Dwight Howard has it all. Height, speed, athletic prowess and a freshly penned four-year, $88 million contract.
He has polarised opinions throughout his career, often looking like Bill Russell defensively but just as often going missing offensively down the stretch.
So what do we make of the man they call D-12? Is he a superstar, or just a really good player who has been unable to take his chance on the biggest stage?
Does he crave winning in the way that Michael did, or Kobe does?
Howard jumped from high school straight into the NBA in 2004-05 and averaged a double-double out of the blocks for an Orlando team reeling during a lean spell.
He improved those numbers in his second year as the Magic quickly became relevant again behind this 20-year-old sensation that was controlling games defensively.
Howard’s popularity continued to grow in 2007-08 as he was named to the All-Star game as the Eastern Conference starting centre and donned the Superman cape as he stole the show at the dunk contest, reviving an event flagging in interest.
As well as being a fan favourite, he was thriving on the court averaging 20 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks a game.
2008-09 was a watershed season and arguably the high point of Howard’s career as he recorded his first ever triple double, led the Magic to the Southeast Division title and won the Defensive Player of the Year award.
In the playoffs, Howard then led the Magic to the NBA Finals by disposing of Philadelphia, Boston and then league-MVP LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Surrounding Howard with Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson was a recipe for success and despite falling the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, the future seemed bright in Central Florida.
And at the front of the charge towards NBA glory was Howard, who at this time was widely recognised as the second best player in the league behind James.
But as quickly as success came, it was downhill from there for Howard.
Despite leading the NBA in blocks and rebounds for the second consecutive year in 2009-10, becoming the first person to do that twice in a row, the Magic lost to Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals.
2010-11 saw a first round loss to the Atlanta Hawks and in 2011-12, while his on-court performance remained of a high standard, off court Howard was becoming a distraction.
He vocally sought a trade as he believed the Magic weren’t committed to building a franchise to support him. This behaviour could have been construed as selfish, and was a sign of things to come for Howard.
In August 2012, Howard was traded to the bright lights of Hollywood and joined living legend Kobe Bryant at the Lakers.
Sections of the NBA world saw this as a match made in heaven, as two of the NBA’s brightest stars would take the Lakers back to the Promised Land with the help of All-Stars Paul Gasol and Steve Nash.
Howard took his time preparing his back for the 2012-13 season after having a herniated disc the year before, and during this time he hurt his shoulder too.
When he finally took the court, he was criticised for his laid-back attitude and an apparent lack of passion, with Bryant taking him to task on and off-court and his terrible free-throw shooting often rendering him ineffective late in games.
Howard was accused of displaying immaturity as he tended to speak without thinking, and showed a lack of leadership as the Lakers looked to him for direction after Bryant tore his Achilles late in the season.
History will tell that he failed dismally and a season to forget ended in a first round sweep at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs, with Howard being ejected late in the fourth quarter of what was to be his last game in Laker purple in Game 4.
On July 5, 2013 Howard signed with the Houston Rockets; whether or not tears were shed in California is up for debate.
All NBA fans sit by waiting impatiently for the next chapter to play out and all eyes are on Howard.
When defining a superstar in the NBA, there are many things critics take into account – leadership, crunch time performance, consistency and the will to win.
While Howard has been statistically consistent, he has been far from a leader for the majority of his career and is very limited offensively.
While dominating at the rim, he has never developed a reliable mid-range game and his free-throw woes are well documented as he sits well below 60% as a career percentage.
This has rendered him ineffective in crunch time, and that cannot be overlooked.
But above all that, Howard has never embraced the big moment or sought to be the main man when the game was on the line.
The top tier of NBA superstars love the big moments, and want to be the centre of attention on court – in Dwight’s case, he has been the Walking Headline but for all the wrong reasons.
A quick look at Orlando gives an insight into life post-Howard. It was believed that losing Howard would cripple the Magic, but the franchise is shaping as being a better place post-Dwight around as it builds around young talent acquired via trade in Arron Afflalo, Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris and Mo Harkless.
As for the Lakers, history says they will recover and forget the Howard debacle, as they did not allow themselves to be dictated to by a player who clearly didn’t fit the role of face of the franchise.
Dwight Howard is not a winner, nor a player who defines a generation.
And he is definitely not an NBA superstar.
Cleveland Steamer
Guest
Griffin and kyrie are on there way as well due to their high presence in advertising
Troy
Guest
I've actually picked Houston to win it all this year - if that happens (and obviously in Houston v the field for the title, everyone would take the field) it will be interesting to see how the narrative around Howard changes.
mushi
Guest
Not really Basketball reference have a quantitative hall of fame predictor that has Carter at around 75%. The above 95% guys are Bryant, Duncan, James, Wade, KG, Dirk, Peirce and Allen - none of whom seem out of place to me. For me if we are talking super star in an on court sense then it all about the cut offs I look at the league and see James and Durant as the two guys that can single handed drag a team with their efforts at both ends of the court on a regular basis. Not to a championship mind you as no player can, the NBA is just too tough for single man teams. If we are going to include a broader range of players then both ends of the court need to be taken into account, I'd consider a Howard as much an on court "star" as an Anthony as he gives you more at his weak end of the court and is typically as much a game changer at the other end - this though is assuming Mchale stops playing him alongside a lesser version of himself.
Steven Paice
Roar Guru
Your analysis is very thorough and you make some valid points. For the record there is no "home cooking" involved, I respect Kobe for what he is and has been as a player but am far from a fan of he or the Lakers. To address the comment that the criteria are qualitative - if I was to use quantitative criteria then someone like Vince Carter would be considered a lock for the Hall of Fame. If there are some reliable and justifiable quantative criteria that you can suggest then I would love to hear them.
mushi
Guest
That wasn't meant to sound as sarcastic as it read. if it is marketability then sure the guy who's played on winning teams in hype city is going to get the gold
mushi
Guest
I read that in the article but given you seem to have Kobe as a current superstar I figured you were simply waxing lyrical. For the record I am a Kobe “hater” in that I feel he is simply a first ballot hall of famer who should have two MVP’s on his mantle piece (but then his MVP award share “feels” right so...) but that Tim Duncan was better than him and that if Kobe played in a smaller market he’d be seen in such a different way. Crunch time: This has been addressed so often that you either fall in the hard evidence or sky daddy camp. Leadership: Kobe is driven, whilst this is one quality of leadership it is but one. This goes to the longer “will to win” point and is unfortunately his biggest issue in crunch time. Consistency – a vague concept in the way you intend I’m sure, because in terms of quantifiable outcomes his the standard deviation of his season to season production (PER) are marginally higher than Dwight’s. This implies that they are pretty much on par in terms of consteincy over their career . But then defensively perhaps the most polite thing you could say about Kobe is he’s inconsistent, because if you say he’s consistent you must mean he consistently leaves it to other players these days. This wasn’t always the case but then that introduces a whole new level of inconsistency. Also in terms of production his season to season standard deviation is a higher percentage of his average than Howard (despite having more seasons) suggesting this is pretty poor bedrock upon which to build your argument. The will to win? Perhaps the most laughable trait that is attributed to Kobe. Kobe has a singular focus on winning the game yes, but the key is HE wants to win the game not his team. Typically these are aligned but not always in terms of Kobe’s career, he has said otherwise in various interviews but then Pauline Hanson said she wasn’t racist and Tony Abbot says he has no problem with Gay people. Their actions all betray them. He’ll also keep jacking up shots in a game they’ve got under complete control rather than give up the ball to team mates and help engender a better team spirit and maximise their chances of winning down the track. If I told you that fictional player called Mr Ebok had campaigned to break up his three time championship winning team because he was sick of being regarded as the second best player. Not only that but when he was regarded as the best player on that team he chose to not shoot the basketball to prove that he was important. Would you say that is a person with a singular focus on winning? And before people say that he was just young when he was about the same age Howard is now. Scottie Pippen actually subjugated his ego for winning, and gets killed for letting his ego out for one single play. Even last year was proof, everyone knew (surely including Kobe who seems like an intelligent guy) that if Kobe constantly told Howard he was the #2 and ridiculed him then they wouldn't get the best out of him, but he refused to change to make his team better. Now Kobe career wise absolutely dwarfs Dwight on production alone, and that for the most part includes defence as Kobe was (back when he cared) a pretty darn good defender. But on your criteria I smell some home cooking and blind eye assessment to get Kobe over the line in terms of their current level of play.
mushi
Guest
The guy that anchors your defense is never the third most important player on a good team
mushi
Guest
Oh so it is just marketability then. That's okay then, i thought we were talking basketball.
astro
Guest
Sorry, but almost all those criteria are purely qualitative. How can you 'measure' leadership? Take Kobe...I think he's one of the worst 'leaders' in the game and has been for a decade, but others would disagree. Leaders play defense for one thing and don't dump on their team-mates, but again, that's just me. Consistency? In what way? Just scoring? The will to win? I think you'd find the average NBA basketballer who has strived to succeed throughout their career at all levels of competition, is pretty driven to win. I don't think you'd even make a roster if you didn't have that drive... Only clutch is measurable, and even then, not perfectly. Think the last year 82games measured it was 2012. Kyrie was 1, Durant 3, James 5 and Kobe 8...one behind Bargnani!
Steven Paice
Roar Guru
Mushi - as per the article my criteria are leadership, crunch time performance, consistency and the will to win
ohtani's jacket
Guest
The two biggest stars in the NBA are Lebron and Kobe. That makes them superstars. The rest are just stars. I don't even think Durant qualifies, but Durant and Rose would be the next closest.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
Third most important player in a big three.
mushi
Guest
What is your definition? If it is super elite players then I get LeBron and Durant, but Kobe today isn't anywhere near that level anymore, surely you can't be a super star and elect to not play D?
Steven Paice
Roar Guru
LeBron, Kobe and Durant are the superstars in my opinion. The next level which would be star level includes guys like Paul, Parker, Duncan, Nowitkzi, Howard, Harden, Curry, George, Rose, Wade, Harden and Love. My definition of a superstar might be different to others, its all subjective and open to debate.
astro
Guest
OK, I have to ask...Exactly who is on your list of current Superstars? Lebron, Kobe...? I'm assuming Durant makes the cut? Then who?
astro
Guest
Yeah, Bogut no doubt helps Lee, but there's only so much anyone can do about Lee's defensive shortcomings. The Warriors game against the Grizz was a great example. ZBo scored 23pts, grabbed 11 rebounds and Lee had fouled out by the 3rd quarter. Fact is, when the opposition has more than one 'big' to handle, the Warriors are in deep trouble...
Eliot Bingham
Roar Pro
The Magic are way better off now. Vucevic, Harkless and Afflalo plus rookie Oladipo are progressing great. Might be some short term pain but losing Howard was definitely the right move
mushi
Guest
Howard to become a superior version of Chris Bosh? Wha?
mushi
Guest
sorry did i misread that last part? Do you think Kobe hasn't just outplayed Paul but he's been at whole other level the past few seasons? that is hilarious
ohtani's jacket
Guest
All that would impress me far more if the best centers in the league weren't Marc Gasol, Brook Lopez and Roy Hibbert. No offence to those guys as they're good players, but Howard's not exactly banging against Hall of Famer candidates out there. You cannot look at Howard over the past few seasons and say that guy's a superstar. The superstars in the league are guys like Lebron and Kobe. And no, Chris Paul is not at that level.