Shaquille O’Neal became the first player to get a jersey retired by the Orlando Magic earlier this year on February 13. There has been talk of Dwight Howard needing to be the next one to get that honor, but O’Neal disagrees. He thinks Penny Hardaway and Tracy McGrady should have their jerseys retired before Howard.
“Definitely was a fabulous player,” O’Neal said. “But my parents always told me this. If there has to be a discussion about it, then you should ask yourself, should it really be done… I understand his point. He played there nine years, he’d done a lot of things, definitely a fabulous player, but I see Penny (Hardaway) going in before him. And then I see T-Mac (Tracy McGrady).”
I don’t agree with O’Neal here. Once he retires, Howard should not have to wait for Hardaway and McGrady to get their jerseys retired before he gets that honor. He is at worst, the second-greatest player in franchise history behind O’Neal.
After being drafted by the Magic with the first pick of the 2004 NBA Draft, Howard spent eight seasons with the franchise. He averaged 18.4 points, 13.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game in that time and won the Defensive Player of the Year award three years in a row from 2009 to 2011.
Howard also led the Magic to the NBA Finals for just the second time in franchise history in 2009. They would lose in five games to the Los Angeles Lakers, but making it that far was still quite an achievement. When you compare Howard’s stint with the Magic to that of Hardaway and McGrady, it becomes fairly clear that O’Neal was wrong.
Hardaway spent six seasons with the Magic and averaged 19.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.9 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. He won no major awards but did make the All-Star team four times during that time and helped the Magic get to the 1995 NBA Finals.
Hardaway was very much playing second-fiddle to O’Neal, however, and the injury bug struck after the big man departed in 1996. He never got a chance to lead the team to glory due to injuries and it also ensured he never quite hit the same heights that Howard did.
As for McGrady, he averaged 28.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game in his four seasons with the Magic. Grant Hill’s injury nightmare led to McGrady assuming a bigger role and he won two scoring titles in those years.
While he put up phenomenal numbers, Orlando didn’t even win a playoff series during McGrady’s time there. It might be a bit unfair, but that fact alone should ensure that Howard is ahead of him on the pecking order.
Dwight Howard Feels His Jersey Should Have Been Retired Before Shaquille O’Neal’s
To say Howard would disagree with O’Neal on this matter would be an understatement. Howard felt his jersey should have been retired by the Magic even before O’Neal’s.
“The Magic have finally just decided to retire Shaq’s jersey,” Howard said on the All-Stars Podcast. “And how many years did Shaq play with Orlando? Four years. So that’s kind of crazy. I played there for nine years and what we did in Orlando — no offense to Shaq, he should have his jersey retired — but I should’ve been the first one to have his jersey retired.”
Well, had Howard announced his retirement, the Magic might have made him the first player to get that honor. It seems rather bizarre for him to expect them to wait for him to walk away from the game and then retire his jersey before retiring O’Neal’s.
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