Dwight Howard's Best Teammates Throughout His NBA Career

After a devastatingly disastrous outing with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012-13, Howard was looking for a new team to call home, and eventually landed on the Houston Rockets. Howard joined budding superstar James Harden on the Rockets from the 2013-14 season to the 2015-16 season, where the duo was consistently one of the most fearsome teams the NBA had to offer. Howard took a backseat behind Harden, and the duo would often play in space and ISO, leading to Howard becoming more of a simple rim-running center than he was used to, which led to contempt with both Harden and the franchise. Eventually, the duo would make the Conference Finals, but would never make it to the mountain top and Howard would eventually be traded to the Atlanta Hawks.

In the 2019-20 and 2021-22 NBA seasons, Dwight Howard joined then subsequently rejoined the Los Angeles Lakers for the second and third times in his career. This time less heralded as a franchise savior and more of a resident backup center. During his time with the Lake Show, Howard played alongside the great LeBron James and quickly became a favorite running mate of the superstar. Dwight and James connected on a plethora of lob dunks, defensive flourishes, and dance battles on the bench, and the good vibes saw the duo eventually reach the mountaintop, and win the 2020 NBA championship.

The starting point guard on the the Orlando Magic for all eight of Dwight's years with the team, Nelson actually missed the team's run to the 2009 NBA Finals due to injury. However, in all those seasons playing together, Nelson and Howard developed a strong chemistry and a sharp inside/out pick-n-roll game. Nelson wasn't the best player Dwight ever played with but the longstanding teammates made Orlando a perennial playoff team for the better part of a decade. 

In his third stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard was able to play alongside fellow superstar Carmelo Anthony, however, both players would be well past their prime and would be playing their last seasons in the NBA. The 2021-22 Lakers squad was abysmal from the jump, with many complaining that the team was too old, with Melo and Howard being key examples of their age. Anthony and Howard led the bench for the Lake Show, and would combine to put up 19.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, but the team would be one of the worst teams in the league during the process.

The addition of Rashard Lewis to the Orlando Magic was the final piece the team needed to help garner a championship window in the Dwight Howard era. The floor-spacing big man was a deadly outside shooter who hit shots at a terrific clip and defended well. During his 4 seasons with the Magic, Lewis, and Howard became one of the deadliest frontcourts in the league. Reaching the NBA finals during the 2008-09 season, Lewis was the teams second leading scorer and helped the team upset LeBron's Cavaliers in the playoffs. For a minute, it looked like a potential dynasty was in the making, but panic moves from the Magic front office saw the franchise trade Lewis away during the 2010-11 season.

Hedo Türkoğlu was an ironman small forward on the Orlando Magic in their run to the 2009 NBA Finals. Türkoğlu, who played with Dwight for five seasons in Orlando, was third on the team in scoring with nearly 17 per game. Hedo was a crucial member of the Magic's four-out lineup around Dwight that surrounded the big man with elite shooting, as they nearly shot their way to an NBA title.