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In the late 1990s, two of the brightest up-and-coming young big men in the NBA were Juwan Howard of the Washington Bullets/Wizards and Antonio McDyess of the Denver Nuggets; both averaged 20+ points per game and were All-NBA selections by the age of 25, leading many basketball pundits to anoint them as future superstars in the post-Michael Jordan era. While neither player quite reached the expected superstardom for one reason or another, both nevertheless had long and productive careers in the Association; given their comparable playing positions and similar career trajectories across overlapping careers, it makes sense to ask the question:
Who was better – Juwan Howard or Antonio McDyess?
The Beginning
From high school All-Americans to college basketball stars, Howard and McDyess each were top-five lottery draft picks in their respective classes and made an immediate impact at the NBA level.
Born to a teenage mother, Howard was raised by his maternal grandmother in Chicago and blossomed as a basketball player, earning both Parade and McDonald’s All-American honors as a senior. As a coveted recruit, he ultimately chose to attend the University of Michigan as part of the fabled “Fab Five” that also included Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson. In his first two seasons at Michigan, the Wolverines made it to the national championship game twice, but lost both times, most infamously due to Webber’s phantom timeout call the second time around vs. North Carolina. After Webber, who had been the alpha dog as a freshman and sophomore, left for the NBA, Howard blossomed individually and earned First Team All-Big Ten and Third Team All-American honors as a junior in 1994, thus prompting him to declare early for the 1994 NBA Draft, where he was selected fifth overall by the then-Bullets franchise; nevertheless, Howard fulfilled a promise to his grandmother to graduate from college. Despite missing the early part of his rookie season for contract reasons, Howard was reunited in Washington with Webber and posted averages of 17.0 points (48.9% shooting), a career-best 8.4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game to make the All-Rookie Team.
Meanwhile, growing up in Mississippi, McDyess was likewise one of the nation’s top high school basketball players and stayed nearby at the University of Alabama. After averaging a double-double in his sophomore season, he declared early for the 1995 NBA Draft and was selected second overall by the Los Angeles Clippers, but never suited up for the team; instead, he was dealt before the start of the 1995-1996 season with Randy Woods to the Nuggets for Rodney Rogers and a first-round draft pick (later used on Brent Barry). As a rookie, McDyess made the All-Rookie Team by averaging a solid 13.4 points per game on 48.5% shooting with 7.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.
Career Comparison
Early on in their careers, Howard and McDyess were both explosive and highly productive big men on their way to becoming superstars; in the second act of their NBA careers, each instead evolved into a reliable and steady veteran big man for winning teams.
In just his second NBA season in 1995-1996, Howard had a career year, averaging a career-best 22.1 points per game on 48.9% shooting with 8.1 rebounds and a career-high 4.4 assists per game to earn his only All-Star selection as well as Third Team All-NBA honors. A free agent at season’s end due to an escape clause in his rookie contract, he originally signed with the Miami Heat, but the deal was voided and he instead stayed with Washington (who rebranded as the Wizards) and became the first player in NBA history to sign a $100M contract. As an encore, Howard had another strong year in 1996-1997 with averages of 19.1 points (48.6% shooting), 8.0 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. In fact, despite playing only 100 total games over the next couple of seasons due to injuries, Howard averaged at least 17 points and 7 rebounds per game in each of his first five seasons with the Bullets/Wizards. However, with the team continuing to struggle, Webber was traded after the 1997-1998 season to the Sacramento Kings, leaving Howard as the top frontcourt option.
After a solid 1998-1999 season, Howard struggled mightily in 1999-2000 with then-career lows of just 14.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game; though he rebounded the next year, he was traded at midseason with Obinna Ekezie and Calvin Booth to the Dallas Mavericks for Christian Laettner, Loy Vaught, Etan Thomas, Hubert Davis, Courtney Alexander, and cash. On a Dallas team led by Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley, and Steve Nash, Howard provided a low post presence and played well across parts of two seasons, but was once again traded at midseason the next year, this time to the Nuggets with Donnell Harvey, Tim Hardaway, and a first-round draft pick for Raef LaFrentz, Avery Johnson, Nick Van Exel, and Tariq Abdul-Wahad. As a member of the Nuggets, Howard posted some of his best production since his Washington prime – in his lone full season with Denver in 2002-2003, he averaged 18.4 points per game on 45.0% shooting with 7.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
As he entered his 30s, Howard gradually became more of a veteran complementary big man. Originally signed as a free agent by the Orlando Magic in 2003-2004, he averaged 15+ points per game for the last time (17.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game), but was then part of the seven-player blockbuster trade that sent Tracy McGrady to the Houston Rockets. Howard spent three seasons with the Rockets as the starting power forward before being dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves; however, he never suited up for Minnesota, instead returning to Dallas and also playing for Denver again and also the Charlotte Bobcats and Portland Trail Blazers over the next three seasons. Finally, in 2010-2011, he signed with the Heat (the team he had nearly joined more than a decade ago) and played sparingly off the bench for three seasons before retiring at age 39 following the 2012-2013 season.
Likewise, McDyess showed signs of becoming a star in his second season – during the 1996-1997 season, he posted averages of 18.3 points (46.3% shooting), 7.3 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. However, due to unhappiness with the team over contract negotiations, he was dealt in the offseason to the Phoenix Suns in a three-way trade that netted Denver five draft picks; on a veteran Suns team led by Jason Kidd, McDyess saw his numbers decrease (15.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game). A free agent after just one season with Phoenix, he returned to the Nuggets and made the All-NBA Third Team in 1998-1999 with a career-high 21.2 points per game on 47.1% shooting with 10.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Following another strong year in 1999-2000 (19.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game), he earned his lone All-Star selection in 2000-2001 with 20.8 points (49.5% shooting) and a career-high 12.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
At this point a rising NBA star, McDyess suffered a serious knee injury in 2001-2002 that caused him to miss all but 10 games that year, plus the entire 2002-2003 season. He would never play for the Nuggets again and was traded in 2002 to the New York Knicks for Marcus Camby, Mark Jackson, and the draft rights to Nene; though his arrival in New York was highly anticipated, McDyess quickly re-injured his knee and was never quite the same player again. Later that season, he returned to the Suns as part of the Stephon Marbury trade. Deemed healthy in the offseason, he signed as a mid-level exception with the Detroit Pistons, who were just coming off a title run.
On a veteran-laden Pistons team led by the likes of Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, and Ben Wallace, McDyess reinvented himself as a dependable big man off the bench. Across five seasons in Detroit, he typically played 20-30 minutes a game and was good for around 10 points and half-a-dozen rebounds or so nightly. Starting in 2007-2008, he moved into the starting lineup and had his best season in years in 2008-2009, nearly averaging a double-double (9.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game) while shooting 51.0% from the field; interestingly, he was actually traded during the season back to the Nuggets in the Billups/Allen Iverson trade for salary cap reasons, but was quickly bought out by Denver and re-signed by Detroit. As the decade came to a close, McDyess joined another winning organization in the San Antonio Spurs, where he again played the veteran big man role off the bench for a couple of seasons before announcing his retirement post the 2010-2011 season at age 36.
With 19 seasons of NBA service, Howard played four more years in the Association than McDyess and nearly 200 additional regular season games; moreover, he averaged more career points (13.4 vs 12.0) and assists (2.2 vs. 1.3) per game, though McDyess was the better rebounder (7.5 to 6.1 rebounds per game) and a more efficient shooter. In terms of awards and accolades, both players started off their careers as All-Rookie selections and made a single All-Star and All-NBA Team. Overall, this translates to both a higher career Player Efficiency Rating (PER) for McDyess (17.2 vs. 14.6), as well as more career Win-Shares (69.8 vs. 59.4). Given their careers mostly overlapped, the duo faced off head-to-head 25x in the regular season with comparable results – Howard’s teams won the matchup 13-12 and he averaged 13.4 points per game on 47.7% shooting with 6.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game vs. McDyess’ 11.8 points per game on 48.8% shooting with 7.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Though each power forward had a strong start to his NBA career, ultimately, neither is likely to garner any serious consideration for the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Regular Season Statistics
| Juwan Howard | Player | Antonio McDyess |
| 19 (1994-2013) | Seasons | 15 (1995-2002, 2003-2011) |
| 1,208 | Games Played | 1,015 |
| 13.4 | Points | 12.0 |
| 6.1 | Rebounds | 7.5 |
| 2.2 | Assists | 1.3 |
| 46.9% | Field Goal % | 49.7% |
| 76.4% | Free Throw % | 67.0% |
| 14.6 | PER | 17.2 |
| 59.4 | Win Shares | 69.8 |
| 1x | All-Star Games | 1x |
| 1x | All-NBA | 1x |
| – | MVP | – |
| 2x | NBA Titles | – |
| – | NBA Finals MVP | – |
| All-Rookie | Other Awards | All-Rookie |
| – | Hall of Fame Induction | – |
Source: Basketball-Reference.com
While neither Howard nor McDyess parlayed their early individual success into much team success, both evolved into strong veteran presences towards the latter halves of their careers for championship-contending teams.
Though he made the postseason 7x, most of Howard’s appearances came later on in his career, e.g. he only played one playoff series with Washington, averaging 18.7 points per game in a three-game sweep. In fact, the majority of his postseason trips resulted in first-round losses, but he did win back-to-back rings with the Heat in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012; those titles were mostly due to the “Big Three” of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, though, as Howard himself averaged less than five minutes per game coming off the bench.
Similarly, only one of McDyess’ eight postseason trips came during his heyday with Denver and Phoenix (he did average a double-double in 1997-1998 with 17.8 points and 13.3 rebounds per game in a four-game loss for the Suns); nevertheless, he was a valuable contributor off the bench for perennial playoff teams with the Pistons and the Spurs, typically averaging 20-30 minutes per game with close to double-digit scoring and rebounding on a nightly basis. Notably, McDyess reached the NBA Finals in 2004-2005 with Detroit before falling in seven games to the Spurs and their triumvirate of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker, which was the closest he came to winning a title.
Additionally, on the international stage, McDyess was a member of Team USA when they won the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
Playoff Statistics
| Juwan Howard | Player | Antonio McDyess |
| 49 | Games Played | 100 |
| 5.5 | Points | 8.1 |
| 3.2 | Rebounds | 6.8 |
| 0.7 | Assists | 0.9 |
| 39.4% | Field Goal % | 48.7% |
| 75.8% | Free Throw % | 68.9% |
| 10.9 | PER | 15.1 |
| 0.8 | Win Shares | 6.0 |
Source: Basketball-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; as mentioned, both players were high-flying stars in their early NBA days before gradually evolving into valuable veteran presences due to a mix of age/effectiveness (Howard) and/or injuries (McDyess). For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Juwan Howard | Player | Antonio McDyess |
| 1994-2004 | Decade of Dominance | 1995-2001, 2004-2005, 2006-2009 |
| 730 | Games Played | 731 |
| 17.8 | Points | 14.2 |
| 7.4 | Rebounds | 8.3 |
| 3.0 | Assists | 1.4 |
| 47.1% | Field Goal % | 49.7% |
| 75.5% | Free Throw % | 67.6% |
| 15.7 | PER | 18.0 |
| 43.6 | Win Shares | 57.0 |
Source: Basketball-Reference.com
When you look at each player’s best decade, the numbers for both Howard and McDyess look much better than their overall career averages; the same general comparisons still hold (more points and assists for Howard, more rebounds with better efficiency and better advanced metrics for McDyess), but it should also be caveated that the latter really only had half-a-dozen prime years before his injuries.
My Thoughts
The NBA careers of Juwan Howard and Antonio McDyess are both essentially a tale of two career halves – circa 1998-1999, each looked like they were poised to be superstars in the NBA for the next decade or so; fast forward a decade and whether it be the burden of Howard’s massive contract or McDyess’ injuries, both were still productive players, but very much role players rather than stars. Given that dichotomy, in comparing the two, I still give the edge to McDyess – at his peak, he was a more dynamic, high-flying player and a much better rebounder at the power forward position; in fact, like a Penny Hardaway or a Brandon Roy, had it not been for those ravaging injuries, he very likely would have been a star player throughout the 2000s. Moreover, even in the second act of his playing days, he remained a valuable big man, especially with his toughness and rebounding, right up to the day he retired with the Spurs. In contrast, Howard was not the victim of injuries, but rather his play just declined over time and for the last half-decade or so of his NBA career, he was pretty much just a depth player; nevertheless, there is likewise a bit of the “what might have been?” for him – what if he did not have to live up to the expectations of being a $100M player, what if Washington had not traded away Webber and allowed the former Michigan teammates to grow and develop together?
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Antonio McDyess
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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