do we need to investigate for potential voting bias against Magic-to-Rockets careers?)
Dwight Howard on Shaquille O'Neal: We're in the Hall of Fame so we just have to respect each other
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: You and Shaq recently made peace after years of tension — how real was that moment, especially with some saying it was just for the cameras? Dwight Howard: I don’t think none of it was for cameras. I’m not in the business of trying to do anything for show. The beef? I mean, I guess it was real as far as him disliking what I was doing and me disliking him hating on me or whatever you want to call it but, you gotta let bygones be bygones. My time in the NBA is over with, you know? We got the same jacket. We’re in the Hall of Fame so, we just have to respect each other, you know? Shaq came before me and a lot of the bigs so we always pay homage to the ones that came before us and would never disrespect him and what he meant to the game and what he’s done for the game. Away from basketball off the court, you know man to man is different from on the court and all in all I respect him and I’m glad we had an opportunity to talk.
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Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: After winning the 2020 championship, what happened with the Lakers not re-signing you — and how did that affect you?” Dwight Howard: I was told that there was a contract and then I was so happy that I heard I was coming back, I tweeted about it and my agent called me back and said, “Hey. The Lakers took the contract off the table. You gotta take that tweet down.” I was like, ‘Damn! Why would they do that?’ and it really kind of messed with me because I’m like, I came in with the right attitude towards winning, not worried about points, rebounds… just worried about us winning another championship… and so many people made a big emphasis on me worrying about points and all that stuff which I think all players want to get out in the game and score and be effective. So, but I was highly upset that I didn’t get a chance to compete for a title defense because I believed that we had a special team and we had a window where we could’ve won and been to the NBA Finals multiple years.
In the same mold as other dominant centers such as Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O'Neal, he was a terrible free throw shooter (career 57%). He committed twice as many turnovers as assists. He was an inefficient scorer in the post, despite often demanding the ball down low: We don't have good tracking data from Howard's prime, but since 2013-14, he ranks 62nd out of 65 players with at least 1,000 post-ups in points per play, according to GeniusIQ. But Howard's historical underrating seems more a reflection of how his career played out. Contrast Howard with Robert Parish, a paragon of longevity. The two Hall of Fame centers have similar counting stats and a similar career wins above replacement total, per Basketball-Reference. But they reached those ultimate outcomes via different paths: Howard peaked and fell quickly, while Parish took the slow-and-steady approach.
Howard is one of 19 players in NBA history with five consecutive first-team All-NBA nods. The only other centers on that list are Shaq and George Mikan. The only other 21st-century players are LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Giannis Antetokounmpo, O'Neal, Luka Doncic and Kevin Durant -- who, with the exception of the young Doncic, are acknowledged as top-25 players in NBA history. Critics would contend that Howard so thoroughly dominated the All-NBA voting because of a lesser caliber of competition in that era. This idea has some merit: Though the center landscape wasn't quite as barren during Howard's reign as it would be half a decade later -- the All-NBA centers in 2015-16 were DeAndre Jordan, DeMarcus Cousins and Andre Drummond -- the second- and third-team All-NBA centers behind Howard were Amar'e Stoudemire (three times), Yao Ming (twice), Suns-era Shaq, Andrew Bogut, Al Horford, Andrew Bynum and Tyson Chandler. There are good players on that list, but few Hall of Famers.
Eurobasket players debate who could guard Jokic: Mutombo, Rodman, Shaq, Wilt named
Cedi Osman, Omer Yurtseven, Shane Larkin, Onuralp Bitim, Kenan Sipahi, Furkan Korkmaz, and Trevonte Williams all spoke to Meridian Sport searching for the answer to who they’d bring in to “defend” against Jokic’s brilliance. Cedi Osman: “You caught me off guard. Very tough question… Right now no one can guard him, that’s for sure. But maybe I’d pick Dikembe Mutombo.” He added that Jokic will always get his numbers, so the goal is only to make it harder for him. Trevonte Williams, after asking Shane Larkin for help: Larkin said, “Dwight Howard! But from his younger days—when he was at his peak.” Williams agreed: “Not a bad choice. Maybe Howard, maybe Shaquille O’Neal, maybe Mutombo? Honestly, I don’t even know if anyone could guard him at all. Best hope is he gets sick the day of the game—that’s the only defense.” Furkan Korkmaz: “Very tough question… Dennis Rodman! That would be a real battle between the two.” Omer Yurtseven (without hearing Korkmaz’s answer): “I’d look for someone smaller but strong, so I’d say Rodman. He could play aggressive, get in front of him… If they lob over him, he’s fast enough to recover. He could take rebounds too. His only job on the team would be guarding Jokic.” Onuralp Bitim: “Not sure… I’d probably pick Wilt Chamberlain.” Kenan Sipahi wrapped it up: “Who can guard Jokic? Honestly, no one. I’ve thought about it a lot. Maybe Arvydas Sabonis senior, but honestly, it’s hard to imagine anyone.”
CBS Sports: 23 points. 13 rebounds. Dwight Howard is your @thebig3 All-Star MVP 💫💫
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Ice Cube’s Big3 three-on-three basketball league took over the Intuit Dome in Inglewood on Saturday. “It’s our first year, we’re just getting started,” Howard said. “We’re looking forward to keeping it going. Obviously, the first year is always a little difficult — trying to get to know each other — but we’re doing a great job.”
Dwyane Wade, Allen Iverson will serve as presenters for Carmelo Anthony at Hall of Fame induction
Ian Begley: Carmelo Anthony selected Hall of Famers Dwyane Wade and Allen Iverson as presenters for his upcoming induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Dwight Howard selected Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing to be among the group of people presenting him, the HOF announced
Ayton recently visited the island with his family, including his mother, who is of Jamaican descent, and former NBA star Dwight Howard, to mark the opening. “Back to where it all began. Together, we opened the doors to a renewed Cedar Spring Community Center in St. Elizabeth,” Ayton shared on Instagram. “Jamaica — the first AFF project on the island! With food, games, school supplies, health services, and a lot of love, we celebrated the strength and joy of this beautiful community.”
Dwight Howard's wife, Amber Rose Howard, has filed for divorce ... just six months after she tied the knot with the ex-NBA superstar. Court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, show the rapper and reality star -- known widely as Amy Luciani -- requested the split from the basketball player at a Georgia courthouse on July 1.
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