Detroit Pistons: Andre Drummond Is The Next Dwight Howard
Statistical Comparisons By Season
It’d be a disservice to chalk up Drummond’s status as the next Dwight Howard to being a large body who can rebound at an elite level while being surrounded by four perimeter shooters, however. When you take a look at the statistical output of the two up to this point in their respective careers, the similarities are pretty striking.
For starters, let’s compare his third NBA season to Howard’s third season in the league, which is an ideal comparison since they were both 21 years old at the time:
| Rk | Player | Season | G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | eFG% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andre Drummond | 2014-15 | 82 | 30.5 | 6.0 | 11.7 | .514 | .514 | .389 | 5.3 | 8.1 | 13.5 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 3.5 | 13.8 |
| 2 | Dwight Howard | 2006-07 | 82 | 36.9 | 6.4 | 10.6 | .603 | .603 | .586 | 3.5 | 8.8 | 12.3 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 3.0 | 17.6 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/27/2015.
As you can see, they were pretty similar players to that point in their careers, with Howard having an edge in the scoring, assist, field goal percentage and free throw percentage categories and Drummond being a slightly better rebounder.
But then you get to this season’s numbers, which, when compared to Dwight Howard’s stat line in his fourth season, should be extremely encouraging for Pistons fans.
| Rk | Player | Season | G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | eFG% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andre Drummond | 2015-16 | 3 | 37.3 | 6.3 | 15.3 | .413 | .413 | .581 | 6.3 | 10.0 | 16.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 18.7 |
| 2 | Dwight Howard | 2007-08 | 82 | 37.7 | 7.1 | 11.9 | .599 | .599 | .590 | 3.4 | 10.8 | 14.2 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 20.7 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/1/2015.
Again, three games does not make a season, so we have to take all these similarities with a grain of salt. But as the numbers show, Drummond is on the right track to emulating Howard’s career arc while playing for the very man who helped turn D-12 into a two-way monster in a very similar system.
As the numbers show, Howard was a more efficient scorer on offense despite far fewer field goal attempts per game.
However, Drummond is already the superior rebounder compared to what Howard was in his fourth season, and it’s especially encouraging that Drummond is protecting the rim as a similar level to D-12, a guy who would go on to win three consecutive Defensive Player of the Year Awards starting with his fifth season.
Next: Defense And Fit