Dwight Howard is putting the Boston Celtics on upset watch.
The former Orlando Magic star center is picking his old team to upset the Celtics in seven games during their first-round series in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
Howard says on his podcast, “D12 Above The Rim,” that the Magic defense will be the reason for what would be a stunning first-round upset.
“Who gonna stop a healthy Paolo [Banchero] in a seven-game series?” he asked his co-hosts.
“Derrick White,” one of them replied, to which Howard answered, “you trippin’. He too little.”
Howard was then hit with “Jaylen Brown,” to which he again responded, “he too little.”
Howard also then added, “Who’s gonna stop Jalen [Suggs] from playing defense?”
While Suggs is one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA, he is out for the season with a knee injury.
The argument Howard probably should’ve made is that Orlando defends Boston better than everyone in the NBA.
The Magic allow the fewest 3-point attempts per 100 possessions (32.5) while the Celtics shoot far and away the most (50).
Orlando has also beaten Boston, the reigning champs, in six of their last nine meetings going back to December 2022.
With Suggs and Mo Wagner out, it would be even more shocking if the Magic were to pull this off, let alone the fact that they’re 13-point underdogs for Game 1 in Boston and +2200 to win the series, whereas the defending champion Celtics are -8000, per FanDuel.
Howard, who was elected to the 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame class, was picked No. 1 overall by the Magic in the 2004 NBA Draft and starred for the team until his departure following the 2011-12 season.
Howard was a four-time Defensive Player of the Year and an eight-time All-Star while in the NBA, and he led the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Kobe Bryant-led Lakers in five games.
The former center, of course, went on to play with Bryant in the 2012-13 season, but the experiment was poorly executed as the team spectacularly flamed out of the first round in the playoffs, and Howard bolted to the Houston Rockets after one season.
