Why Dwight Howard Should be a Lock for the Hall of Fame

 

Why Dwight Howard Should be a lock for the Hall of Fame

www.franchisesportsmedia.com

 

Currently, in his 16th season, Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard provided productive minutes while proving himself valuable to the team as they prepare for the possibility of a deep post-season run.

 

After his first stint with Los Angeles, many people began to question Howard’s commitment to the game and his overall body of work. Those that followed his career began to question if his play was worthy of the Hall of Fame. After diving into his journey as a player and looking at the facts, it would be a crime not to put Dwight Howard into the NBA Hall of Fame.

It’s known league-wide that Dwight’s history isn’t the greatest, and this fact is not aiding his case for the Hall. Before his return to LA, when you heard the name Dwight Howard, you would also hear people talk about a laundry list of negative traits. They would say he never developed his game. They’d argue how he doesn’t have the drive to be great. They’d bring up how he’s a locker room cancer. The list goes on and on. Pair these issues with his off-court issues, proneness to injury, and his shift from household name to journeyman, and his Hall of Fame chances seem slim. Despite all of the above, Howard is easily a candidate for Hall of Fame.

 

One of the main reasons people criticize Dwight is because he never developed an offensive game.

 

In his prime, the typical NBA center needed a back-to-basket and mid-range, offensive attack. All Dwight was known for was his rebounding, blocking, and dunking ability. Once injuries started to slow him down, and he began to lose his brute force, he wasn’t able to bully his way to the hole. His flaws were on full display as he never added anything to his offensive arsenal. However, in basketball, scoring isn’t everything. Dwight can still make a case for himself despite not evolving on the offensive side of the court.

Currently, Howard has a career average of 12.3 rebounds per game and 1.9 blocks per game. Looking at every team Dwight has played for, he averaged over ten rebounds per game except for one. The only exception was during the 2018-2019 season with Washington, where he was injured for the majority of the season. Furthermore, he led the league in rebounding for five seasons, with his best rebounding season during that stint being 14.5 rebounds per game, and the worst being 12.4 rebounds per game.

He also averaged at least 2 blocks for six consecutive seasons. Two of them (The 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons), he led the league in blocks, averaging 2.9 and 2.8 blocks per game. If Dennis Rodman can get into the Hall of Fame averaging 13 rebounds per game, less than 10 points per game, and less than 1 block per game, by numbers alone, there isn’t a valid reason in the world to justify why Dwight Howard isn’t Hall of Fame worthy based on that argument.

 

Even though Dwight is past his peak, he is still an important piece to the Lakers’ success this season.

 

He’s put together a productive season with 7.5 points per game, 7.4 rebounds per game, and 1.2 blocks per game while playing only 19 minutes per game. Looking at his per 36 minutes stats, he averages a mindblowing 14.4 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks! Dwight is doing this in his 16th year! The man is 34 years old. His character and approach to the game aren’t liked by many, but the numbers never lie. For the entirety of his career, all Dwight has done is produce. That’s more than enough to be the Hall of Famer.

 

If you look at players inducted into the Hall of Fame, not all of them had the storybook ending or the most celebrated careers. For example, players like “The Answer” Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Dikembe Mutumbo, Grant Hill, Yao Ming, and many more Hall of Famers didn’t achieve the same accomplishments as greats like Jordan, Bird, and Magic. Even without the rings, they’re still Hall of Fame players. If we look at Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson’s careers specifically, both players plummeted dramatically toward the end of their careers and became NBA journeymen. They were shells of what they once were, yet both were still inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Dwight is unquestionably Hall of Fame material, and when you look at the numbers, he’s actually first-ballot worthy. Dwight’s career is similar, if not better, than many players who are already members of the Hall of Fame. If they were able to get into the Hall with their resumes, there isn’t any plausible reason or excuse why Dwight shouldn’t get in as well. 

 

Come what may, at the end of the day, Dwight Howard is a Hall of Famer. Period.

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-Michael Dancy II – Franchise Sports Media

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