Cross-era · careers 11 years apart
James Worthy vs Dwight Howard
James Worthy (1982-1993) and Dwight Howard (2004-2021) never shared an NBA court — their careers are separated by 11 years, so this is a cross-era comparison, not a head-to-head. On the floor, James Worthy was the higher-volume scorer (17.6 points per game to 15.7); adjusted for era they scored at 1.70× and 1.61× their league average respectively; Dwight Howard was the more efficient scorer (60.3% true shooting to 55.9%). Dwight Howard holds the edge on accolades — 1 championship and the #48 all-time ranking to James Worthy's #53.
Career averages
| James Worthy | Stat | Dwight Howard |
|---|
| 17.6 |
Points / game |
15.7 |
| 5.1 |
Rebounds / game |
11.8 |
| 3.0 |
Assists / game |
1.3 |
| 1.1 |
Steals / game |
0.9 |
| 0.7 |
Blocks / game |
1.8 |
| 52.1% |
Field goal % |
59.3% |
| 24.1% |
3-point % |
15.8% |
| 76.9% |
Free throw % |
57.0% |
| 55.9% |
True shooting % |
60.3% |
| 926 |
Games played |
1,242 |
Era-adjusted (× league average of their era)
| James Worthy | Stat | Dwight Howard |
|---|
| 1.70× |
Points vs era avg |
1.61× |
| 1.23× |
Rebounds vs era avg |
2.85× |
| 1.23× |
Assists vs era avg |
0.64× |
Advanced metrics
Advanced stats weren't tracked in James Worthy's era.
| James Worthy | Stat | Dwight Howard |
|---|
| — |
Offensive rating |
107.3 |
| — |
Defensive rating |
106.8 |
| — |
Net rating |
0.5 |
| — |
Usage % |
0.2% |
| — |
Assist % |
0.1% |
| — |
Rebound % |
0.2% |
Playoff averages
| James Worthy | Stat | Dwight Howard |
|---|
| 21.1 |
Points / game |
15.3 |
| 5.2 |
Rebounds / game |
11.8 |
| 3.2 |
Assists / game |
1.2 |
| 1.3 |
Steals / game |
0.8 |
| 0.7 |
Blocks / game |
2.0 |
| 55.0% |
Field goal % |
59.3% |
| 24.3% |
3-point % |
7.2% |
| 71.6% |
Free throw % |
54.8% |
| 143 |
Playoff games |
125 |
Accolades
| James Worthy | Stat | Dwight Howard |
|---|
| 0 |
MVP awards |
0 |
| 1 |
Finals MVP |
0 |
| 3 |
Championships |
1 |
| 7 |
All-Star selections |
8 |
| 0 |
All-NBA 1st Team |
5 |
| #53 |
All-time GOAT rank |
#48 |