The Sixth Man

NEW YORK, April 21, 2009 – Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic is the recipient of the 2008-09 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award presented by Kia Motors, the NBA announced today.

The 6-11 center led the NBA in rebounds and blocks, averaging 13.8 boards and 2.92 blocks. He also averaged 20.6 points on .572 shooting from the floor. Howard recorded nine 20-point/20-rebound games while leading the team in scoring 39 times and in rebounds on 69 occasions.

As part of its support of the Defensive Player of the Year Award, Kia Motors America will donate either a new Borrego SUV or Sedona minivan on behalf of Howard to Orlando Day Nursery, which has served the Parramore neighborhood since 1921 and is Central Florida’s oldest early childhood education center. Kia Motors will present a brand new vehicle to the charity of choice of each of four 2008-09 season-end award winners as part of the “The NBA Performance Awards Presented by Kia Motors.”

Howard, a three-time NBA All-Star, helped the Magic to its second consecutive Southeast Division title (59-23), including a 32-9 record at home. The Magic held opponents under 100 points 54 times this season -- compiling a 43-11 record -- including a season-low 68 points allowed by New Orleans on Dec. 25. Orlando allowed 94.4 ppg (7,737 points), which ranked sixth in the NBA, and overall the team was in the NBA’s top 10 in seven defensive categories.

Howard became the fifth player in NBA history to finish the season leading the league in rebounding and blocks (1973-74 was the first season blocks were kept as an official statistic). The select group includes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (L.A. Lakers, 1975-76), Bill Walton (Portland Trail Blazers, 1976-77), Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston, 1989-90) and Ben Wallace (Detroit, 2001-02).

Howard received 542 points, including 105 first-place votes, from a panel of 119 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Cleveland’s LeBron James finished second with 148 points and Miami’s Dwyane Wade finished third with 90 points. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote received.

The 2008-09 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award presented by Kia Motors is part of a series of on-court performance awards called “The NBA Performance Awards Presented by Kia Motors.” The series, currently in its second season, is a significant part of the multiyear marketing partnership between Kia Motors America and the NBA, and also includes the Most Improved Player, Sixth Man and Most Valuable Player of the Year Awards. It also includes the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month presented by Kia Motors which are awarded during the regular season. For more information on the “The NBA Performance Awards Presented by Kia Motors” visit www.NBA.com/performanceawards.

Attached are the 2008-09 results and the league’s all-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award Presented by Kia Motors winners:

2008-09 NBA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY KIA MOTORS RESULTS

PLAYER TEAM 1st Place (5 Pts) 2nd Place (3 Pts) 3rd Place (1 pt) Total Points

Dwight Howard Orlando 105 4 5 542

LeBron James Cleveland 4 36 20 148

Dwyane Wade Miami 3 20 15 90

Shane Battier Houston 2 17 10 71

Ron Artest Houston 1 13 10 54

Chris Paul New Orleans 1 9 17 49

Kobe Bryant LA Lakers 2 6 15 43

Kevin Garnett Boston 1 6 8 31

Chris Anderson Denver - 2 4 10

Rajon Rondo Boston - 2 2 8

Tim Duncan San Antonio - 1 4 7

Raja Bell Charlotte - 1 1 4

Anderson Varejao Cleveland - 1 - 3

Andre Iguodala Philadelphia - 1 - 3

Ronny Turiaf Golden State - - 2 2

Trevor Ariza LA Lakers - - 1 1

Marcus Camby LA Clippers - - 1 1

Grant Hill Phoenix - - 1 1

Joel Pryzbilla Portland - - 1 1

Josh Smith Atlanta - - 1 1

Hedo Turkoglu Orlando - - 1 1





ALL-TIME NBA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERS





Season Winner, Team

1982-83 Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee

1983-84 Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee

1984-85 Mark Eaton, Utah

1985-86 Alvin Robertson, San Antonio

1986-87 Michael Cooper, L.A. Lakers

1987-88 Michael Jordan, Chicago

1988-89 Mark Eaton, Utah

1989-90 Dennis Rodman, Detroit

1990-91 Dennis Rodman, Detroit

1991-92 David Robinson, San Antonio

1992-93 Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston

1993-94 Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston

1994-95 Dikembe Mutombo, Denver

1995-96 Gary Payton, Seattle



Season Winner, Team

1996-97 Dikembe Mutombo, Atlanta

1997-98 Dikembe Mutombo, Atlanta

1998-99 Alonzo Mourning, Miami

1999-00 Alonzo Mourning, Miami

2000-01 Dikembe Mutombo, Philadelphia

2001-02 Ben Wallace, Detroit

2002-03 Ben Wallace, Detroit

2003-04 Ron Artest, Indiana

2004-05 Ben Wallace, Detroit

2005-06 Ben Wallace, Detroit

2006-07 Marcus Camby, Denver

2007-08 Kevin Garnett, Boston

2008-09 Dwight Howard, Orlando