Joel Embiid vs. Dwight Howard Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dwight Howard and Joel Embiid, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Joel Embiid played 9 years in the NBA, 9 less than Dwight Howard, who played 18. Joel Embiid had the first of his seasons in 2016-17, while Dwight Howard had his rookie season in 2004-05. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Joel Embiid	9	7	2016-17 to 2024-25
Dwight Howard	18	12	2004-05 to 2021-22

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9


Rookie Season
	Joel Embiid	Dwight Howard
Season	2016-17	2004-05
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	31	25.4	20.2	2.0	5.9	7.8	2.1	0.9	2.5	3.8	3.6	6.5	13.8	.466	1.2	3.2	.367	6.2	7.9	.783
difference:	+51	+7.2	+8.2	+1.5	+0.6	+2.2	+1.2		+0.8	-1.8	-0.8	+2.2	+5.5	+.054	+1.2	+3.2		+2.8	+2.9	+.112
Dwight Howard	82	32.6	12.0	3.5	6.5	10.0	0.9	0.9	1.7	2.0	2.8	4.3	8.3	.520	0.0	0.0	-	3.4	5.0	.671

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Joel Embiid nor Dwight Howard played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Joel Embiid	Dwight Howard
Season	2017-18	2005-06
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	63	30.3	22.9	2.3	8.7	11.0	3.2	0.6	1.8	3.7	3.3	8.1	16.8	.483	1.0	3.4	.308	5.7	7.4	.769
difference:	+19	+6.5	+7.1	+1.2	+0.3	+1.5	+1.7	+0.2	+0.4	-1.1	-0.1	+2.4	+6.1	+.048	+1.0	+3.4		+1.4	+0.1	+.174
Dwight Howard	82	36.8	15.8	3.5	9.0	12.5	1.5	0.8	1.4	2.6	3.4	5.7	10.7	.531	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	7.3	.595

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	8	34.8	21.4	2.9	9.8	12.6	3.0	0.9	1.8	3.6	3.9	7.5	17.3	.435	1.0	3.6	.276	5.4	7.6	.705
Dwight Howard	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Joel Embiid	Dwight Howard
Season	2018-19	2006-07
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Magic Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	64	33.7	27.5	2.5	11.1	13.6	3.7	0.7	1.9	3.5	3.3	9.1	18.7	.484	1.2	4.1	.300	8.2	10.1	.804
difference:	+18	+3.2	+9.9	+1.0	+2.3	+1.3	+1.8	+0.2		-0.4	-0.3	+2.7	+8.1	+.119	+1.2	+4.1		+3.4	+2.0	+.218
Dwight Howard	82	36.9	17.6	3.5	8.8	12.3	1.9	0.9	1.9	3.9	3.0	6.4	10.6	.603	0.0	0.0	-	4.8	8.1	.586

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	11	30.4	20.2	1.9	8.5	10.5	3.4	0.7	2.3	3.6	3.1	6.2	14.5	.428	1.1	3.5	.308	6.7	8.2	.822
difference:	+7	+11.4	+4.9	+2.1	+2.3	+4.3	+1.6	+0.2	+1.3	-0.7	-0.2	+0.4	+4.0	+.120	+1.1	+3.5		+2.9	+0.1	+.367
Dwight Howard	4	41.8	15.3	4.0	10.8	14.8	1.8	0.5	1.0	4.3	3.3	5.8	10.5	.548	0.0	0.0	-	3.8	8.3	.455


Season 4
	Joel Embiid	Dwight Howard
Season	2019-20	2007-08
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Magic Lost East Conf Semis

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	51	29.5	23.0	2.8	8.9	11.6	3.0	0.9	1.3	3.1	3.4	7.5	15.7	.477	1.1	3.4	.331	6.9	8.5	.807
difference:	+31	+8.2	+2.3	+0.6	+1.9	+2.6	+1.7		+0.8	-0.1	-0.1	+0.4	+3.8	+.122	+1.1	+3.4		+0.4	+2.4	+.217
Dwight Howard	82	37.7	20.7	3.4	10.8	14.2	1.3	0.9	2.1	3.2	3.3	7.1	11.9	.599	0.0	0.0	-	6.5	10.9	.590

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	4	36.3	30.0	2.8	9.5	12.3	1.3	1.5	1.3	3.8	4.5	8.5	18.5	.459	1.0	4.0	.250	12.0	14.8	.814
difference:	+6	+5.8	+11.1	+3.2	+0.3	+3.5	+0.4	+0.7	+2.1	-0.6	-0.7	+1.3	+6.1	+.122	+1.0	+4.0		+7.5	+6.5	+.272
Dwight Howard	10	42.1	18.9	6.0	9.8	15.8	0.9	0.8	3.4	3.2	3.8	7.2	12.4	.581	0.0	0.0	-	4.5	8.3	.542


Season 5
	Joel Embiid	Dwight Howard
Season	2020-21	2008-09
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	Blocks Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Magic Lost NBA Finals

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	51	31.1	28.5	2.2	8.4	10.6	2.8	1.0	1.4	3.1	2.4	9.0	17.6	.513	1.1	3.0	.377	9.2	10.7	.859
difference:	+28	+4.6	+7.9	+2.1	+1.2	+3.2	+1.4		+1.5	-0.1	-1.0	+1.9	+5.2	+.059	+1.1	+3.0		+2.8		+.265
Dwight Howard	79	35.7	20.6	4.3	9.6	13.8	1.4	1.0	2.9	3.0	3.4	7.1	12.4	.572	0.0	0.0	-	6.4	10.7	.594

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	11	32.5	28.1	1.5	9.1	10.5	3.4	1.0	1.5	3.8	3.0	9.2	17.9	.513	1.5	3.7	.390	8.3	9.9	.835
difference:	+12	+6.8	+7.8	+2.8	+1.9	+4.8	+1.5	+0.1	+1.1	-0.9	-1.4	+2.2	+6.2	+.088	+1.5	+3.6	+.390	+2.0		+.199
Dwight Howard	23	39.3	20.3	4.3	11.0	15.3	1.9	0.9	2.6	2.9	4.4	7.0	11.7	.601	0.0	0.1	.000	6.3	9.9	.636


Season 6
	Joel Embiid	Dwight Howard
Season	2021-22	2009-10
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	Scoring Leader	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	Blocks Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Magic Lost East Conf Finals

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	68	33.8	30.6	2.1	9.6	11.7	4.2	1.1	1.5	3.1	2.7	9.8	19.6	.499	1.4	3.7	.371	9.6	11.8	.814
difference:	+14	+0.9	+12.3	+1.4	+0.1	+1.5	+2.4	+0.2	+1.3	-0.2	-0.8	+3.6	+9.4	+.113	+1.4	+3.6	+.371	+3.7	+1.8	+.222
Dwight Howard	82	34.7	18.3	3.5	9.7	13.2	1.8	0.9	2.8	3.3	3.5	6.2	10.2	.612	0.0	0.1	.000	5.9	10.0	.592

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	10	38.5	23.6	2.1	8.6	10.7	2.1	0.4	0.8	3.2	3.4	7.8	16.1	.484	0.7	3.3	.212	7.3	8.9	.820
difference:	+4	+3.0	+5.5	+0.6	+0.2	+0.4	+0.7	+0.4	+2.7	-0.4	-0.8	+1.7	+6.1	+.130	+0.7	+3.3		+1.4	+2.4	+.301
Dwight Howard	14	35.5	18.1	2.7	8.4	11.1	1.4	0.8	3.5	3.6	4.2	6.1	10.0	.614	0.0	0.0	-	5.9	11.3	.519


Season 7
	Joel Embiid	Dwight Howard
Season	2022-23	2010-11
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Magic Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	66	34.6	33.1	1.7	8.4	10.2	4.2	1.0	1.7	3.4	3.1	11.0	20.1	.548	1.0	3.0	.330	10.0	11.7	.857
difference:	+12	+3.0	+10.2	+2.3	+1.7	+3.9	+2.8	+0.4	+0.7	-0.2	-0.2	+3.1	+6.7	+.045	+1.0	+2.9	+.330	+3.0		+.261
Dwight Howard	78	37.6	22.9	4.0	10.1	14.1	1.4	1.4	2.4	3.6	3.3	7.9	13.4	.593	0.0	0.1	.000	7.0	11.7	.596

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	9	37.3	23.7	1.8	8.0	9.8	2.7	0.7	2.8	3.9	3.0	7.3	17.0	.431	0.6	3.1	.179	8.4	9.3	.905
difference:	+3	+5.7	+3.3	+2.7	+3.0	+5.7	+2.2		+1.0	-1.6	-1.2	+1.2	+3.5	+.199	+0.6	+2.9	+.179	+1.6	+5.4	+.223
Dwight Howard	6	43.0	27.0	4.5	11.0	15.5	0.5	0.7	1.8	5.5	4.2	8.5	13.5	.630	0.0	0.2	.000	10.0	14.7	.682


Season 8
	Joel Embiid	Dwight Howard
Season	2023-24	2011-12
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	39	33.6	34.7	2.4	8.6	11.0	5.6	1.2	1.7	3.8	2.9	11.5	21.8	.529	1.4	3.6	.388	10.2	11.6	.883
difference:	+15	+4.7	+14.1	+1.3	+2.2	+3.5	+3.7	+0.3	+0.4	-0.6		+3.8	+8.4	+.044	+1.4	+3.5	+.388	+5.0	+1.0	+.392
Dwight Howard	54	38.3	20.6	3.7	10.8	14.5	1.9	1.5	2.1	3.2	2.9	7.7	13.4	.573	0.0	0.1	.000	5.2	10.6	.491

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	6	41.3	33.0	3.2	7.7	10.8	5.7	1.2	1.5	4.2	3.3	9.8	22.2	.444	2.2	6.5	.333	11.2	13.0	.859
Dwight Howard	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Joel Embiid	Dwight Howard
Season	2024-25	2012-13
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	19	30.2	23.8	1.9	6.3	8.2	4.5	0.7	0.9	3.3	2.2	7.4	16.6	.444	1.2	4.1	.299	7.8	8.9	.882
difference:	+57	+5.6	+6.7	+1.4	+2.8	+4.2	+3.1	+0.4	+1.5	-0.3	-1.6	+1.2	+5.9	+.134	+1.2	+4.0	+.132	+3.1	+0.6	+.390
Dwight Howard	76	35.8	17.1	3.3	9.1	12.4	1.4	1.1	2.4	3.0	3.8	6.2	10.7	.578	0.0	0.1	.167	4.7	9.5	.492

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dwight Howard	4	31.5	17.0	2.5	8.3	10.8	1.0	0.5	2.0	4.0	4.3	6.5	10.5	.619	0.0	0.0	-	4.0	9.0	.444


Additional Years
* Dwight Howard played 9 seasons more than Joel Embiid in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 18, from 2014 to 2022—Dwight Howard played in 6 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 9 extra years over Joel Embiid, Dwight Howard got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-Star Game

Joel Embiid vs. Dwight Howard Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dwight Howard and Joel Embiid, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years