Hall of Famer Dwight Howard recently tried his hand at the Knockout challenge, and the results were interesting. Howard had to select the best player in the NBA today via a tournament bracket, and the first two players given to him by Daily Mail’s Calvin Milliner in the first round were LeBron James and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“Well, LeBron’s not playing right now, so I got to go with SGA,” Howard said.
Gilgeous-Alexander is the reason James is no longer in the playoffs. The Oklahoma City Thunder swept the Los Angeles Lakers out of the playoffs in the Western Conference Semifinals. James played well in that series, averaging 23.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game, but the Lakers didn’t stand a chance against the Thunder juggernaut without Luka Doncic, who we’ll get to in a bit.
The next two that Howard had to pick between were Jalen Brunson and Anthony Edwards. Now, by the earlier logic, Brunson would be the pick, but that’s not who the 40-year-old went with.
“I’m in New York,” Howard said. “But see, I’m also from Atlanta, so my hands is tied right now. I love Jalen Brunson, but I got to go with Ant-Man.”
Both Howard and Edwards were born in Atlanta, Georgia. They even went to high school in Atlanta, so there is a bit of bias here. There was some bias in the next pick, too, as Howard had to choose between Victor Wembanyama and Cade Cunningham.
“I love Cade’s game, but I’m a big man, so Wemby,” Howard said.
Wembanyama and Cunningham were both in the MVP race after leading their teams to 60-win seasons. The former’s San Antonio Spurs went 62-20 while the latter’s Detroit Pistons were 60-22. While the Pistons were knocked out in the Conference Semifinals, the Spurs are one win away from the NBA Finals, where Brunson’s New York Knicks await.
The last pick that Howard had to make in the first round was the hardest. He had to choose between Doncic and Nikola Jokic.
“That’s tough,” Howard said. “… I love Luka, and he with the Lakers right now, so I got to go with Luka.”
Howard sure wasn’t consistent with his reasoning, was he? He snubbed the big man here because he had three separate stints with the Lakers during his career and won his only championship with them in 2020.
While this Lakers connection got Doncic past Jokic, it wasn’t going to be enough in the semifinals. It was between him and Wembanyama, and Howard didn’t hesitate when picking between them.
“Wemby, big man,” Howard said.
There’s that big man connection again. As for the other end of the bracket, it was between Gilgeous-Alexander and Edwards, and Howard hilariously acknowledged he wasn’t being consistent with his picks.
“See, I just used the excuse about him not getting in the playoffs,” Howard said. “But everybody be out anyway, so I’mma go with Ant-Man,” Howard said.
The Georgia connection reigned supreme, but Howard couldn’t pick Edwards over Wembanyama in the grand final.
“God, dog it, they put me in a tough one,” Howard said. “See, I’m from The A, but my boy Wemby killing right now… You seen Space Jam, [Michael] Jordan had to stretch his arms out. He do that every play.”
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For the last few years, Jokic was widely regarded as the best player in the NBA. He was named MVP in 2021, 2022, and 2024, and won the NBA championship with the Denver Nuggets in 2023.
Jokic then lost that title in the eyes of many after the Minnesota Timberwolves knocked the Nuggets out of these playoffs in the first round. The belt then went to Gilgeous-Alexander, who won the championship, Finals MVP, and MVP in 2025. He was named MVP again in 2026, but appears to have lost the belt already.
Gilgeous-Alexander has been outplayed by Wembanyama in the Western Conference Finals between the Thunder and the Spurs. The series is currently tied at 3-3 despite the Canadian being far from his best.
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 24.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 37.9% from the field and 26.1% from three. The four-time All-Star was remarkably efficient in the regular season, shooting 55.3% from the field, but has struggled mightily in this series.
As for Wembanyama, he is putting up 28.2 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.5 steals, and 3.0 blocks per game while shooting 48.2% from the field 37.1% from three. Even if the Spurs end up losing this series, it’d be hard not to say that the Frenchman is better than Gilgeous-Alexander.
Wembanyama hasn’t had the perfect postseason by any means, but he’s mesmerized the basketball world in a way that few others ever have. Howard is just one of many who are simply in awe of this 22-year-old phenom.
