[IMGR]http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/040331/040331_dwightHoward_vmed_9p.vmedium.jpg[/IMGR] Dwight Howard is one of the most underated players in the NBA. He made the jump from high school and was picked first in last years draft. LeBron James came from high school and was picked first in the 2003 NBA Draft and has gotten so much attention you would think he owned ESPN. Dwight Howard has gotten such little coverage after draft day because of Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor, Dwyane Wade and the other stories that evolved in the NBA last year. The truth is, Dwight turned the Magic around taking them from the leagues worst team to possible playoff contenders. Here is how Howard ranked to everyone else in the NBA: #5 in Total Rebounds (823) #8 in Rebounds Per Game (10) #6 in Offensive Rebounds Per Game (3.5) #14 in Defensive Rebounds Per Game (6.5) #10 in Field Goal Percentage (52%) #19 in Blocks Per Game (1.66) #13 in Total Blocks (136) #12 in Offensive Rebounds Per 48 Minutes (5.2) #11 in the NBA in Rebounds Per 48 Minutes (14.8) #12 in the NBA in Double-doubles (32.0) #19 in the NBA in Defensive Rebounds Per 48 Minutes(9.6) [IMGL]http://www.nba.com/media/howard_140_050126.jpg[/IMGL] He put up similar stats to ROY, Emeka Okafor (15.1 PPG, 10.9 RPG) as the third option on the Magic behind Grant Hill and Steve Francis. The Magic rarely ran plays for Dwight and just let him score off of offensive rebounds. Emeka Okafor was the main option for the Bobcats so to compare their numbers doesn't do justice to Dwight Howard's great season. I think Howard should be getting some more credit from the media and fans since he helped turn around the Magic franchise while averaging a double double. He showed that even as a high schooler he could still compete with some of the leagues best players. One game against the Timberwolves Dwight was matched up against Kevin Garnett. Howard made KG look like the rookie as he grabbed 19 rebounds and scoring 19 points. Times like these show that Howard is going to be a force in this league in several years and us Magic fans are thrilled. Maybe it will just take time for Howard to start getting some attention but until then, the Magic will have one of the best kept secrets in the league.
I agree. Dwight is really underrated. I think he was the best rookie last season and will be the best to come out of his draft class. If he was put in the same situation as Okafor, being the number 1 option, I think he would have put up even better numbers than him. Dwight is gonna be dominant in a few years.
I don't think you can say he is totally underated because he was just a rookie. He put up great stats on a losing team. In due time he will get his vredit.
I agree he is underrated. And I believe the magic made the right choice in choosing him. A friend told me Howard sucks because he didnt get ROY. Isnt that stupid.n Emeka get 14 and 11 but he is 22 years old and has much more experience than DH he should get it. Dwight Howard is a 19-yr old PHENOM. But hey you cant blame him, blame the media.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting PoppyDizzle:</div><div class="quote_post">I agree he is underrated. And I believe the magic made the right choice in choosing him. A friend told me Howard sucks because he didnt get ROY. Isnt that stupid.n Emeka get 14 and 11 but he is 22 years old and has much more experience than DH he should get it. Dwight Howard is a 19-yr old PHENOM. But hey you cant blame him, blame the media.</div> I agree completly. I forgot to mention the age difference in this article. Emeka had 4 years of college where he developed and was taught how to become NBA ready. Dwight came from high school and put up similar stats and played just as good as Okafor. Hopefully Dwight will emerge as the better player in a few years and will start getting the credit and respect he deserves.
Dwight is definitely under spoken of. And to be honest, I forgot about him a lot this season. Every time I think of the top rookies I'm thinking, Gordon, Okafor, AI (2), and Deng. Then I realize myself saying, wait Dwight Howard is up there. Howard will be a good player; once he gets stronger and learns how to play in the post he will be a great player. He has a great rebounding ability, and some may even forget he still has the potential to grow some since he is only what 18. Soon he will be the Magic's premier player, fans just have to give him time though, he will soon breakout media wise. At the end of the day, I?d take Andre Iguodala, and Dwight over Gordon and Emeka .
Howard had a great season and I agree he did not get half the credit he deserved. But I am sure that sooner or later he will get recognition.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting B-22:</div><div class="quote_post">Dwight is definitely under spoken of. And to be honest, I forgot about him a lot this season. Every time I think of the top rookies I'm thinking, Gordon, Okafor, AI (2), and Deng. Then I realize myself saying, wait Dwight Howard is up there. Howard will be a good player; once he gets stronger and learns how to play in the post he will be a great player. He has a great rebounding ability, and some may even forget he still has the potential to grow some since he is only what 18. Soon he will be the Magic's premier player, fans just have to give him time though, he will soon breakout media wise. At the end of the day, I?d take Andre Iguodala, and Dwight over Gordon and Emeka . </div> Iggy and Howard would dominate! Can you imagine how exciting it would be if those two were on the same team. Both of these players wil develop into stars and I believe that they will be fan favorites and superstars by the time their careers are done. It is just a shame that they will be overlooked by the draft class of LeBron, Melo, Wade and Bosh because those players will take away a lot of attention from the 2004 draft class.
All you have to do is read my signature to know what I think. I've been saying this for a long time, good to see your post. The only thing you didn't add on there was that he was the first HS player to start in all 82 games of his rookie year and he became the first HS rookie to avg a double double and first rookie since Tim Duncan to avg a double double. This kid is a freak of nature and will be a beast. I just wish more people would talk about this kid.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting GatorsowntheSEC:</div><div class="quote_post">All you have to do is read my signature to know what I think. I've been saying this for a long time, good to see your post. The only thing you didn't add on there was that he was the first HS player to start in all 82 games of his rookie year and he became the first HS rookie to avg a double double and first rookie since Tim Duncan to avg a double double. This kid is a freak of nature and will be a beast. I just wish more people would talk about this kid.</div> Yeah your sig was motivation for this post. I had thought it for some time now but when I read one of your posts I decided I should make a discussion about it.
Im surprised Dwight doesnt get more hype than he does. You'd think that a young phenom coming out of highschool and playing like he does would get a lot more attention.
Lebron James = Okafor Melo = Gordan Wade = Howard This is in Hype wise now look at it as people dont know who Dwight is but when he dunks on them or blocks there shot they will know.
I think Dwight Howard is underrated ,he should've been rookie of the year because Okafor missed like 20 games. He also put up 12 points and 10 boards a game and the Magic did not even make tha many plays for him, he had to score his points on offensive rebounds.
While I agree that Dwight is massively underrated, I don't think he should've been ROY. He had a great Rookie year as only the fourth option on the team, and this is at the same time the reason why he isn't and shouldn't be ROY, he didn't have as much impact on the team as the others. I really hope that this time the Magic Organisation makes everything right and they can not only develop this kid to become a great star, but also retain him and don't let him walk away just as they did with Shaq, or that they are finally able to put a team together that can get it done together, not like with T-Mac around where we only had a bunch of nothing.
