Dwight Howard and the 10 Most Unstoppable Low-Post Players in the NBA

As entertaining as it is to watch fast-break dunks and long-range three-pointers, there's something special about watching players use a blend of finesse and power to score in the low post. The 10 players you'll find on the following slides are the best in the business at it. 

It takes a special combination of attributes (or just being really special in one of the areas) to be a good low-post scorer. A player could be tall, have a bevy of moves used to trick their opponent into making a bad decision that leaves the basket open for attacking, be ridiculously strong and overpower the defender or just play with remarkable intelligence.

For those of you who are curious, you won't find Zach Randolph or Kevin Garnett on this list, as they came just short at 12th and 11th, respectively, in my mind. Randolph just wasn't quite skilled enough and Garnett has been relying on jump shots more during the waning stages of his career.

Moreover, players like Kobe Bryant and the vastly-improved LeBron James weren't considered because while it's one thing to back down and body up other guards, it's another thing entirely to do the same against the heavy-set big men in the NBA. 

Read on for the 10 most unstoppable low-post players in the NBA. 

LaMarcus Aldridge

LaMarcus Aldridge may have one of the more impressive face-up jump shots for a big man, but the improvement in his post game has been the catalyst in his rise towards elite status. 

During the 2009-2010 season, Aldridge attempted 3.9 shots at the rim and 2.6 shots per game from three to nine feet away from the basket, making 70.7 and 44.3 percent from those ranges, respectively. 

But over the past two years, while his percentages have gone down slightly, Aldridge is taking way more attempts. This season, he's taking 5.9 shots per game at the rim, down from 6.1 last season.

From three to nine feet, he's taking 3.2 shots per game, down from 3.9 per contest during the 2010-2011 season. 

Aldridge has the perfect blend of size and finesse to embarrass the players attempting and failing to guard him in the low post. 

Andrew Bynum

For Andrew Bynum, it's all about staying healthy. 

When the seven-footer for the Los Angeles Lakers is fully healed and on the court, it's really difficult to slow him down. Bynum is shooting 54.8 percent from the field this season, and it's actually the lowest percentage of his six-year career. 

Bynum's game is most assuredly not about finesse, though. He uses his massive body to overpower defenders and loves nothing more than finishing with a rim-rattling slam dunk. 

The big man attempts 5.7 shots per game at the rim and finishes a ridiculous 73.5 percent of them with two points on the scoreboard. 

Tim Duncan

Even though Tim Duncan's star is slowly fading away, he still remains a master in the low post. 

Honestly, I'd have to question your sanity if you didn't think a power forward who will go down as the greatest of all time at his position, with the nickname "The Big Fundamental," belonged on this list. 

Marc Gasol

Marc Gasol just barely snuck on to this list, edging out an aging Kevin Garnett for the 10th and final spot (if they were ranked, that is). 

The younger brother of Pau Gasol may not have the mastery of the finesse game quite like his older sibling, but he's well on his way. 

After a breakout performance during the 2011 NBA Playoffs, Gasol signed a huge contract to stay with the Memphis Grizzlies and the investment has been paying off, as the Spanish big man has been one of the best at his position in the league. 

A year ago, I never would have dreamed of putting this Gasol on the list, but it's hard to watch one of his games, witness his blend of powerful and skilled moves, and fathom leaving him off. 

Pau Gasol

Pau Gasol may have lost some of his ability to create his own shot as he's gotten older and seemingly lost a little bit of motivation, but he's still as good a finesse low-post scorer as you'll find in the Western Conference. 

Over this past summer, I wrote an article comparing the top 25 players in the NBA to their historical counterparts. Writing the following, I compared the elder Gasol to a throwback master of the post named Kevin McHale: 

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Right now, there may not be a power forward in the NBA with more low-post moves than Pau Gasol, the high-scoring Spaniard with the Los Angeles Lakers. 

It may be breaking the unwritten rules of NBA history to compare a current Laker with a historically great member of the Boston Celtics, but I'm going to have to break it here. After all, Gasol spent most of his career with the Memphis Grizzlies before the Lakers stole him away in 2008.

Although it's over-exaggerating his arsenal of post moves, I have to compare him here to the master of faking out defenders in the paint. 

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You don't earn McHale comparisons unless you're damn good in the post. 

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Dwight Howard

Right now, if you asked me to put my life on the line and pick one player who had to score in the paint on the very next possession, I would pick Dwight Howard without even hesitating. 

No, Howard doesn't have any moves that will leave you marveling at their beauty. Despite the fact that he's been working on his finesse game, he simply won't wow you in that way. 

But using his massive shoulders and ridiculous athleticism, Howard will overpower his defender and find a way to get to the free-throw line, make an easy layup or slam it home for the easiest kind of two points possible. 

Howard is the poster-child for players who can be great in the low post without actually being great at low-post moves. 

Al Jefferson

Al Jefferson commonly gets looked over when talking about great players, but I'm not going to let that happen here. 

The big man, who's averaging 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game on 47.8 percent shooting with a PER of 21.57, has some of the best footwork you can ever see from a player who stands 6'10". 

He makes 67.8 percent of his shots at the rim despite the fact that only a little more than half of them are the result of assists. That means that he tends to create his own shot down low quite a bit. 

A powerful player who still manages to move lightly and squeeze his way around and through defenders, Jefferson is undoubtedly one of the league's premier post scorers. 

Kevin Love

It's hard to evaluate Kevin Love's ability to score in the post. 

His post moves by themselves probably aren't good enough to justify placement on this list, but when you combine those more-than-adequate skills with Love's insane ability to pull down offensive boards and finish, it's hard to leave him off. 

Love is quickly improving his arsenal of weapons down low but that innate ability to be in the right place at the right time, body out a defensive rebounder and finish the play by himself will always remain his most impressive method of scoring. 

Luis Scola

Despite the fact that he's having a bit of a disappointing season thus far, Luis Scola remains one of the 10 most dangerous players to guard in the painted area of the basketball court. 

Ever since he entered the league, Scola has had the ability to dazzle both fans and defenders with his post moves, specifically three of them. 

Scola isn't the most athletic player in the league, but his combinations of pump fakes, step-through moves and body contortions allow him to score almost at will. 

Amar'e Stoudemire

By his standards, Amar'e Stoudemire is having a pretty horrific year, averaging only 18.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game with a PER of 16.47. 

I'm going to chalk up part of the blame to the New York Knicks' offensive system, which doesn't mesh well together and doesn't allow Stoudemire to set up in the paint and have the ball wind up in his hands as often as he'd like.

But then again, Stoudemire is struggling to hit some of the shots he's always hit.

Before he moved to New York, Stoudemire's career-low field goal percentage was 53.9 percent. Last year, it was 50.2 and now it's all the way down to 44.3 percent.

His numbers are down across the board, most notably from three to nine feet, where his field goal percentage dropped from 45.3 percent in 2010-2011 to 24.5 percent this year.

Amazingly enough, despite this decline, the big man remains one of the most powerful low-post players in the NBA and is still an elite scorer at his position.