Dwight Howard raised a few eyebrows in late May when he said he would take his prime over that of Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.
Howard, who last played in the Taiwanese professional basketball league, elaborated on his comments in a recent interview with Complex, saying he’d take his prime over the current version of Jokic.
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic celebrates during a rally and parade to mark the team’s first NBA basketball championship on Thursday, June 15, 2023, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) (AP)
Howard pointed to the differences between their two styles, saying he was putting up big scoring numbers without the help of a three-point game.
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“So, people look at that and say, ‘Well, Jokic, he scores and does all this stuff.’ And no offense, I think he’s great,” Howard told Complex. “I love Jokic. I don’t want people to think that I’m trying to hate, even comparing, but I’m going to take myself. I know how dominant I was, and I know what I could do with my skills. And on the defensive end and on the offensive end I was quick enough to get past everybody.
“And I love Jokic, and I’m happy for him,” he continued. “I think he’s one of the best centers that ever played the game of basketball, but I’m not going to throw dirt on my own name. I’m Dwight Howard. I know what I’ve done in this league.”
Jokic is coming off a season in which he nearly averaged a triple-double and led the Nuggets to the first championship in franchise history.
Center Dwight Howard, #12 of the Taoyuan Leopards, reacts at the court during the T1 League game between TaiwanBeer HeroBears and Taoyuan Leopards at University of Taipei Tianmu Gymnasium on February 19, 2023, in Taipei, Taiwan. (Gene Wang/Getty Images)
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Jokic was selected as the MVP of the 2023 NBA Finals while averaging 30.2 points, 14 rebounds and 7.2 assists in five games.
Howard was quite dominant in his own era, named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year three times and leading the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals in 2009.
Howard put himself as a top-10 center of all-time, providing the names of a few all-time greats that made his list.
“All-time centers, I’m top 10. Top 10 all-time. I know everybody what they’re going to say with Shaq [O’Neal], Hakeem [Olajuwon], Wilt [Chamberlain], Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], and then you got Moses Malone,” Howard said before adding Bill Russell to the list.
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Dwight Howard, #39 of the Los Angeles Lakers, looks on during the game against the Orlando Magic on January 21, 2022, at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. (Gary Bassing/NBAE via Getty Images)
Howard hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2021-22 season, when he appeared in 60 games for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Despite being out of the league, Howard still thinks he could contribute to a team as a backup center.
“Well, I personally in my opinion believe that you have an upper echelon of centers that’s playing now, and obviously, I’m not at my peak, so people would consider me at this playing stage as being upper echelon,” Howard told Complex. “But I know that there’s at least 15 to 20 teams that I could play for. And I know there’s teams that got great starting centers, but I know I could be a great backup center.”
In 18 NBA seasons, Howard averaged 15.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game.
