Dwight Howard was in more ways than one a successor to Shaquille O’Neal – He had all the tools to become an all-time great.
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Dwight Howard came into the league in 2004, and broke the gates of the league. An absolute force of nature, Dwight steamrolled his way to superstardom. Drafted one year after LeBron James, it was rare to see two greats go back to back as Pick 1s, but 2003-04 was truly a great time for basketball.
He was so great, even his greatest hater, Shaquille O’Neal, had to admit he was “nice”. According to him, he was athletic but could see some chinks in his armor. All he had to do was average 28 and 15 -said Shaq on a podcast, but the veteran center called Diesel a hater and ignored the advice.
Shaquille O’Neal understood what he did wrong in his career – He tries to impart wisdom to everyone who needs it now
Nobody knows the value of hard work more than Shaq. He did not care about putting in the extra effort to get better, and his ceiling was raised for him. One of the most dominant big men in the game fell short of his expectations, and he rues every moment he did not make the extra push.
To see Shaq giving Dwight the plaudits is extraordinary. A vociferous hater of the ex-Orlando center, Shaq said he was nice, which is the highest compliment he could have received. If only the defensive monster listened to his predecessor, Superman could have had a great successor.
Dwight Howard should have listened – He deserved a grand send-off, not a backdoor exit
Dwight Howard was a certified monster. In the era of LeBron James, he led the Orlando Magic to an NBA final. The three-time defensive player of the year should have had more success, but he fell off a cliff once success got to his head. He tried to move to a big market team but suffered miserably.
Once he made the move to the Lakers, everything went downhill. His attitude was exposed, he started getting injured quite often, and the game moved away from the post. Players like Brook Lopez overtook him in the skill department, and there was no turning back.
The adage “You cannot teach an old dog new tricks” holds in the case of Dwight. He was out-skilled by his juniors, and it just kept going downhill. His acceptance to take a bench role in 2019 finally got him a championship ring, but that’s not how he should have gone.
Dwight is currently without a team, and it looks like he’s about to end his career that way.
Also Read: Shaquille O’Neal Admits to Dropping $1.3 Million on 3 Rolls-Royces Purely Out of Spite
