Tag: Dwight Howard

Lakers sign Dwight Howard

The Los Angeles Lakers yesterday signed center Dwight Howard.

Entering his 18th NBA season, Howard owns career averages of 16.2 points, 12.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks through 1,182 games (1,051 starts) with Orlando, Houston, Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington, Philadelphia and the Lakers. He currently ranks eighth in all-time field goal percentage, converting 58.6 percent of his shots from the field (minimum 2,000 FGM).

An eight-time NBA All-Star and the 2004 first overall draft pick, Howard appeared in 69 games (six starts) with the 76ers last season, where he averaged 7.0 points and 8.4 rebounds in 17.3 minutes. He returns to Los Angeles after averaging 7.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 2019-20, helping the team win the 2020 NBA Championship.

Howard is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year – winning the award in consecutive seasons from 2009-11 – and has led the league in rebounds five times (2007-10, ’11-13), blocks twice (2008-10) and field goal percentage once (2009-10). He enters the season ranking first among active players in career rebounds (14, 271) and blocks (2,192).

Jazz center Rudy Gobert wins 2020-21 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award

Rudy Gobert has done it again. The Jazz center was named 2020-21 NBA Defensive Player of the Year today, marking the third time he’s won the award. Gobert joins Dwight Howard, Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace as the only players in NBA history to win the award three-or-more times.

Gobert (7-1, 256, France) led the NBA among qualified players in defensive rating (100.6), defensive win shares (5.2), defensive rebounds (10.1) and was second in blocks per game (2.7) during the 2020-21 season. He also led the NBA in +/- (+728) and total rebounds (960). Helping the Jazz to the best-record in the NBA at 52-20, and the team’s first overall no. 1 seed in franchise history, the eight-year pro was the anchor to the NBA’s third best defense, which owned a defensive rating of 107.5. According to FiveThirtyEight’s defensive RAPTOR metric, Gobert posted the highest such rating (+8.0) last season by a player since 1977.

On the offensive end, he led the NBA in field goal percentage (.675), dunks (231) and was second in screen assists per game (6.1). For the year, he finished with 14.3 points, a career-high-tying 13.5 boards, 2.7 blocks and 1.3 assists in 30.8 minutes per game. The Frenchman posted the third most double-doubles in the NBA with 49 and was named an All-Star for the second-straight season.

In addition to winning the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year Award in three seasons (2018, 2019 and 2021) and being named a two-time NBA All-Star (2020, 2021), Gobert has been named to the All-NBA Second Team (2017), selected to the All-NBA Third Team twice (2019, 2020) and received All-NBA Defensive First Team honors in four seasons (2017-20).

Appearing in 545 games (453 starts), he owns career averages of 12.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 1.3 steals in 29.7 minutes per contest. Over the last five seasons no other player in the NBA has more blocks (855) than Gobert and he’s collected 4,554 boards during that stretch, the second most in the NBA.

Competing in his fifth-straight postseason, Gobert has helped Utah to the 2021 Western Conference Semifinals, averaging 16.2 points, 12.8 rebounds and 3.0 blocks in 32.7 minutes per game during the playoff run.

Gobert has passed the late Mark Eaton for the most Defensive Player of the Year honors in Jazz history with Eaton winning twice in 1985 and 1989.

Other finalists for NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year were Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons and Golden State’s Draymond Green. Gobert received 84 first-place votes and earned 464 points from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. Simmons finished in second place with 287 points (15 first-place votes). Green finished in third place with 76 points. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.

Sixers sign Dwight Howard

Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed Dwight Howard.

The free agent signing period doesn’t begin until tomorrow, but the Sixers were able to officially sign Howard today reportedly because the deal is for the veteran’s minimum.

Howard comes to Philadelphia after winning the NBA championship last season, appearing in 18 playoff games, starting seven. During the regular season with the Lakers, he saw action in 69 contests, tallying 7.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 18.9 minutes per game. Howard, who ranks fifth all-time in NBA history in field-goal percentage, shot a career-best .729 this past season, second in the NBA among players who played in at least 30 games. The Atlanta native notched nine double-doubles and collected double-digit rebounds on 16 occasions.

One of the most decorated active players in the NBA, Howard was originally selected by Orlando with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. All told, he’s appeared in 1,113 games (1,045 starts) over 16 seasons for the Lakers, Washington, Charlotte, Atlanta, Houston and Orlando. He holds career averages of 16.7 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.9 blocks in 33.5 minutes per game. Howard, and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers Walt Bellamy, Wilt Chamberlain, Elvin Hayes and Moses Malone are the only players in NBA history to average at least 16 points and 12 rebounds over 1,000-or-more career games.

Over his career, Howard has been selected an NBA All-Star eight times, selected to All-NBA teams on eight occasions, earned the Defensive Player of the Year Award three times and been named to five All-Defensive teams. He’s led the NBA in rebounding five times and blocks twice.

Internationally, Howard has represented the United States in numerous competitions, dating back to 2006, including the 2008 Olympic Games at which Howard helped the “Redeem Team” capture the gold medal. Prior to the NBA, Howard played high school basketball in his hometown at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy where, as a senior, he received several awards declaring him the best high-school player in the country.

Howard will wear No. 39 for the 76ers.

Long-awaited return to NBA Finals for Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard

Every trip to the NBA Finals is special. Because for the vast majority of the league’s players, they don’t happen very often. Here’s the OC Register on a pair of key Lakers:

For Lakers fans, a return to the Finals for the first time in a decade is a reason to look back on a triumphant past. But reminiscing isn’t so fun for everyone in the locker room.

It’s also the first time Rajon Rondo has been back to the Finals since 2010. Back then, he was on the Boston Celtics team that fell under the crushing wheel of Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and the Lakers after taking a 3-2 lead.

“I think I blurred a lot of it out: It was ugly.” Rondo deadpanned Tuesday, as he took the stage ahead of the Lakers’ series with the Miami Heat. “But that’s a long, long time ago, and I look forward to obviously changing the chapter and continuing to go past this different chapter in my life and write a better story ending.”

When it comes to chapters in the Finals, there’s been a long gap for two of the team’s key veterans off the bench: Rondo (10 years) and Dwight Howard (11 years). In both cases, their last Finals-contending team was bested by the Lakers and Bryant.

Dwight Howard plays well as Lakers starting center in Game 4 vs. Nuggets

Dwight Howard did big things as the Lakers’ starting center yesterday. The OC Register:

After Game 1, Dwight Howard joked (probably) that he was so committed to keeping Nikola Jokic in his sights this Western Conference Finals series that he was considering meeting the Serbian 7-footer right outside his room in the hotel that both teams are staying.

Now, after Thursday’s start, Howard might invade the Nuggets’ slumber, too.

In his first start these playoffs (and just his third this season), Howard to help set the tone as the Lakers rebounded in a big way from a poor performance on the boards in their Game 3 defeat Tuesday, when they were also lost the battle on the glass, 44-25.

“We knew what he could do in this matchup,” said Lakers Coach Frank Vogel of Howard, who is plus-30 in the 66 minutes he’s played through four games this series, which the Lakers lead 3-1 – but which is otherwise tied, scoring-wise, 439-439.

“We like to try to start the series with the lineups that we play throughout the season, and then you feel out the series,” Vogel added via Zoom video conference.

Dwight Howard injury update: out at least 2-3 months

Washington Wizards center Dwight Howard underwent an L4-L5 lumbar microdiscectomy earlier today. The team says the procedure went as planned with no complications.

The procedure was performed by Dr. Robert Watkins in Marina Del Rey, CA, and was recommended after consultation with Dr. Watkins and Wizards Director of Medical Services and Orthopedist Dr. Wiemi Douoguih determined that the disc herniation was causing severe nerve irritation and gluteal pain.

Howard’s progress will be re-evaluated in around two to three months.

On the Wizards with vs without Dwight Howard

 

 

 

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Here’s NBC Sports Washington with a look at the 8-13 Wizards and center Dwight Howard, who has only played nine games this season, averaging 12.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game:

With Howard, the Wizards have allowed their opponents to score 112.6 points and grab 43.7 rebounds per game. In their 12 games without him, Wizards opponents have scored 122.5 points and averaged 51.8 rebounds per game.

That means the Wizards are giving up nearly 10 more points per game without Howard than they are with him. That is a huge margin.

With Howard, they have been a mediocre defense and without him they have been historically bad. Their 118.2 points allowed average per game this season is highest in the NBA and already on pace to be the worst since the 1990-91 Denver Nuggets.

So far, the Wizards are only 4-5 with Howard. But they are 4-8 when he’s out of the lineup and they were out-rebounded in all eight of those losses.

The Wizards are off today. Tomorrow they play the Sixers in Philadelphia.

On Dwight Howard and the Wizards

The Wizards center spot used to be manned by Marcin Gortat, but now the job belongs to Dwight Howard. What’s the realistic impact Dwight may have? Here’s NBC Sports Washington reporting:

On Dwight Howard and the Wizards

As the Wizards opened training camp this week at the Medstar Performance Center in Southeast Washington, head coach Scott Brooks’ first message to his team was about defense and how he believes they can make a significant leap this season. Part of his thinking is rooted in the fact they added Dwight Howard through free agency this summer, as Howard gives them a level of rim protection they have not enjoyed in years.

It also wasn’t that long ago that the Wizards were a top-shelf defensive team. When Washington first began making playoff runs with John Wall and Bradley Beal running the show, they were an above average team on defense. From the 2012-13 season through 2014-15, they were top 10 in points allowed.

Their roster has changed significantly from those days and some of their best defenders like Trevor Ariza moved on. But last year they were 15th in defensive rating and 15th in points allowed, and Brooks feels a jump into the top 10 isn’t out of the question.

Howard himself believes they can be even better than that.

Full article

On Dwight Howard and the Wizards

The Wizards in recent seasons always seem pretty good, but never take that next step towards rising up and being closer to great. Now they’ve added Dwight Howard, who still puts up nice stats but needs to show that he actually impacts a game beyond some numbers in the usual stat categories. Here’s a look on the positive side of things regarding the Wizards and new center Dwight Howard, from NBC Sports Washington:

On Dwight Howard and the Wizards

Howard is already 15th all-time in total rebounds. Last season, he surpassed Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal. He has long since eclipsed Dennis Rodman, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson and Ben Wallace.

Howard is objectively one of the best rebounders of all-time and he hasn’t slowed down much, if at all, from his younger days. Last season, he grabbed 12.5 rebounds per game, good for third in the NBA.

If Howard can keep that up with the Wizards and get Wall out in the open court a second or two quicker than in the past, the Wizards could be uniquely dangerous.

“He’s the best rebounder in the league. It creates offense for our guys that can play fast and can shoot,” Wizards head coach Scott Brooks said.

Full article

Wizards sign Dwight Howard

The Washington Wizards’ signing of free agent center Dwight Howard became official today.

“Dwight has been known throughout his career as one of the league’s best defenders, rebounders and finishers around the rim, all areas that we needed to improve heading into next season,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld. “His inside presence and athleticism will give us a much different look and will open up opportunities for us on both ends of the floor.”

According to NBC Sports Washington, “Howard was signed to a two-year deal worth $11 million with the second year a player option.”

At this point in his career, Howard is more of a supporting cast player than a star. He can still put up big stats, especially as a rebounder, and he’s still starting material and certainly should start for the Wizards with Marcin Gortat gone. But John Wall and Bradley Beal are still expected to lead the way in DC, with Howard supporting their efforts.

Howard (6-11, 265) has averaged 17.4 points, 12.7 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 assists while shooting .585 from the floor in 1,035 NBA games (1,034 starts) over 14 NBA seasons with Orlando, L.A. Lakers, Houston, Atlanta and Charlotte.

The 32-year-old center posted 16.6 points, 12.5 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.3 assists while shooting .555 from the field in 81 games (all starts) for Charlotte last season. He finished the 2017-18 campaign third in the NBA in point-rebound double-doubles (fourth overall), third in total blocks, third in total rebounds and rebounds per game, fourth in total defensive rebounds and defensive rebounds per game, fifth in total offensive rebounds and offensive rebounds per game, seventh in blocks per game and 11th in field goal percentage.

Howard is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year (winning three straight awards from 2008-09 to 2010-11) and has also earned five All-NBA First Team selections while being named All-NBA Second Team once and All-NBA Third Team twice. The former number one overall draft choice (2004) has been selected to the All-NBA Defensive First Team four times and also earned All-NBA Defensive Second Team honors once.

The eight-time All-Star currently leads all active players with 13,101 career rebounds, 3,647 career offensive rebounds and 2,047 career blocks. He has averaged 18.4 points, 13.8 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1.4 assists while shooting .545 from the floor in 95 career playoff games (including the 2008-09 postseason, when he led the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals).