Dwight Howard has officially been immortalized. On Monday night (March 24), Howard was inducted into the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame, 21 years after being drafted by the Florida-based NBA team in 2004.
The event went down during an exhibition game between the Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers —another one of Howard’s former teams — with the ceremony taking place at halftime. “Superman,” as he was affectionately named during his tenure with the Magic, spoke about his journey in the NBA.
“God likes to play baseball,” the 39-year-old tearily recalled at the event. “I started out here in Orlando at home plate. Hit a couple balls out, [and] I had to start running around the bases of life. Got to first base, went to second base, got to third base. But God had to bring me back home. He had to bring me back home, and He brought me back here, to Orlando… This is my home. It will always forever be my home.”
Dwight Howard #12 of the Orlando Magic hugs teammate Anthony Johnson #8 in celebration on the court after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2009 Playoffs at Amway Arena on May 30, 2009 in Orlando, Florida.
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Howard then spoke of his highly-publicized break-up with the Orlando Magic in August 2012, after the superstar forced himself out of the team. The move came as a shock as the Atlanta native was a fixture (and a force) during his tenure with the Eastern Conference squad. In fact, the Magic haven’t been to the NBA Finals since the Dwight Howard era. While both sides came to verbal blows during the “Dwightmare,” the athlete looked at that period differently.
“Sometimes, I do get mad and beat myself up over leaving. ‘Why did you freaking leave, Dwight?,’” Howard said, per Sports Illustrated. “But all of these memories, the good memories, the bad memories, it still doesn’t take away what is happening. We’ve had some really amazing times in Orlando. A lot of people’s lives were impacted because God blessed me with the ability to play basketball and come down here to Orlando. Everything wasn’t perfect, I’m not perfect. But I know that when I had my time here, I gave 110 percent, whether that was on the court or off the court. I didn’t play around with my city.”
Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic participates in the Sprite Slam Dunk Competition during NBA All-Star Weekend on February 17, 2007 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Orlando Magic selected Dwight Howard No. 1 overall in the 2004 NBA Draft. The 6’10” phenom stayed with the Magic for 8 years, being named to the NBA All-Star team in each of those seasons. During his time with the Magic, Dwight was really Superman, averaging 18.4 points, 2.2 blocks, one steal, 13 rebounds, and 1.5 assists. He made history in the season 2009/10, becoming the first player in Magic’s history to be named to the All-NBA First Team unanimously.
After leaving Orlando, Howard would bounce from 5 different teams, including the Lakers (2012-13), the Houston Rockets (2013-14), the Atlanta Hawks (2016-17), the Charlotte Hornets (2017-18), the Washington Wizards (2018-19), then the Lakers again in 2019-20, the Philadelphia 76ers (2020-21) and finally, the Lakers once more in 2021-22. While Howard hasn’t officially retired, the athlete hasn’t played in the NBA since leaving the Lakers in 2022.
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