Gilbert Arenas believes that the title of greatest player in Orlando Magic history belongs to Dwight Howard. When his co-host Shannon Sharpe stated on the Nightcap Show that Shaquille O’Neal is the GOAT for the Magic, Arenas disagreed.
“He (O’Neal) was only there four years,” Arenas said. “We’re not talking about Shaq’s body of work, we’re just saying Orlando, that’s four years. I mean yeah he was breaking backboards and stuff but three-time All-NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Rebounding Champ, All-Star, 6 All-NBAs. His resume is just bigger than Shaq’s in that jersey. The better player? Talent-wise of course Shaq but in that jersey, it’s Dwight.”
Let’s compare what O’Neal and Howard accomplished during their respective careers with the Magic.
Shaquille O’Neal’s stats for the Magic: 27.2 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.8 steals, and 2.8 blocks per game
Dwight Howard’s stats for the Magic: 18.4 points, 13.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game
Shaquille O’Neal’s accomplishments with the Magic: 4x All-Star, 1x All-NBA Second Team, 2x All-NBA Third Team, 1x Scoring title, Rookie of the Year
Dwight Howard’s accomplishments with the Magic: 6x All-Star, 5x All-NBA First Team, 1x All-NBA Third Team, 3x Defensive Player of the Year, 4x NBA All-Defensive First Team, 1x NBA All-Defensive Second Team, 4x Rebounding leader, 2x Blocks leader
I think it’s fairly clear that Howard comes out on top if we just compare their careers with the Magic. Both men also took their teams to the NBA Finals once, with O’Neal getting swept by the Houston Rockets in 1995 and Howard losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in 2009.
NBA Fans React To Arenas Picking Howard As The GOAT For The Magic
Arenas has made more than his fair share of eyebrow-raising comments over the years, but this wasn’t one of them. For the most part, NBA fans agreed with him here.
One said Howard definitely had the better Magic career, “Dwight definitely had the better career in Orlando.”
A fan who lived in Orlando says Howard was the most dominant Magic player, “I lived in Orlando during Howard’s history. The dude was way more dominant in a Magic jersey than any player ever in Orlando.”
One believes people have forgotten how great Howard was for the Magic, “People sleep on how dominant Dwight Howard was in Orlando prior to that back issue. Magic Dwight was a force on offense, and defense equally!”
A fan says Howard’s dominance on defense deserves a lot of respect, “Put some respect on Dwight’s resume. You can’t dismiss the defensive side of the ball.”
One said if we are just counting the accolades won when with the Magic, it’s Howard, “If we just count Magic accolades, it’s Dwight.”
Had O’Neal spent more time with the Magic, I believe he would have gone down as their greatest player, but he left after four seasons. It speaks to the impact he had in that short period of time, though, that the Magic are retiring O’Neal’s jersey.
He is the first player ever to get that honor from the franchise, and hopefully, they’ll do it for Howard as well when he officially retires.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
