Los Angeles Lakers: 5 Reasons to consider signing Dwight Howard

4. He’s a great defensive backbone

In addition to his rebounding, Dwight Howard’s other great talent has always been his defense, particularly his shot blocking and ability to deter smaller players from penetrating into the paint.

For his career, he’s averaged 2.0 blocks per game, which places him fourth among all active players and 23rd all time. Among active players, he’s also tops in career defensive rating (99.5) and career defensive win shares (69.6). For good measure, he’s fifth among active players in career defensive box plus/minus (2.8).

While it’s true his shot blocking numbers have declined somewhat since leaving the Lakers, he’s still very capable at that end, especially if he’s playing in short spurts, which he almost certainly would be with the Lakers.

The team already has two great or elite shot blockers in Anthony Davis and JaVale McGee. But Davis has a history of missing about 10-15 games a year due to an assortment of minor injuries, while McGee has asthma that limits how many minutes he can play, not to mention the fact that the former Golden State Warrior hasn’t exactly been durable himself over the years.

Having a third high-level rim protector in Howard would go a long way in taking the Lakers’ defense from very good to great and possibly elite.