“I’ve been on the side where you have nothing, and now I’m on the side where anything I want is there for me.” No one has embodied those words quite like Dwight Howard. In 2025, that line finally hit home for the former NBA superstar. Howard has landed Hall of Fame nods not once, but twice, and is making a comeback on American soil with the Big3 league. Yep, every dream the 39-year-old ever had seems to be lining up perfectly this year. But there’s that one lingering debate: the ’75 greatest players ever’ list. That discussion has always been a tough one to shake. And now, former NBA champ Richard Jefferson has weighed in, giving this conversation a whole new spark.

In celebration of its 75th anniversary, the NBA released a list of its 76 greatest players in 2021 due to tie-in votes. And surprisingly, Dwight Howard wasn’t on it. Remember, at the peak of his career, Howard was a rebounding machine and a defensive powerhouse. He racked up double-digit rebounds season after season and became one of the league’s most feared rim protectors. For a quick flex on his dominance, Howard earned the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award three years straight, from 2009 to 2011. That was during a time when legends like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James were still running the league. But Howard still found a way to shine. Yet, couldn’t make it to the list.

Now, former NBA champ and basketball analyst Richard Jefferson is stepping up to give Dwight Howard the praise he’s long overdue. Though Howard’s career hasn’t been without its controversies and critics, Jefferson is looking to change the narrative and shift how people see him today. In a recent episode of Best of Both Worlds with Flau’jae, Richard Jefferson made it clear: “People always want to be like, well, he could’ve done this… Dwight should’ve been a 75 greatest of all time. He was that dominant, without a doubt.” Jefferson didn’t even flinch before saying: “Absolutely, like without a doubt.”

Let’s circle back a little. When Dwight Howard joined Shaquille O’Neal on his podcast, it was one of the things that he wanted to talk about. After all, who better to discuss the snub with than your childhood hero, right? When Shaq asked if D Howard had any questions for him, he was quick to say, “Yeah, I do. As far as everything that’s been going on with the top 75 and stuff like that, do you feel like I was a little disrespected?”

Over time, it has been something that Howard has expressed his disappointment over and he believes that the decision happened because of “politics.” Much to his console, The Big Aristotle added, “Of course you were. But, again, I felt you should’ve played a certain way and a certain style. And the unfortunate thing about you and your career is you got caught right between the middle end of your career, and the new beginning of this new shift.”

Shaq then went on to explain how Howard was among the few old-school centers who were still in the league by the end of his career. But it was around the same time when pick and pop had taken over and the centers could shoot, which made Howard’s game somewhat outdated. To further his point, the 53-year-old mentioned that Howard could’ve better marketed himself after and during his career. Let’s face it, though, we all saw how Howard was caught up in lawsuits since retirement.

But then, Shaq dropped the ultimate advice for Howard: “Who gives a f— about what they say? Let me tell you something about life. You should only care about your mother, your father, your brothers and sisters and your beautiful kids, and your wife. All these other motherf——, they don’t care about us. They don’t give a f— about us.”

Now that Howard has landed two Hall of Fame nods — Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and Orlando Magic Hall of Fame — and he has accomplished just about everything most players only dream of, he might just brush this off. It really doesn’t matter anymore whether he ‘should have’ or ‘could have’ made that list. Some players simply can’t be defined by a mere ranking. But just like Jefferson, Howard’s old coach, Stan Van Gundy, couldn’t believe the decision by the association either.

Stan Van Gundy slams the snub calling it “ridiculous”

When the NBA unveiled its top 76 players of all time for the league’s 75th anniversary in October 2021, there were some notable names missing. Klay Thompson, Tony Parker, Draymond Green, Kyrie Irving, Chris Bosh, and Pau Gasol were just a few who didn’t make the cut. But for many, the biggest snub was Dwight Howard. And Howard’s former coach, Stan Van Gundy, was among those who thought Howard’s absence was “absolutely ridiculous.”

In 2023, Van Gundy shared his take on Howard’s career, dropping an analogy that might make the association reconsider their decision. “Look, for him to not be in the top 75, that was just a personality thing,” Van Gundy said. “There’s no way. Like, I think Anthony Davis is great, but at the time the selected [the top 75], you’re selecting it on the careers they had had up to that point. I mean come on. It’s not close.” 

Gundy didn’t stop there. He continued, “You cannot make a case that Anthony Davis, when they picked that team, or even now, had a better career than Dwight Howard”. Van Gundy concluded, saying, “That’s absolutely ridiculous.” 

Whether the association recognizes it or not, no fans can ignore his dominance on the court because the true measure of greatness isn’t about rankings, it’s about what you leave behind. And sure enough, Dwight Howard is leaving a legacy that will speak on his behalf.