Dwight Howard occupies 4 of the top 5 spots in the Orlando Magic organization for single season rebounds per game.
The Orlando Magic have had some tremendous rebounders play for their franchise. In particular, Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal stood out for them on the boards. Let’s highlight their top five leaders in rebounds per game for a single season.
Dwight Howard, 2011-12, 14.5 RPG
The Magic selected Howard with the first pick in the 2004 Draft. He averaged 12.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks during his rookie season, which helped him finish third in Rookie of the Year voting. The next season, Howard began a streak of nine straight seasons in which he averaged at least 12.2 rebounds per game. In 2011-12, he led the league by averaging 14.5 rebounds per game. That season, he finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting and seventh in MVP voting.
Dwight Howard, 2007-08, 14.2 RPG
Howard made his second career All-Star team in 2007-08. That season also marked two firsts for him. He averaged 20.7 points per game, which was the first time that he averaged at least 20.0 points per game in a season. With his average of 14.2 rebounds per game, he led the league in rebounding for the first time in his career. Almost as impressive is that he averaged 38 minutes while playing all 82 games. He finished seventh in Defensive Player of the Year voting and fifth in MVP voting that season.
Dwight Howard, 2010-11, 14.1 RPG
Despite his robust average of 14.1 rebounds per game in 2010-11, Howard finished second on the leaderboard to Kevin Love (15.2). However, with his averages of 22.9 points, 2.4 blocks and 1.4 steals per game, this was arguably the best season of Howard’s career. He won the Defensive Player of the Year award and finished second in MVP voting.
Shaquille O’Neal, 1992-93, 13.9 RPG
The Magic selected O’Neal with the first pick in the 1992 Draft. He burst onto the scene in 1992-93 to make the All-Star team, win the Rookie of the Year award and finish seventh in MVP voting. In addition to his average of 13.9 rebounds per game, O’Neal provided 23.4 points and 3.5 blocks per game. O’Neal spent the first four seasons of his career with the Magic and averaged 12.5 rebounds over 295 regular season games. While he did not win a championship with the Magic, O’Neal eventually won three titles with the Lakers and one with the Heat.
Dwight Howard, 2008-09, 13.8 Rebounds Per Game
Howard once again led the league in rebounding with 13.8 boards per game in 2008-09. He also led the league by averaging 2.9 blocks per game, which helped him win the Defensive Player of the Year award for the first time in his career. Howard spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Magic. During his tenure with the team, he led the league in rebounds per game four times, blocks per game two times and won three Defensive Player of the Year awards.
