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Dwight David Howard II (born December 8, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Taiwan Mustangs of The Asian Tournament (TAT). He began his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was an NBA champion, eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA Team honoree, five-time All-Defensive Team member, and three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
Howard, who plays center, spent his high school career at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. He chose to forgo college, entered the 2004 NBA draft, and was selected first overall by the Orlando Magic. Howard set numerous franchise and league records with the Magic. He led the team to the 2009 NBA Finals.
In 2012, after eight seasons with Orlando, Howard was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom he spent three separate one year-stints over the course of his career, winning the NBA Finals in 2020. He has also played for the Houston Rockets, the Atlanta Hawks, the Charlotte Hornets, the Washington Wizards, and the Philadelphia 76ers.
After playing with the Lakers in 2021–22, Howard moved overseas and signed with the Taiwanese-based Leopards. In his first season with the team, he was named a T1 All-Star.
Early life[edit]
Howard was born in Atlanta, to Dwight Sr. and Sheryl Howard, a family with strong athletic connections. His father is a Georgia State Trooper and is the athletic director at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, a private academy with one of the country's best high school basketball programs; his mother played on the inaugural women's basketball team at Morris Brown College.[1] Howard's mother had seven miscarriages before he was born.[2] A devout Christian since his youth, Howard became serious about basketball around the age of nine.[3][4] Despite his large frame, Howard was quick and versatile enough to play the guard position.[4] He attended Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy and played mostly as power forward, averaging 16.6 points, 13.4 rebounds and 6.3 blocks per game in 129 appearances.[1][4] As a senior, Howard led his team to a 31–2 record and the 2004 state title,[4][5] while averaging 25 points, 18 rebounds, 8.1 blocks and 3.5 assists per game.[4] The same year, he was widely recognized as the best American high school basketball player, and received the Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award, the Morgan Wootten High School Player of the Year Award, Gatorade National Player of the Year and the McDonald's National High School Player of the Year honor.[6] He was also co-MVP (with J. R. Smith) of the McDonald's All-American Game that year.[6] On January 31, 2012, Howard was honored as one of the 35 greatest McDonald's All-Americans.[7]
Professional career[edit]
Orlando Magic (2004–2012)[edit]
Early years (2004–2008)[edit]
Following his high school successes, Howard chose to forego college and declared for the 2004 NBA draft—a decision partly inspired by his idol Kevin Garnett who had done the same in 1995—where the Orlando Magic selected him first overall over UConn junior Emeka Okafor.[1][4] He took the number 12 for his jersey, in part because it was the reverse of Garnett's 21 when he played for Minnesota.[8] Howard joined a depleted Magic squad that had finished with only 21 victories the previous season; further, the club had just lost perennial NBA All-Star Tracy McGrady.[4] Howard, however, made an immediate impact. He finished his rookie season with an average of 12 points and 10 rebounds,[9] setting several NBA records in the process. He became the youngest player in NBA history to average a double double in the regular season.[6] He also became the youngest player in NBA history to average at least 10 rebounds in a season and youngest NBA player ever to record at least 20 rebounds in a game.[6] Howard's importance to the Magic was highlighted when he became the first player in NBA history directly out of high school to start all 82 games during his rookie season.[6] For his efforts, he was selected to play in the 2005 NBA Rookie Challenge, and was unanimously selected to the All-Rookie Team.[6] He also finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting.[10]
Howard reported to camp for his second NBA season having added 20 pounds of muscle during the off-season.[4] Orlando coach Brian Hill—responsible for grooming former Magic superstar Shaquille O'Neal—decided that Howard should be converted into a full-fledged center.[4] Hill identified two areas where Howard needed to improve: his post-up game and his defense. He exerted extra pressure on Howard, saying that the Magic would need him to emerge as a force in the middle before the team had a chance at the playoffs.[4] On November 15, 2005, in a home game against the Charlotte Bobcats, Howard recorded 21 points and 20 rebounds, becoming the youngest player ever to score 20 or more points and gather 20 or more rebounds in the same game.[11] He was selected to play on the Sophomore Team in the 2006 Rookie Challenge during the All-Star break.[1] Overall, he averaged 15.8 points and 12.5 rebounds per game,[9] ranking second in the NBA in rebounds per game, offensive rebounds, and double-doubles and sixth in field goal percentage.[1] Despite Howard's improvement, the Magic finished the season with a 36–46 record and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive season since Howard's arrival.[12]
In the 2006–07 season (and for the third consecutive season), Howard played in all 82 regular-season games.[9] On February 1, 2007, he received his first NBA All-Star selection as a reserve on the Eastern Conference squad for the 2007 NBA All-Star Game.[1] On February 9, he made a game-winning alley-oop off an inbound pass at the buzzer against the San Antonio Spurs.[13] Howard set a new career high with 35 points against the Philadelphia 76ers on April 14.[14] Under his leadership, the Magic qualified for the 2007 NBA Playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.[15] There, the Magic were swept by the Detroit Pistons in the first round.[16] For the season, Howard averaged 17.6 points and 12.3 rebounds per game, finishing first in the NBA in total rebounds, second in field goal percentage, and ninth in blocks. He was named to the All-NBA Third Team at the end of the 2006–07 campaign.[17]
Howard continued posting impressive numbers in the 2007–08 season and helped the Magic have their best season to date. Howard was named as a starter for the Eastern Conference All-Star team.[18][19] On February 16, 2008, he won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest by receiving 78% of the fan's votes via text messaging or online voting; in that contest, he performed a series of innovative dunks said to have rejuvenated the contest, including donning a Superman cape for one of the dunks.[20] Howard led the Magic to their first division title in 12 years and to the third seed for the 2008 NBA Playoffs.[19] In their first round match-up against the Toronto Raptors, Howard's dominance (three 20-point/20-rebound games) helped Orlando to prevail in five games.[21] Howard's series total of 91 rebounds was also greater than the total rebounds collected by the entire Toronto frontcourt.[22] In the second round against the Pistons, the Magic lost in five games.[23] For the season, Howard was named to the All-NBA First Team for the first time,[19] and was also named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.[24]
Dominance and NBA Finals appearance (2008–2011)[edit]
The 2008–09 season began well for Howard. Ten games into the season, the center was leading the league in blocks per game (4.2).[25] In December, Howard injured his left knee, which caused him to miss a game due to injury for the first time in his NBA career; previously, he had played in 351 consecutive games.[26] He garnered a record 3.1 million votes to earn the starting berth on the Eastern Conference team for the 2009 NBA All-Star Game.[27] Howard led Orlando to its second straight Southeast Division title[28] and to the third seed for the 2009 NBA Playoffs; the team finished the season with a 59–23 record.[29] In the first round of the playoffs against the 76ers, Howard recorded 24 points and 24 rebounds in Game 5 to give Orlando a 3–2 lead before the Magic closed out the series in six games. In the second round against the Boston Celtics, after the Magic blew a lead in Game 5 to fall behind 3–2 in the series, Howard publicly stated that he should have been given the ball more and questioned coach Stan Van Gundy's tactics. The Magic went on to defeat Boston to win the series and move on to the Eastern Conference Finals. There they, defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 4–2. Howard had a playoff career-high 40 points to go with his 14 rebounds in the deciding Game 6, leading Orlando to the NBA Finals for the first time in 14 years.[30] In the NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers took the first two home games, before a home win by the Magic brought the deficit to 2–1. In Game 4, despite Howard putting up 21 rebounds and a Finals record of 9 blocks in a game, the Magic lost in overtime.[31] The Lakers went on to clinch the series with a win in Game 5.[32] For the season, Howard became the youngest player ever to win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.[8] He was also named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team,[33] and to the All-NBA First Team.[34]
In the 2009–10 season, the Magic got off to a strong start, winning 17 of their first 21 games and setting a franchise record. On January 21, 2010, Howard was named as the starting center for the East in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game.[35] The Magic completed the regular season with 59 wins and their third consecutive division title. The Magic's playoff run resulted another Eastern Conference Finals appearance, where they lost in six games to the Celtics. Howard won the Defensive Player of the Year Award for the second straight year.[36] He became the first player in NBA history to lead the league in blocks and rebounds in the same season twice—and for two years in a row.[36]
In the 2010–11 season, Howard posted career highs in points and field goal percentage. He became the first player in league history to win Defensive Player of the Year honors for three consecutive seasons. Howard led the league in double-doubles and also averaged 14.1 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and a career-high 1.3 steals this season.[37] He led the Magic to 52 wins, as they finished as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. They went on to lose to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of 2011 NBA Playoffs.[38] He had a playoff career-high 46 points and 19 rebounds in Orlando's 103–93 loss to Atlanta in Game 1.[37] Howard led the NBA in technical fouls with 18 in the regular season, and received one-game suspensions after his 16th and 18th technicals.[39]
Final season in Orlando (2011–2012)[edit]
Due to a lockout, the 2011–12 regular season was shortened to 66 games. Not long after the lockout ended, Howard, who was eligible to become a free agent at the end of the season, demanded a trade to the New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Lakers or Dallas Mavericks.[40] Howard stated that although his preference was to remain in Orlando, he did not feel the Magic organization was doing enough to build a championship contender.[41] He would later meet with Magic officials and agree to back off his trade demands, but stated that he also felt the team needed to make changes to the roster if they wanted to contend for a championship.[42]
On January 12, 2012, Howard attempted an NBA regular season record 39 free throws against the Golden State Warriors. Howard entered the game making 42 percent of his free throws for the season and just below 60 percent for his career. The Warriors hacked Howard intentionally throughout the game, and he broke Wilt Chamberlain's regular-season record of 34 set in 1962. Howard made 21 of the 39 attempts, finishing with 45 points and 23 rebounds in the Magic's 117–109 victory.[43] On January 24, 2012, Howard became the Magic's all-time scoring leader.[44]
On March 15, 2012, on the day of the trading deadline for the 2011–12 NBA season, Howard waived his right to opt out of his contract at the end of the season and committed to stay with the Magic through the 2012–13 season. He had previously asked to be traded to the New Jersey Nets. Had he not signed the amendment, the Magic were prepared to trade him to avoid losing him as a free agent.[45] On April 5, Van Gundy said that he had been informed by management that Howard wanted him fired. During the interview, the center walked up and hugged his coach, unaware that Van Gundy had confirmed a report that Howard denied.[46][47] Van Gundy was let go after the season.[48]
On April 19, 2012, Howard's agent said that Howard would undergo surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back and would miss the rest of the 2011–12 season, as well as the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[49] During the offseason, Howard again requested a trade to the Nets, who had relocated to Brooklyn. He intended to become a free agent at the end of the 2012–13 season if he was not traded to Brooklyn.[50][51]
Los Angeles Lakers (2012–2013)[edit]
On August 10, 2012, Howard was traded from Orlando to the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal that also involved the Philadelphia 76ers and the Denver Nuggets. Howard took six months off from basketball after his April back surgery, and only had the combined four weeks of training camp and preseason to prepare for the season.[52][53] Still working himself into shape, Howard paced himself throughout the season on both offense and defense.[53] On January 4, 2013, Howard injured his right shoulder in the second half of the Lakers' 107–102 loss to the