The Stan Van Gundy and Dwight Howard era with the Orlando Magic did not end well as the coach and player infamously clashed at the end of Howard’s tenure with his first team. However, Van Gundy will still stand up for his former player and his place in NBA history today, saying it’s “ridiculous” to say that Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis has a better career than Howard.
Van Gundy went on the Knuckleheads Podcast, hosted but former NBA stars Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles. When the conversation turned to Howard not being included in the NBA 75th anniversary team, SVG — who Howard tried to get fired at one point in their tenure together — says the Dwight Howard vs. Anthony Davis debate is a non-starter.
“To me, the only two guys you can even talk about in his league at that time [of Howard's prime] were LeBron and Kobe. I think Anthony Davis is great, but at the time they selected [the NBA 75 team in 2022] I mean, it's not close,” Van Gundy said. “You cannot make a case that Anthony Davis had a better career than Dwight Howard, that's absolutely ridiculous.”
Both Howard and Davis are eight-time All-Stars, while Howard has eight All-NBA teams, five All-Defensive teams, three Defensive Player of the Year Awards, and is a two-time blocks and two-time rebounds champ.
Davis has four All-NBA teams and four All-Defensive teams. He’s never been the league’s rebounding leader nor Defensive Player of the Year. He was a star on the 2020 Lakers NBA title team, while Howard was just a role player. However, Howard led his Magic teams to an Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals nearly by himself under Stan Van Gundy.
Howard rubbed many people the wrong way during his time as a superstar in Orlando, including (probably no one more) than Van Gundy. That’s why the former coach’s argument that just looks at career accomplishments carries so much weight and leads you to believe he is right. Dwight Howard is a better all-time player than Anthony Davis.
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