For the second time in his NBA career, Dwight Howard is leaving the Los Angeles Lakers after just one season. He's now with the Philadelphia Sixers in a free agency plot twist.
However, the circumstances surrounding his second departure from Los Angeles couldn’t be more different from the first, after he helped LeBron James and Anthony Davis win the Lakers’ first championship in a decade. Now, Howard can call himself an NBA champion, and while he initially wanted to return to the Lakers, a miscommunication with the team’s front office and the recruitment of Joel Embiid has him bound for the Philadelphia 76ers after signing a one year, $2.6 million deal.
It’s clear that the eight-time All Star wanted to return with the Purple and Gold, even writing a heartfelt message to the Lakers after his move to the Sixers became official. But now Dwight Howard finds himself headed back to the Eastern Conference, where he joins another playoff contender in the Sixers and their All Stars Embiid and Ben Simmons.
This team, however, will not be the same squad that was swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. The team has a new head coach in Doc Rivers and general manager in Daryl Morey, who is familiar with him from their time with the Houston Rockets. Here are just some of the possibilities that could happen in Dwight Howard’s first season in Philly:
1. He returns to averaging double figures
In his 16 seasons in the NBA, Dwight Howard has averaged less than 10 points just once, and it happened last season, when he put up an average of just 7.5 points in 69 games for Los Angeles. Part of the reason was that he averaged just 18.9 minutes per game, which is also the fewest of his career, as he shared minutes with Davis and fellow center JaVale McGee.
With the Sixers, however, the 34-year old will be Embiid’s primary backup, and doesn’t have someone like McGee to share minutes with when their All Star big man sits. Al Horford, Philadelphia’s center last season alongside Embiid, had already been traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for shooting guard Danny Green, Dwight Howard’s teammate with the Lakers. This should give the former first overall pick more minute to try to make an impact on the offensive end for Philadelphia, especially when facing opposing backup big men.
2. He improves on defense and blocks more shots
With Dwight Howard filling in the Sixers’ backup center role, he should see more time on the floor and can terrorize the second units of Philadelphia’s opponents with his rim protection.
After averaging a career-low 0.4 blocks per game during his injury plagued nine-game stint with the Washington Wizards, Dwight Howard was a better shot blocker with the Lakers, swatting an average of 1.1 shots per game. However, that came when he shared the floor with two other shot blockers in Davis and McGee, and he now only has Embiid to share minutes with in the Sixers’ front court.
Dwight Howard, a former three-time Defensive Player of the Year, also led the NBA in blocks for two seasons in 2009 and 2010 back when he was still with the Orlando Magic. While he may not be able to put up similar numbers in the twilight of his career, it’s likely that he exceeds his 1.1 blocked shots during his second stint in Los Angeles, especially as he sees his playing time and role increase.
3. Dwight Howard becomes a valuable contributor in the playoffs
Dwight Howard’s numbers during his time with the Lakers dipped even further during their title run, as he averaged 5.8 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 68.4% from the field in 18 playoff games. But that’s not to say that he wasn’t a valuable part of Lakers coach Frank Vogel’s rotation. While he saw limited minutes in the Conference Semifinals against the small-ball Houston Rockets, he was instrumental in the Lakers’ victory over the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals.
Aside from his scoring and rebounding, his physicality against Nuggets center Nikola Jokic helped the Lakers neutralize the two-time All Star. Next season, he’ll be tasked to guard opposing big men once the Sixers reach the playoffs, and they will count on him to bring these things as they face some of the league’s best bigs in the postseason. Despite his limited role, Dwight Howard showed that he can still make an impact, and he now has a chance to prove that he can do it again with a Sixers team that also has aspirations of a deep playoff run.
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