Dwight Howard Totally Explained

Everything about Dwight Howard totally explained

Dwight David Howard (born December 8 1985, in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Howard, who usually plays center but can also play power forward, had an outstanding high school career. He chose to forgo college and entered the 2004 NBA Draft. He was selected first overall by the Magic, and has since emerged as one of the top rebounders and players in the NBA. A two-time NBA All-Star and All-NBA member and one-time NBA All-Defensive member, he's been ranked consistently as one of the best in the league in field goal percentage. Howard's overall play and his spectacular dunks have gained him prominence as one of the brightest young prospects in the NBA and the team leader of the Magic. Additionally, the winner of the NBA 2008 Slam Dunk Contest is a devout Christian who contributes substantially to philanthropic causes.

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, 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. 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. Howard was also co-MVP (with J. R. Smith) of the McDonald's High School All-American Game that year. setting several NBA records in the process. He became the youngest player in NBA history to average a double double in the regular season.
Howard built on his strong rookie year with an impressive sophomore season. On 15 November 2005, in a home game at against the Charlotte Bobcats, he 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,

All-Star

Howard took another step forward as the franchise player for Orlando in the 2006–07 season, and for the third consecutive season he played in all 82 regular season games. 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. He was further recognized as one of the best players in the league when he was named to the All-NBA Third Team at the end of the 2006–07 campaign.
Howard continued posting impressive numbers in the 2007–08 season; with free agent Rashard Lewis added to the ranks to provide an extra offensive spark, this was the Magic's best season yet. Howard's strong and consistent play ensured that he was named as a starter for the Eastern Conference All-Star team, and by the time the mid-season break arrived, he was leading the league in double doubles (he concluded the season with a league-high 69) and had recorded 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game on five occasions (eight by the season's end). On February 16 2008, he won the 2008 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. Howard led the Magic to their first division title in 12 years and to the third seed for the 2008 NBA Playoffs, In the next round against the Pistons, the Magic lost the first two road games before Howard's 20 point/12 rebound performance in Game 3 salvaged a home win. In that same week, the center was named to the All-NBA First Team for the first time, Detroit played without their star point guard Chauncey Billups for Games 4 and 5, but Orlando were unable to capitalize on that and lost the series 4–1 to the veteran playoffs team.

International career

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Howard was named on 5 March 2006, to the 2006-2008 USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team program. 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.

Player profile

Howard is the current franchise player and leader of the Magic. He is one of the NBA's best rebounders (his 14.2 rebounds per game in 2007–08 meant he became the NBA's youngest rebound champion); in a game against the Golden State Warriors on 10 January 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, rare for a player of his size (6'11", 265 pounds). He demonstrated this skill memorably 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. As of April 2008, Howard's 12.2 rebounds per game (in the regular season) places him 15th in NBA all-time leaders.
Howard is also one of the game's best finishers; he's 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 in 2007: "[Howard] is so developed... He has so much promise and I'm glad that I'll be out of the league when he's 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 addition, the center hasn't missed a single regular season game in his four years in the NBA. Howard has some weaknesses in his game. Offensively, his shooting range remains limited; he's also mistake-prone, having led the NBA in total number of turnovers in the 2006–07 season. Like many centers, he's a low free throw conversion percentage.

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. 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. For his contributions in the Central Florida community, Howard received in 2005 the Rich and Helen De Vos Community Enrichment Award.
Howard and Royce Reed, a former dancer for the team, have a son Braylon.

Career highlights

NBA All-Star: 2007, 2008
All-NBA First Team: 2008
All-NBA Third Team: 2007
All-NBA Defensive Second Team: 2008
NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2005
NBA Slam Dunk Champion: 2008
Youngest player in NBA history to reach
- 3000 rebounds
- 4000 rebounds
Youngest player in NBA history to average a double-double
Youngest player in NBA history to record 20 rebounds in one game
Holds the highest career field goal percentage in All-Star Game history: .810 (17 field goals made of 21 attempts)
Youngest player in NBA history to lead the league in rebounding at 22 years, 130 days (14.2 rebounds average per game throughout 2007–08 season)

NBA career statistics

� Correct as of 8 May 2008

Regular season	Team	GP	MPG	SPG	BPG	RPG	APG	PPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
2004–05	Orlando	82	32.6	0.9	1.7	10.0	0.9	12.0	0.520	0.000	0.671
2005–06	Orlando	82	36.8	0.8	1.4	12.5	1.5	15.8	0.531	0.000	0.595
2006–07	Orlando	82	36.9	0.9	1.9	12.3	1.9	17.6	0.603	0.500	0.586
2007–08	Orlando	82	37.7	0.9	2.2	14.2	1.3	20.7	0.599	0.000	0.590
Career		328	36.0	0.9	1.7	12.2	1.4	16.5	0.567	0.100	0.603
All-Star		2	25.5	1.5	1.0	10.5	2.0	18.0	0.810	0.000	0.250

Playoffs	Team	GP	MPG	SPG	BPG	RPG	APG	PPG	FG%	FT%
2006–07	Orlando	4	41.8	0.5	1.0	14.8	1.8	15.3	0.548	0.455
2007–08	Orlando	8	41.6	1.0	3.8	16.1	1.0	20.9	0.625	0.561
Career		12	41.7	0.8	2.8	15.7	1.3	19.0	0.603	0.525

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