Charlotte Hornets: 5 takeaways from 2017-18 NBA season

4. Dwight Howard bounces back

Last summer there was a lot of player movement in the NBA. Paul George dominated headlines until he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Carmelo Anthony, Jimmy Butler and Chris Paul all found new homes via trades. Another big name that somewhat went under the radar being traded was Dwight Howard.

Howard’s reputation has taken a beating in recent years. Since he was traded away from the Orlando Magic in August of 2012, nothing has seemed to really go Howard’s way. In 2016, he decided to go home to the Atlanta Hawks. He lasted one season with them before they went all in on their rebuild and traded him to the Hornets.

It was a shocking trade seeing what the Hawks received for the former All-NBA performer and Defensive Player of the Year. Howard and a 2017 second round pick were traded to Charlotte in exchange for Marco Belinelli, Miles Plumlee and a 2017 second round pick.

Howard put together his best season since 2013-14, his last with the Houston Rockets and the last time he made an All-Star team. The 81 games he played in were the most since 2009-10 when he appeared in all 82 with the Magic.

In 30.4 minutes per game, Howard averaged 16.6 points, 12.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.6 blocks per game. He impacted the game on both ends of the court and was healthy and productive for the first time in multiple seasons.

Howard has some mileage on him, but he showed this season that he can still be an above-average performer if given the chance.