Ranking every player on the Sixers roster — 9. Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard, fresh off of a championship with the Lakers, signed a one year deal with the Sixers last offseason. He was brought in to be a reliable backup to Joel Embiid, a role the 76ers have struggled to fill in the past.
Even at 35 years old and in his 17th season, he’s still absolutely electrifying on the court. He’s playing a career-low 17 minutes per game, but is stuffing the stat sheet in those minutes. His eye-popping 17.6 rebounds per 36 minutes is a career high, which is pretty incredible considering he’s led the league in rebounding five times. He’s still good for one or two ferocious dunks every game to get the crowd on their feet. His leadership has also been important, bringing a championship mentality to a very young roster and staying after games to shoot with the young guys.
Of course, if this all sounds too good to be true that’s because in some ways it is. He has always been a little careless with the ball, but he’s been a turnover machine this season. Howard turns the ball over 3.4 times per 36 minutes, which is extremely high for a player with such low usage. He’s also leading the league in personal fouls per minute, and second place isn’t even close. More importantly, putting him and Ben Simmons on the court together has been a dumpster fire due to a complete lack of spacing.
Warts aside, Superman has done what the Sixers have asked of him. The future hall of famer protects the paint, brings energy off of the bench, and shatters the rim when he gets the chance. If he can get the boneheaded plays in check, he can be an important player on this team for the playoffs.
— Kasey Kennedy