19. Dwight Howard (2005-12)
Time has not been kind to Dwight Howard.
His time since leaving the Orlando Magic has not been a good reflection of his carer. The back injury he suffered in his final year with Orlando followed him to Los Angeles. He had one strong season with the Houston Rockets where he looked like the dominant force that anchored the team.
But since then, he has gone from team to team looking for a home. He has been accused of poisoning locker rooms, unable to fit in when the world did not revolve around him. The fact is he was not that player anymore. He was not able to play at that high level anymore.
It is frankly a bit sad that Howard is having to scratch his way into the league on essentially a summer contract with the Los Angeles Lakers — his second stint with the team. The Lakers have put some heavy restrictions on him and seemingly made it clear that he is gone if he steps out of line in any way.
Howard’s career has taken a seemingly dark turn as his athleticism left him but his belief in his stardom has struggled to follow suit.
I’ll say Dwight because he’s going to the Hall and people outside of Orlando will generally tell you that he wasn’t even good.
— Sane (@SaneUTDOM) August 16, 2019
Orlando should be a place where Howard is welcomed and remembered well. He might well be the best player in franchise history. He anchored a team that is among the most popular groups in team history. Howard took the Magic closer to a championship than any player before him.
Yet, his exit was extremely messy. Fans will accept him back one day, but that day is not here yet. And the pain of his botched exit plan overshadows everything. It has set the narrative for the last half of his career.
It makes everyone forget just how dominant he was. Howard was one of the best players in the league, unquestionably. He was a defensive force who could lock down the paint on his own, turning a team with sub-par defenders into one of the best defensive teams of the past decade.
Howard played with a joy that was as fun as it was dominant.
His three straight Defensive Player of the Year Awards and his play with the Magic in 2009 and 2010 especially will get him into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. it is easy to forget about all this because he has fallen so hard.