A player who will likely be much higher on this list once his career is finished. Dwight Howard has been in the NBA just six years and has already made a massive impact; setting records and leading the Orlando Magic to the NBA finals.

Howard did not attend college instead he opted to go straight from high school to the NBA. There was some debate entering the 2004 draft if the Magic should draft him or Uconn product Emeka Okafor. The Magic decided to roll the dice with Howard and selected him first overall.

Unlike many high school to NBA players Howard had a very good rookie season, arguably the 3rd best rookie season of any high school to NBA product behind Lebron James and Amare Stoudemire. Howard played in all 82 games for the Magic and averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds along with nearly 2 blocks a game. The Magic also drastically improved from the season before.

Howard and the Magic continued to improve in 2005-06. Howard averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds but was snubbed from the all-star game. The 2006-07 season brought Howard to the forefront of NBA stardom. He averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds, made his first all-star appearance and the Magic made the playoffs but lost in 4 games.

He finally broke the 20 points a game barrier in 2006-07 averaging 21 points and a league leading 14 rebounds a game. Howard would end up leading the NBA in rebounds for the next three seasons and there is a good chance he will continue to lead the league in rebounds in the future. He also lead the NBA in blocked in 2008-09, and 2009-10 becoming the only player in NBA history to lead the NBA in rebounds and blocks in consecutive years. For this accomplishment he won consecutive defensive player of the year awards.

Thus far the highlight of Howard’s career was the 2009 playoffs where he helped the Magic stun the defending champion Celtics in seven games, than beat Lebron James and the first seeded Cavaliers to make the franchises second ever finals appearance, though they lost to the Lakers in 5 games.

Howard and the Magic look to continue to be a force in the NBA in the near future and Howard likely has a long and productive career ahead of him.

#74                                         Main index                                         #76