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Orlando Magic Best of the Decade: The All-2010s Team

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson saw their era end in the 2010s. But they are still titans in the Orlando Magic's history. (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson saw their era end in the 2010s. But they are still titans in the Orlando Magic's history. (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic, New Jersey Nets
Dwight Howard was a dominant force for the Orlando Magic and changed the franchise. (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Player of the Decade

Center — Dwight Howard (2010-12)

There really was no one else to pick for the player of the decade when it came to the Orlando Magic. Even in three years, Howard dominated so much of the decade.

His absence dominated the decade for sure. The Magic are still trying to dig themselves completely out of Howard’s messy departure in so many ways — including the failed rebuild from Rob Hennigan.

Fans are still hunting for the next superstar player to tie their fortunes too — again, Hennigan may have given that up in trading both Victor Oladipo and Tobias Harris.

Howard was that guy though. In his three seasons with the Magic in the 2010s, he averaged 20.6 points per game, 13.9 rebounds per game and 2.5 blocks per game. Those are still numbers no player is going to come close to matching. Not even Nikola Vucevic’s All-Star year last year (he is the second-best player of this decade, by the way).

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    • That is about the only way Vucevic can compare to Howard. Because Vucevic’s numbers, as good as they are, cannot compare to Howard’s impact.

    Howard changed games by his mere presence. He should have been the NBA MVP in 2011 — Derrick Rose won because of narrative reasons set before the season even began. Howard’s season that year — a career-best 22.9 points per game, 14.1 rebounds per game and 2.4 blocks per game. All this while anchoring one of the best defenses in the league.

    That is not even it though.

    He took that team, which had been gutted with a trade that had mixed results that year, and got them to fourth in the Eastern Conference. He took the team the next year in the lockout-shortened year and had them fifth in the East before an injury ended his season. The Magic went 4-6 in the final 10 games without Howard, falling from to sixth.

    As much as Howard’s will-he-won’t-he characterized that season and changed everything for the franchise, he still put together an incredible season. His final game in a Magic uniform was an insane performance.

    With an admittedly injured back, Howard scored 20 points, grabbed 22 rebounds and six assists against the Philadelphia 76ers. It was one of the gutsiest and most incredible performances in Magic history. No player in Magic history except for that Mt. Rushmore could have a game like this.

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    Howard did it regularly. And even in a short time, Howard is still the guy everyone on the Magic is measured against. His presence even in three years was truly impactful for the Magic.