One of the biggest snubs of the NBA’s Top 75 list is 35-year-old big man Dwight Howard, who has accomplished more over his 17-year career than most players dream of.
And while it’s impossible to say for sure why he was left off, Howard has his own theory about it, which he revealed in an interview with Taylor Rooks:
“I knew I wasn’t gonna be on it, politics. I already knew, knew soon as they made a 75 list they ain’t gonna put me on a 75 list. Forget about it. I knew that they knew they was not gonna put me on that list. I should most definitely be on the list but it’s okay. I’m not upset about it. I was for probably 30 seconds.
I said you know what, life is great. I’m alive, I’m still playing basketball in my 18th season. Who cares about a list made by people who ain’t ever bounced a basketball before.”
Howard didn’t elaborate on how league “politics” played a role in his exclusion from the list, but many believe it was a grave mistake by the NBA.
“The most disrespected? Probably Dwight Howard,” said Arenas on the ‘No Chill’ podcast. “I mean, if Patrick Ewing is in… I mean, come on. When you’re talking about it like we’re talking about standalone stats like your stats have to reflect what you did as a player…
You have to remember, a Championship is the last thing that happens during the season. But what did you actually do as an individual? Were you dominant?
So when you compare stats, you look at his resume and you’re like wait, how is he not actually on this list? Like, he’s not even a bubble player.”
Howard is an 8x All-Star, 8x All-NBA player, 3x Defensive Player of the Year, 2x Block leader, and a 1x Champion.
During his prime, in Orlando, he led the Magic to the 2008 NBA Finals, which still stands as the franchise’s last appearance.
