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The NBA's 75th anniversary season is here. Beyond the celebration of such an important year, there's also controversy surrounding the league's ranking of the Top 75 players throughout its history. Three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Dwight Howard, was left out of the league, and he was clear on his thoughts about the situation.
Now, alongside Howard, unbelievable talents like Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Tony Parker, or Vince Carter did not make the NBA's list of the 75 Greatest Players in history. Manu Ginóbili and Pau Gasol were also among the snubs of the NBA's Top 75, and there might be cases for lots of those who were off the list.
However, Dwight Howard's name often came up when discussing the biggest snubs of the 75 Greatest NBA Players list. This was owing to his dominance during his prime and the achievements he's taken during his career.
Dwight Howard's top five defensive seasons based on Defensive Rating (DRtg)
Even though his role in the NBA is now reduced to a backup center, Dwight Howard has been selected for the All-NBA teams eight times in his career (five times in the First Team). He's also a five-time All-Defensive player, eight-time All-Star, five-time rebounding champion, two-time blocks champion, an NBA champion and has three previously mentioned NBA DPOY trophies (second-most in history).
Howard has also finished in the top five in the NBA MVP voting four times, and five times in the Top 10.
Dwight Howard's case to enter the Top 75 in NBA history is quite strong, and if we only take his defensive prowess during his prime (and even during his days as a role player, if we remember how he bothered Nikola Jokic in the 2020 WCF), he deserves to enter the list.
Howard is the leader among active players in career blocks. His PER is Top 75 in NBA history and Top 20 among active players. Dwight Howard's Defensive Rating (99.8 is the best among active players) and is 29th in NBA history.
Taking that department only, let's take a look at the five-best defensive seasons of Dwight Howard's Hall-of-Fame-worthy NBA career based on Defensive Rating.
#5 Dwight Howard's 2007-08 NBA season
Dwight Howard entered the NBA scene after being selected as the first overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, coming out of high school, by the Orlando Magic. In his first couple of seasons, he was adapting to the league, until his physical prowess made him dominant.
He averaged a double-double right out of the gates, and by his third year in the league (2006-07 NBA season), Dwight Howard was an All-Star and took the Magic to the NBA Playoffs.
In the 2007-08 NBA season, he had a great year, putting up 20.7 points per game and a league-leading 14.2 rebounds per night. After another All-Star selection, he put up a 98.8 Defensive Rating, the ninth-best in the NBA.
#4 Dwight Howard's 2011-12 NBA season
In his final season with the Orlando Magic before being traded to the LA Lakers, Dwight Howard was coming off from three consecutive NBA DPOY awards.
The previous season, Howard had won the DPOY trophy after leading the league in Defensive Rating, and had finished second in the NBA MVP voting.
In 54 games during the shortened 2011-12 NBA season, Dwight Howard put up a 95.6 Defensive Rating (third-best in the league) and averaged 20.6 points, a league-leading 14.5 rebounds per game (career-high) and 1.5 steals and 2.1 blocks per game.
Also Read: Who are Dwight Howard's Kids?
#3 Dwight Howard's 2008-09 NBA season
On his way to the first of three consecutive NBA DPOY awards, Dwight Howard had a brilliant 2008-09 NBA season with the Orlando Magic, again leading the team to the NBA Playoffs and doing so due to his displays on both ends of the court.
Howard averaged 20.6 points per game, while leading the league in rebounds per game (13.8) and blocks per game (2.9). That was arguably his greatest season, including his postseason prowess and how he carried the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals, eliminating the Boston Celtics and LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers on the process.
In terms of Defensive Rating, Dwight Howard had the third-best of his career that year, putting up a league-leading 94.6, while leading the NBA in Defensive Win Shares to earn his first NBA DPOY.
#2 Dwight Howard's 2009-10 NBA season
After taking the Orlando Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals, Dwight Howard followed it up with another dominant regular season, averaging 18.3 points, 13.2 rebounds (league's best) and an NBA-best 2.8 blocks per night.
He then led the Magic to the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals, but fell to the Boston Celtics. Defensively, Howard led the league in Defensive Rating for the second consecutive season with a 95.4.
He went on to win the DPOY for the second time in his career and finished fourth in the NBA MVP voting.
#1 Dwight Howard's 2010-11 NBA season
To cap off his streak of consecutive NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards with the Orlando Magic, Dwight Howard had a brilliant 2010-11 NBA regular season. He added a career-high 22.9 points per game, with 14.1 rebounds per game and 2.4 blocked shots on a nightly basis.
Those numbers helped him finish second in the MVP vote, behind Chicago Bulls' Derrick Rose. Howard won his third straight NBA DPOY award convincingly after putting up a career-best and NBA-leading 94.2 Defensive Rating, as well as leading the league in Defensive Win Shares and finishing second in Player Efficiency Rating.
Also read: 3 reasons why Dwight Howard deserved to be on the NBA's 75 greatest players list
