Larry O’Brien Legends, Part 6: Silliness Succeeds

It was incredibly easy to pick for the Magic because there has been a startling trend in the last decade that has bothered me greatly. From 2007 to 2013, Dwight Howard was the best center in the NBA and it wasn’t close. Dwight is 1 of just 2 players in the last 50 years to have multiple seasons with averages of 20 points and 14 rebounds, the other is Moses Malone and nobody has done it since Dwight last did it in 2011. He was also the clear cut best defender during those years as well. While he was great throughout that stretch, it would be 2009 that Dwight peaked as a player. The Orlando Magic were REALLY GOOD in 2009. They won 59 games and easily won the Southeast division. In some ways, they were ahead of their time, surrounding Dwight Howard with a bunch of shooters, including JJ Redick, to create space for Dwight to either dominate in the post or grab a rebound. This strategy proved very effective in spite of some skepticism. Right as the 2009 playoffs started, Sports Illustrated released the infamous Too Much Fun cover with Dwight Howard on it. It was consistent with a narrative that was spreading about Dwight’s attitude, led by the ever-salty Shaquille O’Neal. Dwight was far too silly to be a truly dominant player. He didn’t have the right attitude to be a great big man. It’s unfair criticism that never went away. Luckily, Dwight knew exactly how he could disprove it. The Magic’s run started against the 76ers and Dwight almost casually averaged 24 points, 16 rebounds and 3 blocks as the Magic won in 6. But the 76ers were a fly hitting their windshield, the real tests came after. In round 2, the Magic faced the defending champions, the Boston Celtics. Even though Boston had lost Kevin Garnett for the year, this was still a fantastic team and an incredibly stingy defense with hard nosed players, including the enforcer, Kendrick Perkins. This would be a true test for the silly big man. Dwight proceeded to put up averages of 16 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocks. While Dwight did face come adversity on the offensive side, it was his defense and rebounding that thrived. Dwight had 29 offensive rebounds in this series, that is nearly half as many as the entire Boston Celtics team had. On top of that, Dwight basically eliminated the paint from Boston’s offense when he was on the court and helped the Magic upset the Celtics in 7 to set up a matchup nobody wanted the Magic to win. If you were around for the 2009 playoffs, you likely remember all the hype around a potential Kobe-LeBron finals. When the conference finals came around, it felt inevitable. LeBron and the Cavs had swept their first 2 opponents and were eager to do the same to Orlando. LeBron proved it by putting up 49 points in game 1, but Orlando still found a way to win thanks to Dwight’s 30 and 13. That game really set the tone for the series. LeBron always held up his end of the bargain (except in game 6) as he averaged 39 points per game. 90% of the time, a performance like that drags a team to a series win, but Orlando had Dwight Howard. A guy who was heavily criticized for his ability on offense averaged 26 and 13 on monstrous 65% shooting. In game 6, Dwight had the best game of his life. Against a defense that ranked 1st in opponent points per game and 3rd in defensive rating, Dwight put up 40 points on 67% shooting from the field and 75% shooting from the free throw line while grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking a shot just for fun. He clinched a return to the NBA finals for Orlando, upsetting the Cavaliers and sportswriters who were eager to write about the Kobe-LeBron matchup. Sadly, Orlando ran out of pixie dust in the finals as Dwight averaged 16, 15 and 4 blocks while shooting below 50%. He scored 20 points just once, in game 3, which was also the only game Orlando won as Kobe and the Lakers beat the Magic in 5. When all was said and done, Dwight Howard finished the 2009 playoffs with the 3rd most rebounds in a playoff run ever, 2nd most defensive rebounds, 7th most offensive rebounds and became the 7th and most recent player to block 60 shots in a single playoff run. Dwight had proven he could be the top dog on a contender and firmly placed himself in ‘best player in the NBA’ discussions. Keep in mind; he did this without one of his 2 all-star teammates as Jameer Nelson only played 5 games and averaged 4 points per game in the playoffs. Obviously, Dwight’s career fell off a cliff after he left Orlando, but that shouldn’t take away from what he did. Despite his objectively brilliant run, Shaq’s saltiness and people who only remember his post-Houston years have taken over perception of Dwight’s career. I firmly believe that is exactly why he didn’t make the NBA 75 team. It’s incredibly unfair that Dwight’s best moments have been completely forgotten. I hope this reminds you of the time when Dwight used his silliness to become a Larry O’Brien Legend.