Stan Van Gundy is making the rounds in the NBA world as he’s being considered for the Los Angeles Clippers coaching job and is resurfacing as a guy people want to listen to. One of the things Van Gundy is talking about is the player that got him fired in Orlando, as Van Gundy told 740AM in Orlando that any team in the NBA including the Indiana Pacers would pick Dwight Howard as the best center in the NBA right now.
“Come on, that one’s not close,” Van Gundy said on Open Mike morning radio show. “You could put that question to 30 general managers in the league — and give them the choice — and Indiana, out of loyalty, might take Hibbert although I would doubt it. The other 29 would not even hesitate. Everybody’s taking Dwight.”
Faith in Howard as the league’s best center dwindled this season after he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers and proceeded to turn in a less than impressive season. From people getting on him about his free throw problems to questions about his leadership, it was a rough season for Hollywood Howard but Van Gundy says that one bad season doesn’t make a player’s legacy.
Van Gundy did take it to a place of relevancy when he said that even the Pacers would consider taking Howard over Roy Hibbert, who is currently a leader on their Conference Finals cinderella team.
“I understand … Roy Hibbert is playing the best basketball of his career right now (against the Heat). You have to understand that Roy Hibbert during the regular season had seven games where he had (at least) 20 points and 10 rebounds and now he has three in this series,” Van Gundy said. “So now people are looking at him and saying he’s great. He averages 11 points per game in his career and he’s not a terrific rebounder although he is an elite-level defender. But on the offensive end of the floor he’s never done (what he’s doing now) and he’s really taking advantage of a very, very small Miami Heat team and a defender in Chris Bosh who right now in the series has just not stepped up into the battle at all.”
The former Magic coach has a point, as Howard out rebounded and averaged more point than Hibbert did all season long, and even though Hibbert is the one still standing, Howard seems to be the better center.
However, Hibbert is still a budding star in the NBA and it shouldn’t be long before we’re calling Hibbert the best center in the NBA, as the discussion has apparently already started.