Dwight Howard will be a part of Carmelo Anthony on the Basketball Corridor of Fame in Springfield.
Dwight Howard’s Magic basketball journey will finish in Springfield.
Per Shams Charania of ESPN, Howard is among the many Naismith Basketball Memorial Corridor of Fame’s Class of 2025. Howard enters the Corridor on his first poll and can be a part of fellow first-year entrant Carmelo Anthony.
Howard entered the Affiliation as the primary total choose of the 2004 draft, coming straight out of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. The middle had gained nationwide prominence for his efforts within the McDonald’s All-American Recreation, sharing the well-known showcase recreation’s MVP award with J.R. Smith.
The Orlando Magic initially secured Howard’s companies and he went on to change into one of the crucial well-known names in Central Florida basketball historical past. Having performed his first eight skilled seasons in Orlando (2004-12), Howard stays the Magic’s all-time chief in minutes (22,471), rebounds (8,072), blocks (1,134), and factors (11,345). Howard’s crowning achievement maybe got here in 2008, when he guided Orlando to its second NBA Finals look.
Along with his time with the Magic, Howard additionally repped the Los Angeles Lakers (2012-13, 2019-20, 2020-21), Houston Rockets (2013-16), Atlanta Hawks (2016-17), Charlotte Hornets (2017-18), and Philadelphia 76ers (2020-21). He led the Affiliation in rebounds on 5 events and in blocks twice, whereas reaching eight All-Star Video games and 5 All-NBA First Groups. Howard stays one in all 4 males to win no less than three Defensive Participant of the 12 months titles (Rudy Gobert, Dikembe Mutombo, Ben Wallace) and the one one to do it for 3 consecutive seasons.
For his profession, Howard averaged 15.7 factors, 11.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks. He additionally received the 2008 Slam Dunk Contest (successful followers over by donning a Superman cape for his main slam) and later secured an elusive championship throughout one in all his stints with the Lakers, as he appeared in all six video games of the sequence win over the Miami Warmth.
The total Class of 2025 will probably be unveiled on the NCAA Males’s Basketball Last 4 festivities in San Antonio.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
