Whatever happened to Dwight Howard?

Dwight David Howard. 6’11” center. Eight All-NBA teams. Three time Defensive Player of the Year. 2010-11 MVP candidate.

Once labelled as the last dominant center in the NBA and the next one in Lakers’ dynasty. Now a journeyman, bouncing from a team to another and barely making the headlines when he collects 20 rebounds in a game.

Entering his prime, Howard was an offensive and defensive force in the league, averaging 20 points, 14 rebounds and almost 3 blocks, and the most coveted free agent in 2013 offseason.

Currently, at 32 years old, the SACA product is still putting up pretty good numbers and yet he does not get the recognition, often appearing more as an uncomfortable fit that teams want to get rid of.

How happened, that such a productive career fell into anonymity without any apparent reason? Besides the personal and attitude issues that haunted Howard’s career, there is another, more practical reason for his decline.

Unlike the 90’s, dominant centers had become an increasingly rare commodity in the late 2000’s and owning one of them used to grant championship aspirations.

In the early 2010’s, with Bynum’s career derailed by injuries and Howard the only post-dominant player remaining, the traditional center position as we knew it was destined to disappear.

The innovation brought by Mike D’Antoni to deploy what once used to be called ‘power forward’ as a center and surround him with shooters became more and more common in the league as a viable alternative to the lack of talented 7-footers, and the means to a productive offense.

It became so real that the formula in the All-star ballot was changed. Nowadays, there is not center position to be voted anymore. Just three frontcourt players can be chosen, regardless of position.

Then came the Warriors with the small lineup featuring at center a forward who shoots the three and can switch on every screen. Given the success Golden State experienced, it took the rest of the league a very short time to adjust to this new approach. Every team started to play most of its minutes with small lineups, also significantly raising the league’s average pace.

Since then, the classic center has become an unimportant role, playing limited minutes and valued only for his defensive and rebounding abilities. Those who better anchor a defense and block shots are now the most coveted on the market, but they play a little significant role, starting games almost as a mere formality, relegated only to the defensive duties and quickly replaced by a forward. Three-point shooting, pick and roll and ball movement prevail in modern NBA offenses and only centers with good vision and passing abilities manage to obtain an active role on the offensive end.

On the current course it would not have taken long time to have them totally replaced in the lineup by athletic forwards who can stretch the floor, and destined to play short reserve minutes when in need to protect the paint of a vulnerable defense.

Though, as if the position adapted to survive following a darwinian imperative, suddenly a new kind of centers has started to pop out, a new generation of big men that has taken over the league in the last few years. Players like Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns, DeMarcus Cousins, Nikola Jokic. Multi-skilled centers who can play both inside and outside. Post up and shoot the three. Able to share the ball to create opportunities for their teammates. All-Star caliber players who lead their teams and make a real difference on the floor.

Among them, Brook Lopez has put the spotlight on himself for his adaptability. He came into the league when centers were still relevant and established himself as a post scorer. When the time came, though, he quickly adjusted his game, going from taking 98 percent of his shots from two point to attempting 387 threes in a season, over one summer.

The coming of this new iteration of NBA centers has given back legitimacy and minutes to the whole category. Even all the other unskilled big men matter again. With the need to defend these new versatile players, they have preserved their starting spot and playing time.

Representing the last specimen of an extinct breed, Dwight Howard got caught in the fast transition that has hit the center position in the last few years.

We have to remember that, despite the high number of changes that have occurred one after the other, giving the impression of a long process, it all happened indeed in a very short period of time.

With the advent of the small lineup, and his limited skillset, he clearly struggled to keep up with this new kind of game and the revolution at his position. His post game was not so developed to allow him to remain a relevant threat despite the lack of versatility and outside touch, while his defensive impact took a significant drop as the game got away from the paint and extended far beyond the three-point line.

Howard’s presence on the floor is not fundamental anymore. He is now an average center, around whom the game does not revolve. In this new brand of basketball, teams cannot afford to grant him the playing time and touches he would need to produce like he used to. The individual production, as good as it might be, would not result impactful enough for the overall team result.

The numbers are there for Dwight. 16.1 points per game, 12.1 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and a 20.56 player efficiency rating. Nevertheless, they fail to be reflected on Hornets’ record.

At this juncture, a 1.1 plus-minus, which lowers to just -0.8 when he is off the floor, and an even worse 0.65 real plus-minus become the most significant data.

Despite having extended his range a little bit and still having productive offensive games, the new playing style will never allow the former All-Star to carry a team. Here is the point. It does not matter how good he can be. The lack of skills to significantly contribute to the win column dictates the true value of Dwight Howard, justifying his fall in irrelevance and reducing him to an expendable piece.

And what about the money? The All-Star caliber money he is still making. Just an even bigger reason to get rid of him without a second thought.