Dwight Howard
From Hoopedia
 Howard playing for the Magic. | |
| No. 12 Los Angeles Lakers | |
|---|---|
| Center / Power forward | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | December 8, 1985 Atlanata, Georgia |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 11 in (2.10 m) |
| Listed weight | 265 lbs (120 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy (Atlanta, Georgia) |
| NBA Draft | 2004 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st |
| Selected by the Orlando Magic | |
| Pro career | 2004-present |
| Career history | |
| 2004-2012 | Orlando Magic |
| 2012-present | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Dwight David Howard (born December 8, 1985) is an American Professional basketball Center for the Los Angeles Lakers. His father, Dwight Sr., is a Georgia State trooper and also serves as Athletic Director of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. His Mother, Sheryl, played on the inaugural women’s team at Morris Brown College. His favorite movies are Finding Nemo and Friday also enjoys watching many basketball videos, including The Complete Michael Jordan. He wrote several goals down while in the eighth grade – among those were to lead his team to a state championship and to become the first overall selection in the NBA Draft. His favorite players are Michael Jordan and Kevin Garnett.
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Early Life
Howard was born to Dwight Sr. and Sheryl Howard and into a family with strong athletic connections. His father is a Georgia State trooper and serves as Athletic Director of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy (GA), a private academy with one of the best high school basketball programs in the country, while his mother played on the inaugural women's basketball team at Morris Brown College. A devout Christian since his youth, Howard resolved in eighth grade to one day be selected as the number one pick in the NBA Draft. Howard elected to attend Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy for high school, and in his four years he averaged 16.6 points per game (ppg), 13.4 rebounds per game (rpg) and 6.3 blocks per game in 129 appearances. Generally recognized as the best American high school basketball player in 2004, Howard was awarded the Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award, the Morgan Wootten High School Player of the Year Award, the Gatorade National Player of the Year Award, and the McDonald's National High School Player of the Year honor. Howard and J.R. Smith were co-MVPs of the McDonald's High School All-America Game that year.
NBA career
Early years
Following his high school successes, Howard chose to forego college and declared for the 2004 NBA Draft, where the Orlando Magic selected him first overall. Howard finished his rookie season with an average of 12.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg, setting several NBA records in the process. He became the youngest player in NBA history to average a double double in the regular season. He also became the youngest player in NBA history to average at least 10.0 rebounds in a season and youngest NBA player ever to record at least 20 rebounds in a game. 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. For his efforts, Howard was selected to play in the 2005 NBA Got Milk? Rookie Challenge, and was unanimously selected to the All-NBA Rookie First Team. Despite his excellent rookie season, he finished third to fellow center Emeka Okafor of the Charlotte Bobcats and guard Ben Gordon of the Chicago Bulls for the Rookie of the Year award.
Howard built on his strong rookie year with an impressive sophomore season. On November 15 2005, in a home game at against the Charlotte Bobcats, Howard scored 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. Howard was selected to play on the Sophomore Team in the 2006 Rookie Challenge during the All-Star break, and on April 15 2006, he recorded a career-high 26 rebounds against the Philadelphia 76ers. Overall, he averaged 15.8 points and 12.5 rebounds per game, ranking second in the NBA in rebounds per game, offensive rebounds, and double doubles; and sixth in field goal percentage. Despite Howard's improvement, the Magic finished the season with a 36–46 win-loss record and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive season since Howard's arrival.
All-Star
Howard took another step forward as a player in the 2006–07 season, and for the third consecutive season he played in all 82 regular season games. On 1 February 2007, he received his first NBA All-Star selection as a reserve on the Eastern Conference squad for the 2007 NBA All-Star Game. Howard finished the game with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Less than a week later, he recorded a career-high 32 points against the Toronto Raptors. As the push for playoff spots intensified, Howard was instrumental, recording another career-high 35 points against the Philadelphia Sixers on 14 April 2007. Under his leadership, the Magic qualified for the 2007 NBA Playoffs for the first time since 2003 as the number eight seed in the Eastern Conference. However, the Magic were swept by the eventual Eastern Conference finalist Detroit Pistons in the first round. Howard averaged 17.6 points and 12.3 rebounds per game, and finished first in the NBA in total rebounds, second in field goal percentage, and ninth in blocks. Howard was recognized for his strong play in being named to the All-NBA Third Team at the end of the 2006–07 campaign.
International Career
Howard was named on March 5, 2006, to the 2006-08 US national team. As the team's regular starting center, he helped lead the team to a 5–0 record during its pre-World Championship tour, and subsequently helped the team win the bronze medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship. During the FIBA Americas Championship 2007, Howard was on the team which won its first nine games en route to qualifying for the finals and a spot for the 2008 Olympics. He started in eight of those nine games, averaging 8.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg and led the team in shooting .778 from the field. In the finals, he made all seven of his shots and scored 20 points as the USA defeated Argentina to win the gold medal.
Howard played on the USA Senior National Team (Men) that won the gold medal in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.
Player profile
Howard is the current franchise player and leader of the Magic. He is one of the NBA's best rebounders, finishing first in total rebounds in each of the last two seasons; in a game against the Golden State Warriors on January 10 2007, his 25 rebounds for the Magic outnumbered the total number of boards grabbed by the starting five of the Warriors. Howard's rebounding is in part facilitated by his extraordinary athleticism; his vertical leap is estimated at almost 40 inches, almost unheard of for a player of his size (6'11", 280 pounds). He memorably demonstrated this skill in the 2007 Slam Dunk Contest during the NBA All-Star Weekend, during which he completed an alley oop dunk from teammate Jameer Nelson and slapped a sticker onto the backboard which reached. The sticker showed an image of his own smiling face with a handwritten "All things through Christ Phil: 4:13," a paraphrase of Philippians 4:13.
Howard is one of the game's best finishers; he has led the NBA in dunks in each of the last two seasons. He normally relies on his athleticism to get open for shots, but has demonstrated an increasing awareness of how to play offense, and now regularly employs a jump hook in the post.
Howard's abilities and powerful physique have thus drawn attention from fellow NBA All-Stars. Tim Duncan once remarked: "[Howard] is so developed... He has so much promise and I am glad that I will be out of the league when he is peaking." Kevin Garnett echoed those sentiments: "[Howard] is a freak of nature, man... I was nowhere near that physically talented. I wasn't that gifted, as far as body and physical presence." In December 2007, ESPN writer David Thorpe declared Howard to be the most dominant center in the NBA.
While many sports pundits rate Howard as one of the top young prospects in the NBA today,Anthony, Greg, "Biggest man, biggest honors"], sports.espn.go.com, 15 December 2006, Neel, Eric, "No ceiling in sight", ESPN Insider, December 19 2006, Howard has some weaknesses. Offensively, his shooting range is limited. Howard is also mistake-prone; he led the NBA in turnovers in the 2006-07 season. Like many centers, he has a low free throw conversion percentage.
Media appearances
In the 2006-07 NBA season, Howard appeared in the NBA Fundamentals series, hosted by TNT, in which players showcase certain aspects of the game. He explained the topic "rebounding". In his clip, he emphasised "reading" shots to know in what direction misses will ricochet off the rim, working hard to get good rebounding position, and boxing out your opponent. He also showed that good rebounders also quickly pass the ball to initiate a fastbreak. With offensive rebounds, Howard explained the "swim move" in which a player uses a breaststroke-like arm movement to get on top of the opponent's arm and push it away. Finally, he stated his admiration for multiple rebounding champion Dennis Rodman.
Off the court
Howard has stated he believes in reaching out to his community and fans and thus contributes substantially in the field of philanthropy. An avid listener of Gospel music, he attends the Fellowship of Faith Church when he is back home in Atlanta and is involved and active with the youth programs at the church. Together with his parents, Howard also established the Dwight D. Howard Foundation Inc. in 2004. The Foundation provides scholarships for students who want to attend his alma mater, Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, and grants to Lovell Elementary School and Memorial Middle School in Orlando, Florida. The Foundation also organizes summer basketball camps for boys and girls, and together with high school and college coaches and players, fellow NBA players are invited to be on hand at the camp. For his contributions in the Central Florida community, Howard received in 2005 the Rich and Helen De Vos Community Enrichment Award. Within the NBA itself, Howard has participated in several NBA "Read to Achieve" assemblies encouraging children to make reading a priority.
Elsewhere, Howard appeared as a special guest on an episode of the ABC series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition that aired April 2 2006, in which host Ty Pennington and his team built a new home and ministry offices for Sadie Holmes, who operates a social services ministry in the Orlando area.
Career highlights
- Gold Medal in 2008 Beijing Olympics
- NBA All-Star: 2007
- All-NBA Third Team: 2007
- NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2005
- Youngest player in NBA history to reach 3000 rebounds
- Youngest player in NBA history to average a double-double
- Youngest player in NBA history to gather 20 rebounds in one game
