Dwight Howard or LeBron James?

They came into the league just one year apart, both directly from high school as No. 1 picks in the NBA draft, two vastly different, wonderfully-talented players expected to turn very bad teams into very good ones.

The Cleveland Cavaliers picked forward LeBron James in 2003. The Orlando Magic took center Dwight Howard in 2004. Each now is on the cusp of taking his team to the NBA Finals with a chance to win the first championship in franchise history.

Only one can make it there, settling the debate -- temporarily -- over which team was luckier to get their pick, which player is better suited to dominate the league, and at which position is it more important to have a franchise player.

But who would you take if they went back and combined those two drafts -- did it all over again -- knowing then what you know now? If you were starting a franchise, who would you take to anchor it?

LeBron James, the reigning Most Valuable Player and basketball's most complete and exciting player since Michael Jordan? Or Dwight Howard, the best big man who is just beginning to blossom into a hybrid version of Shaquille O'Neal?

The answer should come definitively when they meet in the Eastern Conference finals, the first of many likely meetings as they compete to see who dominates the East in the coming years. Both are just 24 years old, primed for extended runs at the title.

Do you want the best center in the game? Or the best perimeter player?

"Lebron is the better all-around player, there is no question about that," former Sacramento Kings coach Reggie Theus told FanHouse Monday. "And I love LeBron. He's going to be one of the best to ever play the game. It's just a tough question, though, [over who to take]. If you look at history. I would have to take Dwight."

Part of Theus' reasoning is what he has seen in recent years. Between 1999 and 2007, either center Shaquille O'Neal or center Tim Duncan (even if he calls himself a power forward) has been a vital part on eight of the nine championship teams.

Conversely, the center-less Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan dominated the '90s with six NBA titles.

"I still believe the game is played from the inside, out," said Theus, the former player who was a successful college coach before he returned to the NBA. "If you're going to win championships, you have to have great defense, and it's tough to argue with Howard on that one."

Howard won his first Defensive Player of the Year award and his second rebounding title this season. He became just the fifth NBA player ever to lead the league in both rebounding and blocked shots in the same season.

Another reason to take Howard is that the great centers, or a center with his potential, only come into the league once every decade. Most teams never get a chance to take a center with those unique skills.

As good as James is, Kobe Bryant is just as explosive. Dwyane Wade is unbelievably good on the perimeter. Carmelo Anthony is getting there, too.

"I would take the more complete player," said John Gabriel, New York Knicks director of professional and free-agent scouting, and former NBA Executive of the Year. "I'd take the one whose skill set fits better in today's climate, and with the way the rules stand today."

Gabriel would not name James directly, worried about any future free-agent implications, but his preference for James was clear. NBA rules today encourage a more free-flowing game, giving an advantage to the great perimeter player. Officials still allow the front-court players to wrestle and bang around the basket -- which negates some of Howard's athleticism -- but they don't allow any contact or hand checking on the perimeter, giving James a free pass with his strength.

James led the NBA in scoring (30 ppg) last season, but he adjusted his game to get his teammates more involved in the offense, which is how the Cavs won an NBA-best 66 games.

He averaged 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists on his way to the MVP Award. He is the only player in the league today who has shown the potential to average a triple-double over the course of a season, something that hasn't been done since Oscar Robertson in 1962.

"I think you'll find the answer to the question split down the middle," Gabriel said. "The one guy [James] is clearly a once-in-a-lifetime player. They both are. But what are the chances of being in the position to take a center like that? "

---

---