“LeBron James and Kobe Bryant!”: Dwight Howard’s Former Magic Coach Backed ‘Superman’ Over 8x All-Star Anthony Davis on NBA 75 List

In 2021, the NBA celebrated 75 years of its existence. And, in memory of the same, the league released a list of the top 75 NBA players of all time. Several legends made the cut, but there were also some notable exclusions. Primary among these exclusions was Dwight Howard. For about a year now, people have been debating whether or not Howard is top 75. However, his former head coach on the Orlando Magic, Stan Van Gundy, was infuriated by this on the Knuckleheads podcast. He believes that ‘Superman’ is undoubtedly a top-75 player and even believes he has had a better career than eight-time All-Star Anthony Davis.

The NBA 75 list was meant to commemorate some of the greatest players in NBA history. Players like Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant all made the cut. And, all these players were honored for their achievements at the 2022 All-Star Game. That being said, Dwight’s snub came as a shock, especially with all he has accomplished in the game.

Stan Van Gundy was shocked that Dwight Howard was left off of the NBA 75 list

Recently, former NBA head coach Stan Van Gundy appeared on the Knuckleheads podcast. Here he discussed a variety of topics, one of which included Dwight Howard. Having coached Howard back when he was with the Magic, Van Gundy knows just what he is capable of. As such, he expressed his surprise to see him snubbed from the NBA 75 list.

He explains, that there were only two people during Dwight’s prime who were better than him. LeBron James and Kobe Bryant were the only two above the superstar center. After all, he was Defensive Player of the Year three times in a row, and could still get 20+ points per game. So for him to not make the list made no sense.

Additionally, he pointed out that Anthony Davis, who did make the list, is often compared to Dwight. And, in his opinion, this is not a fair comparison. Why? Because there is no argument to suggest that AD has had a better career than D-12. An argument, that if made, Van Gundy claims would be ridiculous.

“To me, the only two guys you could even talk about in his league at that time were LeBron and Kobe. There was no one else to talk about in my opinion, because he was three straight years the Defensive Player of the Year. He’s still getting you 20+…everything revolved around him. For him to not be in the top 75. Come on! Like you can think a guy is better. That’s fine. What you can’t make a case for is you cannot make a case that Anthony Davis had a better career than Dwight Howard. That’s absolutely ridiculous”

And, to Van Gundy’s credit, even Shaquille O’Neal, Dwight Howard’s biggest critic agrees that his fellow center should have made the list. Just goes to show how bizarre his exclusion was.

Other notable snubs alongside Dwight included Hall of Famers Pau Gasol and Tony Parker

Dwight Howard wasn’t the only superstar to be snubbed from the NBA 75. Alongside him included two new Hall of Famers, Pau Gasol and Tony Parker. The likes of Vince Carter, Chris Bosh, Alex English, and Tracy McGrady among others also failed to make the cut. All exclusions had many questioning the legitimacy of the list.

Many still believe that NBA made a lot of errors with this list. Hopefully, things are different when the time to make the NBA 100 list comes around in 2046.