Thinking about Dwight Howard and his journey to the NBA Finals, two things come to mind: the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk contest and the 2007 and 2008 playoffs. Both of Howard's only other trips to the playoffs ended against Detroit. However, in 2008, Orlando actually won one of the games. And the Magic had a 15-point lead in Game 4 which would have evened the series. They ended up losing that game by 1 and went down in the series 4-1 (background here). But the point was made in our opinion: Dwight could compete. And a couple months before that, Dwight arrived on the scene as an entertainment force. There was Michael Jordan vs Dominique Wilkins in 1988 (watch it here). And there was Vince Carter in 2000 (video here). The 2008 Slam Dunk Contest can be thrown in that category. Dwight Howard stole the show from the opening bell, throwing down a dunk from behind the basket after tossing the ball against the backside of the board. That got the crowd behind him. It didn't matter that Gerald Green blew out a candle on a cupcake while dunking, because Dwight came back with a Superman cape to, literally, throw the ball threw the hoop.
