STRONG, Athletic, Goofy… these are a couple of words that come to mind when I think of Dwight Howard. Well here’s three more words I can think of, Hall Of Famer.
That’s right, not too long after being named a finalist for this years 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame class, Howard headlined the 2025 class along with Carmelo Anthony, the 2008 USA Men’s Olympic Team, and Sue Bird as people that have forever etched their name in basketball history.
The former Orlando Magic superstar found out that he would be headed to the Hall of Fame, on April 4, 2025, right before the whole class was announced at the Men’s NCAA Final Four tournament. At the tournament, Howard was got a little emotional when talking about getting inducted.
Dwight Howard’s Emotional Moment
Dwight Howard was drafted as the Number 1 pick in 2004 to the Orlando Magic right out of high school. In his first year in Orlando he quickly made a name for himself. Averaging 12 points and 10 rebounds becoming the youngest player to average a double double and the youngest to average at least 10 rebounds. Over the next seven years in Orlando he would would build on top of that, leading them to the 2008 NBA Finals where they came up short against the Los Angeles Lakers, and he was selected to the All Star game 5 times, was First Team All-NBA 5 times and a 2-time Defensive Player of the Year.
As you can see, Dwight clearly has the numbers to show that he is a First Ballot Hall of Famer. Howard played 18 years in the NBA where he averaged almost 16 points a game and 12 rebounds. And for my basketball heads out there, that’s averaging a double-double over a near 20 YEAR CAREER! And as of March 24, Howard is also a member of the Orlando Magic’s Hall of Fame.
Some other career accomplishments include being a 2008 Gold Medalist, 1x NBA Champion, 8x All-Star, 5x All-NBA First Team, 3x Defensive Player of the Year, 4x All-Defensive First Team, 5x Rebounding leader, 2x Blocks leader, 2008 Slam Dunk Contest Champion, McDonald’s All-American Game Co-MVP and Mr. Georgia Basketball in 2004.
Blogged by Jaydan Harley