Dwight Howard is the 13th member of the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame. The ceremony took place March 24, when the Magic played the Los Angeles Lakers.
Howard joined Magic co-founder Pat Williams (2014), Nick Anderson (2014), Shaquille O’Neal (2015), Rich DeVos (2016), Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway (2017), Jimmy Hewitt (2017), Tracy McGrady (2018), David Steele (2019), Darrell Armstrong (2020), John Gabriel (2022), Brian Hill (2022), and Dennis Scott (2023).
During the induction ceremony at the Magic’s home,
the Kia Center, Howard showed his love for the Florida city.“God likes to play baseball,” Howard said to the crowd, according to the Orlando Sentinel. “You see, I started out at home plate here in Orlando, hit a couple of balls out of the park and started running around the bases of life. I got to first base, second base, third base, but God had to bring me back home, so He brought me back to Orlando. This is my home. It will always and forever be my home.”
Howard, the first pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, was a fixture for the Magic 2004 to 2012. His averaged 18.4 points, 13 rebounds, 2.16 blocks, 1.5 assists, and 1.01 steals in 36.2 minutes a game. He lead the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals and the Eastern Conference Finals in 2010.
He is the Magic’s all-time leader in points scored (11,435), rebounds (8,072), blocked shots (1,344),
free throws made (3,366), free throws attempted (5,727), and minutes played (22,471). He also leads the franchise in all-time playoff points (1,133), rebounds (818), blocks (158), field goals (393), free throws made (347), free throws attempted (590), and games played (57).Howard, a likely NBA hall of famer, was named to the All-NBA First Team for five straight seasons and won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award for three consecutive seasons (2008-2011), the first to accomplish that feat. The center was also named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team for four straight years (2008-2012). He made the NBA All-Star team from 2007 to 2012.
He also received the Rich and Helen DeVos Community Enrichment Award (given to the player who gives back to the community outside of the basketball court) a team-record six times.
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