The Top 50

#5 - Dwight Howard

This guy could quite honestly be the villian in one of the most terrifying movies ever made. It's hard to fathom given that he's a humble-mannered, well-spoken devout Christian, but Dwight Howard frightens more men in the NBA than any other. This 6-11/265 muscle-bound monster imposes his will upon whomever he choses in a game full of the league's biggest athletes. Last season he finished just slightly shy of Wilt-only numbers and is a mere 22 years old; his game is raw and growing exponentially every season. The notion that the beast he is today is only a shadow of what he could become; now that's truly scary.

The Magic surprised most NBA heads when they nabbed Dwight straight out of high school with the first pick in the '04 Draft. Any and all doubts were quickly answered as Howard took the league by storm with his unrivaled balance of size and athleticism, leaving many broken egos of poster victims in his wake. A double-double with almost 2 blocks in his rookie season was only a sign of the horrors to come...

In just four short seasons, Howard's turned 12/10 into 21/14. Last season, he hit on 60% of his shots from the field, good for third in the league behind two dudes who scored half as much as him. He still blocks over 2/game, that number slightly deflated as his presence alone prevents more penetration than any other big man. He runs the floor incredibly well for a player his size, has a soft touch, plays within himself and shows all the signs of extending his reign of terror with each passing season. All this and he's yet to miss his first game.

While typical All-Stars might never hit these heights at their careers' apex, Howard's doing such things long before his skills catch up to his enormous body. Although he showed considerable growth last season, Howard's post-up repertoire is quite limited and his mid-range shooting is less than impressive; his 59% from the charity stripe outlines his issues scoring outside 10 feet. He's also become more comfortable passing out of double-teams, but is a long way from developing the sense of court vision that made players like Shaq and Hakeem - the kind of guys he's aspiring to become - the NBA's Michael Myers.

So as Orlando tries to position themselves atop the East, they hold a huge advantage having the league's dominant big man erupting into his prime at the core of their franchise. Already probably the NBA's best post player, he looks strong enough to drag the rest of the Magic - even Rashard Lewis' $126 million contract - up to the top with him. The Conference will be prime for taking in a few seasons when the Celts inevitably fall off and Orlando has a talented core of relatively young players, a proven bench boss, and the star of the Dwight Howard Massacre; opening nationwide this November.