NBA Draft Prep: Reviewing the Orlando Magic’s Last 6 Lottery Picks
2004: Dwight Howard No. 1 overall, A+
This pick was actually not a consensus and obvious choice. There were divisive camps on whether the Magic should use this pick to select a player whose upside was immeasurable in Dwight Howard or a proven NCAA champion and defensive stalwart in Emeka Okafor.
Count this one that I got wrong.
At the time, it seemed that if the Magic could draft Okafor and convince Tracy McGrady to stay, that they could leapfrog themselves back into contention quickly with some good signings. Okafor, many reasoned, was by far the more NBA-ready prospect, and that notion was certainly confirmed when Okafor proceeded to win the Rookie of the Year award.
However, even at that point, there was no deluding oneself that Howard would not be the better player in a short time. Howard proceeded to become the 20/20 beast he was in Orlando while Okafor simply never really improved all that much.
Okafor remained a middling offensive talent his entire career, and other than some decent shot blocking he was never the dominant defensive force the Charlotte Bobcats had hoped he would become in time when they traded up for the second pick. It was easy to bill Okafor as a more offensively gifted Ben Wallace, but it certainly never came anywhere near being true.
Howard, meanwhile, won three Defensive Player of the Year awards, appeared in the Finals in 2009, and could find his way into the 2015 Finals if his Rockets manage to upset the Golden State Warriors.