Ranking the 10 greatest NBA players drafted out of high school

5. Dwight Howard was a dominant force in the NBA from day one.

Entering the NBA as a teenager, Dwight Howard was immediately one of the best defensive dynamos in basketball. The 2005 All-Rookie team selection was only the beginning for the star center out of Atlanta who is one of four players to win the Defensive Player of the Year award three times (2009-2011).

Through 18 seasons as a pro, Dwight Howard has logged 39,457 career minutes. Through all of those years — many of which have been spent as a bench player over recent seasons — he still averages a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double with two blocks for his career.

Previously, we discussed centers who mastered the crucial details of their role. Howard shows you what it’s like to perform that role at the highest possible level; to the point that it supersedes the role and becomes the focal point of a winning team. He was one of the most powerful and magnetic dunkers of a generation, rejected more shots than most players take and to this day, gobbles up rebounds like it’s nothing.

His career, albeit strange in terms of arch and backstory, has been a massive success.