Honestly, if you look back at the summer of 2013, the NBA landscape felt like it was shifting on its axis. The Houston Rockets had just pulled off the heist of the decade by snagging James Harden from OKC a year prior, but they needed a second star. Enter Dwight Howard.
He was the "Superman" of Orlando, the guy who had single-handedly dragged a team to the Finals against Kobe. Sure, his one-year stint with the Lakers was a total train wreck, but Daryl Morey and the Rockets' front office bet $88 million that a change of scenery—and some Texas tax benefits—would fix everything.
It didn't quite go to plan. But it wasn't a total failure, either.
People love to remember the Dwight Howard Houston Rockets era as a disappointment because it ended with a whimper in 2016. But between the drama and the injuries, there was a stretch where this team was terrifyingly good. They were one of the few squads that actually made the Golden State Warriors sweat before the Curry-Klay-KD machine became invincible.
The Pitch: Why Dwight Chose Houston
When Dwight Howard hit free agency in 2013, he had his pick of the litter. The Lakers wanted him back (mostly to save face), the Warriors were interested, and even the Mavericks made a push.
But Houston was different.
General Manager Daryl Morey didn't just offer money. He offered a "Legacy of Bigs." The Rockets literally sat Dwight down and showed him videos of Hakeem Olajuwon and Moses Malone. They told him he was the next in line. They even got Hakeem himself to help recruit.
For a guy who always felt a bit misunderstood and wanted to be loved, the Rockets rolled out the red carpet. Plus, the fit on paper was basically a basketball nerd’s dream. You had James Harden, the ultimate pick-and-roll maestro, and Dwight Howard, the ultimate rim runner.
It was supposed to be Shaq and Kobe 2.0.
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Dwight signed a four-year, $87.5 million contract. He left $30 million on the table by walking away from the Lakers, which is something people often forget. He genuinely wanted to win in Houston.
That 2014-15 Run Was Legitimate
You can’t talk about the Dwight Howard Houston Rockets tenure without mentioning the 2015 Western Conference Finals.
That year was wild.
Dwight missed half the season with a bum knee. People were already calling him "washed." Then the playoffs started, and Playoff Dwight showed up. He was a monster. He averaged about 16 points and 14 rebounds throughout that postseason, but those numbers don't capture the defensive gravity he still had.
The Rockets famously came back from a 3-1 deficit against the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round. Remember the Josh Smith and Corey Brewer game? Dwight was the anchor of that defense while Harden was on the bench.
They eventually lost to the Warriors in five games in the WCF, but that was the peak. Houston finally felt like a championship contender again. Dwight looked like he had found a home.
Where the Chemistry Curdled
So, what went wrong? Why do we talk about this era like it was a bad breakup?
It basically comes down to two things: the evolution of the game and a clash of egos.
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First, the league was changing. The "Seven Seconds or Less" style was taking over, and the post-up was dying. Dwight hated this. He wanted the ball in the low post. He wanted to back guys down and hook shot them into oblivion.
Statistically? Dwight was actually pretty mediocre in the post during those years. The Rockets' analytics-driven front office knew that a Dwight post-up was a low-value possession compared to a Harden step-back or a pick-and-roll.
Harden wanted to play fast. Dwight wanted to slow it down.
The Harden-Howard Friction
By the 2015-16 season, the "vibe shift" was undeniable.
Harden had blossomed into a perennial MVP candidate. He was the sun, the moon, and the stars in Houston. Dwight, meanwhile, was seeing his role shrink. There were reports of "lack of respect" between the two.
In one infamous moment after Harden hit a game-winner against Golden State in the 2016 playoffs, the cameras caught Dwight on the bench. He looked like someone had just told him his dog died. He wasn't celebrating. He was checked out.
The team finished 41-41 that year. Kevin McHale got fired early on. The locker room was toxic. It was a mess.
The Stats That Matter
If you look at the raw production, Howard’s time in Houston was actually quite productive, even if it lacked the hardware:
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- Year 1 (2013-14): 18.3 PPG, 12.2 RPG, 1.8 BPG. (All-Star season)
- Year 2 (2014-15): 15.8 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 1.3 BPG. (Injuries limited him to 41 games)
- Year 3 (2015-16): 13.7 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 1.6 BPG. (The beginning of the end)
He was still a double-double machine. He just wasn't the focal point he wanted to be.
Looking Back: Was the Dwight Howard Houston Rockets Era a Success?
Success is relative.
If the goal was a ring, they failed. But Dwight gave the Rockets their first Western Conference Finals appearance in 18 years. He helped bridge the gap between the Tracy McGrady era and the "Point God" Chris Paul era.
He eventually opted out in 2016 and headed home to Atlanta.
The most interesting part? After he left, James Harden truly ascended. Mike D'Antoni came in, they went full "Moreyball," and the Rockets became the most efficient offense in history. Dwight’s departure actually cleared the way for the Rockets to become the best version of themselves, even if they never quite got past the Warriors.
Actionable Takeaways for NBA Fans
If you're debating the legacy of this era, keep these nuances in mind:
- Check the Playoff Stats: Don't just look at the regular season. Howard was significantly better in the postseason for Houston than most people remember. His 2014 series against Portland (despite the loss) was legendary—he averaged 26 and 13.
- Contextualize the "Diva" Narrative: While the chemistry with Harden was bad, Howard's defensive impact was the only reason those Rockets teams had a backbone. Without him, they were a revolving door at the rim.
- The Injury Factor: Dwight's back and knee issues in 2014-15 changed his explosiveness forever. It's hard to be "Superman" when you can't jump like you used to.
The Dwight Howard Houston Rockets partnership was a high-stakes gamble that almost paid off in 2015. It didn't end in a parade, but it certainly wasn't the disaster the media made it out to be at the time. It was simply a case of two stars whose timelines and playstyles were heading in opposite directions.