{"id":818961,"date":"2026-07-23T15:32:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T15:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/818961\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T15:32:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T15:32:08","slug":"dwight-howard-creates-ultimate-all-time-starting-5-with-former-teammates-might-lose-five-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/818961\/","title":{"rendered":"Dwight Howard Creates Ultimate All-Time Starting 5 With Former Teammates: “Might Lose Five Games”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hall of Famer Dwight Howard<\/a> suited up for seven teams over his 18-year NBA career, which meant he got to play alongside a whole lot of incredible players. So, when Complex<\/a> asked Howard to build a starting lineup with himself and four former teammates, you knew it was going to be power-packed.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeBron [James], Kobe [Bryant], Pau Gasol,\u201d Howard said. \u201cI gotta put somebody from the Magic\u2026 Jameer [Nelson], let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Howard was asked if he\u2019d go over or under on 74.5 wins for this lineup, and he didn\u2019t hesitate much before giving his answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, we over,\u201d Howard said. \u201cYeah, we ain\u2019t losing, man. Me and Pau in the paint.\u201d<\/p>\n

Howard\u2019s bold claim had the interviewer asking him if he thinks they\u2019re going 82-0, and he acknowledged they would lose a few games.<\/p>\n

\u201cNah, we gonna lose about three,\u201d Howard said. \u201cSomebody gonna figure it out a couple of times. Might lose five games.\u201d<\/p>\n

This starting five would definitely dominate. They won\u2019t lose too many games.<\/p>\n

Jameer Nelson is definitely the weak link, with James Harden<\/a> being a better choice, but Howard wanted to pick one player from the Orlando Magic<\/a>, whom he spent the first eight seasons of his career with. Nelson wasn\u2019t a superstar, but he did make one All-Star team in 2009, when these two also took the Magic to the NBA Finals. On that big stage, they faced the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a>, led by Kobe Bryant<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bryant and the Lakers took down the Magic in five games in the Finals. That was his fourth NBA title, and he\u2019d win five in total in his career. Bryant also won two Finals MVPs, one MVP, and two scoring titles. He was hoping to win another title when Howard joined him on the Lakers in 2012, but that partnership fell apart and only lasted one season.<\/p>\n

Howard would return to the Lakers in 2019, and his second stint would prove to be more successful than the first. He teamed up with LeBron James<\/a> this time around, and they won the title in 2020. That was James\u2019 fourth title, and he has also won four Finals MVPs, four MVPs, one scoring title, and one assists title.<\/p>\n

Howard and James also played together in 2021-22, but that was a disaster. The Lakers failed to make the playoffs, and that was the last time we saw the big man in the NBA.<\/p>\n

Moving on to power forward, Howard played with Pau Gasol<\/a> in 2012-13 on the Lakers. Gasol won two titles and made six All-Star and four All-NBA teams in his career. He was one of the better power forwards in the NBA for much of his career.<\/p>\n

Lastly, we get to Howard himself. To go with that one championship, he won three DPOY awards and five rebounding titles. Howard was the best defender in the NBA at his peak, and deservedly entered the Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 2025.<\/p>\n

Now,\u00a0Howard believes he is the sixth greatest center of all time<\/a>, but as incredible a player he was, that might be a bit too high. When you\u2019ve never won an MVP, you can only go so high.<\/p>\n

Now, there were plenty of MVP winners in Howard\u2019s list of the five greatest players of all time<\/a>. He had James, Michael Jordan<\/a>, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar<\/a>, Tim Duncan<\/a>, and Stephen Curry<\/a> on it.<\/p>\n