Former Orlando Magic and LA Lakers star Dwight Howard recently talked about the evolution of the NBA, responding to a tweet by Sports Illustrated’s Ben Stinar. The tweet highlighted how the NBA has evolved in terms of the players’ scoring prowess. Howard, who last played for the Taoyuan Leopards of the Taiwanese T1 League, used some numbers to put his impact in the league into perspective.
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Stinar’s post highlighted how the league, just a decade ago in 2012, only had 12 players who averaged more than 20 points per game. However. fast forward to today, the number has risen to 41 in the current season. In response, Howard suggested that this was majorly due to the way the game has evolved over the years.
He pointed out that 10 years ago, defenses would be a lot more physical and had the paint area packed with numbers. “Back then the game was played at boxes & elbows and the paint was packed “ Dwight only averaged 23 and 14” hmmm…” he wrote, using the opportunity to underline the actual value of his performances back during the 2010-11 season.
Playing for the Magic, Howard averaged 22.9 points and 14.1 rebounds during the 2010-11 campaign. With this message, the veteran center probably wanted posterity to put his numbers into perspective.
Howard’s response comes just 2 days after he pitched himself to the Detroit Pistons. The now 38-year-old played for the Taoyuan Leopards in the Taiwanese T1 League until very recently and is currently without any team. The Pistons have a 2-29 record this season and recently tied the league’s record for the most consecutive losses at 28. Therefore, Howard believes he could be the right option for the team.
Apart from himself, Howard had pitched a number of other veterans, including the likes of Isaiah Thomas, Michael Beasley, John Wall, and DeMarcus Cousins.
Of course, Howard does have a point with respect to his claims about the evolution of scoring in the NBA. Newer teams have laid great emphasis on 3-point shooting with a number of sharpshooters coming up in the NBA since Howard’s era. This meant that defenses were forced to be stretched out instead of packing the interior to make it difficult for offensive players to drive at the paint.
The game, therefore, has seen more and more 3-point attempts being made in recent seasons, a trend that is only going to continue in the coming time with the rise of small ball. That is one of biggest reasons why averaging 20 ppg is no longer as unique an achievement as it once was.
The 2022-23 NBA season saw an incredible scoring outburst
The 2022-23 NBA season gave fans as many as two 70-point performances, from Damian Lillard and Donovan Mitchell. The two followed the example of Devin Booker from back in 2017, joining a list of only four players who have managed the feat in the 21st century.
The fourth, Kobe Bryant, did so during his epic 81-point display against the Toronto Raptors back in 2006. Perhaps what is of interest is also the fact that the three latest 70-point scorers in the NBA are all shooting guards, again bringing to light how 3-point shooting has become such an integral part of how offenses are built nowadays.
Lillard’s 71-point display against the Rockets back in February, for example, included a whopping 22 3-point attempts, out of which he converted 13, according to Basketball Reference. That means that a total of 39 points were scored by Lillard from the 3-point zone, with a similar trend being followed by the likes of Donovan Mitchell and Devin Booker in their humungous displays.
