Dwight Howard says he had a better prime than Nikola Jokic

[ArbitraryWater]

Agreed. At his peak I'd put him just above Jokic due to his being elite on both ends of the court.

Looks Jokic could still accomplish more when all is said and done though. Also, a way past prime Howard worked Jokic over in the 2020 playoffs.

classic full court take

[1987_Lakers]

Jokic is closer to Larry Bird than he is Dwight.

[tpols]

Anyone having adult expectations of Dwight Howard at this point is being ridiculous, unserious, and even borderline cruel.

His mind clearly never developed past a grade school level.
He is to some degree a very high functioning retarded man.

That's why he's got that retard strength though. His prime athleticism was undeniable. But he's got a peanut head and brain on top of the superman frame.

[1987_Lakers]

The forgotten awkward moment in NBA history

[Im Still Ballin]

Dwight was Bam on steroids. And we all saw how good of a job washed Howard did on prime Jokic defensively. He might not be better than Jokic individually but he might lock him down and create a bad matchup team wise. Like Embiid and Horford or Gasol.

Dwight never had Bam's DHO passing game. I do wonder if he would've developed that had he come up in today's era. He also never had Bam's range. Fun fact: Bam shot 49.8% on shots from 10-16 this season. 26.5% of his field goals, too - good volume.

[AlternativeAcc.]

Jokic is clearly a top 5 all-time caliber player. top 5 arguable peak already assuming he wins and dominates the finals.

People have underrated Jokic up until this point because the lack of playoff success, but after a ring his 3 year run will be viewed in a much more favorable light. It's not even close between him and Dwight.

[SouBeachTalents]

Dwight never had Bam's DHO passing game. I do wonder if he would've developed that had he come up in today's era. He also never had Bam's range. Fun fact: Bam shot 49.8% on shots from 10-16 this season. 26.5% of his field goals, too - good volume.

Yeah, I don’t think they’re comparable at all He honestly plays nothing like Bam.

[tpols]

Dwight never had Bam's DHO passing game. I do wonder if he would've developed that had he come up in today's era. He also never had Bam's range. Fun fact: Bam shot 49.8% on shots from 10-16 this season. 26.5% of his field goals, too - good volume.

Bam couldn't buy even a 5 foot hook shot last game. it's like there was a lid on the rim.

[Im Still Ballin]

I imagine prime Dwight's playoff numbers might have looked something like this in today's era:

'20-'23:

- 22-23 ppg, 13-14 rpg, 1-2 apg, 0.8 spg, 2.9 bpg
- 65.1% FG, 59.6% FT, 66.3% TS

The FG% and TS% are simple adjustments from 2008-2011 to 2020-2023. He's adding extra points from that alone. You'd have to think his usage goes up a little due to more PnR and increased spacing. Those numbers, aside from the shooting percentages, are close to what AD did in the 2023 playoffs.

The PPG might even be selling him short. The era-adjustment by itself takes him from 20.4 to 21.5 ppg. Maybe 23-25 ppg all things considered.

[TheMan]

Dwight was far from "elite" on the offensive end.

Jokic is clearly the better player of the two at their peaks. It's not a landslide, but pretty noticeable.

I don't disagree with that but put prime Howard with this Nuggets team and I think they would be a more balanced team. What they lose in Jokic's O they more than make up in Howard's D...that's a nasty team right there.

[Lakers Legend#32]

Joker is a starter.

Dwight was the fifth option, by his own choice.

[AlternativeAcc.]

I don't disagree with that but put prime Howard with this Nuggets team and I think they would be a more balanced team. What they lose in Jokic's O they more than make up in Howard's D...that's a nasty team right there.

What the fukk does this even mean?


Yeah losing a GOAT tier scorer and passer with extremely high IQ is made up because of Dwights defense. Makes no sense.

[90sgoat]

They're completely different players, so no use in comparing them.

Dwight to me looks bad in retrospect, because he played so many seasons after his backinjury where he was honestly trash.

He never improved offensively, so when his jumping ability went, it looked very ugly, until he accepted being a role player.

[1_BAD_TIGER]

It’s not an outrageous take. Give a prime Dwight this nuggets roster and they’d be a contender. Everyone acting like nikola is doing it all by himself. He has a great offensive cast.

Rashard Lewis was never as good as Murray. Even on roids.

No way, a prime Dwight on this Nugget squad is a second round exit team. Howard can't do what Jokic does, plus he couldn't hit a FT to save his life. Without Jokic to keep the offense running, they would have to rely on Mick Malone's play calling which is average at best.

[Im Still Ballin]

No way, a prime Dwight on this Nugget squad is a second round exit team. Howard can't do what Jokic does, plus he couldn't hit a FT to save his life. Without Jokic to keep the offense running, they would have to rely on Mick Malone's play calling which is average at best.

I don't know, prime Dwight beat the '09 Celtics and '09 Cavaliers.

Even without Garnett, Boston went 18-7 and won a playoff series. Not to mention that NBA All-Star Jameer Nelson was out injured. Orlando really challenged LA in the NBA Finals too. It was a five-game series with two OT games that LA won. It would've been a seven-game series if Orlando won those.

Jamal Murray would work perfectly with Dwight; he's like a supercharged Jameer Nelson in this context. I'm not sure about the Aaron Gordon fit but you could trade him for like a Jerami Grant.

Jamal Murray
Kentavious-Caldwell Pope
Michael Porter Jr
Jerami Grant
Dwight Howard

That's a great starting five right there. Better than any of Dwight's in Orlando.