Who’s Better? Comparing Dwight Howard and Nikola Jokic’s Stats and Accomplishments in the NBA

• Dwight Howard claimed in an interview that he was better in his prime than Nikola Jokic now
• Jokic led the Denver Nuggets to the NBA title this year and has won two MVP awards thus far
• Howard led the Magic to the 2009 Finals and won three Defensive Player of the Year awards

Dwight Howard has made it a mission to remind everybody of his past greatness.

He said in a recent interview that he believes he was better in his prime than the current version of Nikola Jokić.

Sports Brief examines Howard’s claim and whether his stats and accomplishments hold up against the numbers and awards of the Denver Nuggets star.

NBA Championships

Howard and Jokic have each won one NBA title, but how they claimed that championship is very different.

Jokic cemented his status as the best player in the NBA right now, averaging 30.0 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 9.5 assists per game in the 2023 playoffs.

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He stuffed the stat sheet during the Nuggets’ championship run, recording ten triple-doubles last postseason.

The Serbian star saved the best for last, averaging 30.2 points, 14 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 1.4 steals per contest in the Finals to lead the Nuggets to their first-ever NBA crown.

Howard also won the NBA title before, capturing the championship with the Los Angeles Lakers inside the Orlando bubble in 2020.

He was a bit part player in that championship team, averaging just 2.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in six games in the Finals.

However, Howard was a force to be reckoned with in his previous Finals appearance in 2009. He averaged 15.4 points, 15.2 rebounds, and 4.0 blocks in five games for the Magic in their championship series against the Lakers, per Statmuse.

MVP awards

Jokic holds the edge in this department, winning the Most Valuable Player award back-to-back times in 2021 and 2022. He made a solid case to become the fourth player to win an MVP 3-peat, but voters opted to give the award to Joel Embiid this year.

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Howard never won the MVP award in his career. The closest he got to winning the prestigious award was in the 2010-11 season when he finished second in the voting to Derrick Rose, per Basketball Reference.

Olympics

Howard has one award that Jokic doesn’t have: an Olympic gold medal. He was part of the United States team that won the title in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

He dominated down low for the Americans in China, averaging 10.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks in eight games.

Jokic was part of the Serbian team that finished second to the USA in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

He recorded six points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals in Serbia’s 96-66 loss to the United States.

Jokic and Serbia failed to medal at the 2019 FIBA World Cup after losing to Argentina in the quarterfinals.

Defensive Player of the Year

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No one can question that Howard was a better defender than Jokic.

Howard won three Defensive Player of the Year awards in his career, taking the honour in 2009, 2010, and 2011.

Howard was also named to the All-Defensive team five times. He led the NBA in blocks per game for two seasons.

All-NBA selections

Howard has been part of eight All-NBA selections, five of which were with the First Team.

Jokic has been named to the All-NBA team five times in his career, three of which were first-team selections.

Jokic is only 28, though, and he has plenty of time to catch Howard’s total.

Career stats

Howard has racked up 19,485 points, 14,627 rebounds, 1,676 assists, 1,081 steals, and 2,228 blocks in his NBA career.

Jokic has recorded 12,054 points, 6,273 rebounds, 3,959 assists, 714 steals, and 423 blocks thus far in the NBA.

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Best players in 2023 playoffs

Sports Brief recently reported on the best players in the 2023 playoffs.

Jokic was ranked No. 1 after leading the Nuggets in points, rebounds, assists, and blocks in their playoff run.

Jamal Murray came in second after he produced stellar performances in the series against the Wolves, Suns, Lakers, and Heat.