Dwight David Howard

Who is Dwight David Howard?

Dwight David Howard is an NBA professional basketball player who wears the number 39 for the Los Angeles Lakers. Dwight David Howard is regarded as one of the best defensive players and rebounders in NBA history.

Dwight has been in the league since 2004 and has set various records with clubs such as the Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, and the Los Angeles Lakers, among others.

Early Life, Education, and Parents

Dwight David Howard was born on December 8, 1985, in Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.

Dwight Howard has been influenced and passionate about basketball since he was a toddler, having been born into a family with strong basketball origins.

Dwight Sr., his father, was the Athletic Director of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, one of the top national high school basketball teams and facilities in the country.

Similarly, his mother, Sheryl Howard, was a basketball player who had played on Morris Brown College’s inaugural women’s basketball team.

Before giving birth to Dwight Howard, she had seven miscarriages.

Dwight began serious about basketball around the age of nine, following in his parents’ footsteps, and joined SACA (Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy) to further his career.

He received the Best National High School Basketball Award after quickly making a reputation for himself via his play.

Howard averaged 16.6 points and 13.4 rebounds per game as a big forward while leading his high school to a 31-2 record. He also led his team to the state championship.

Dwight has been a fervent Christian since he was a child, and he has expressed a desire to use his NBA career and Christian religion to “promote the name of God within the league and throughout the world.”

Age, Height, and Body Dimensions

Dwight David Howard was born in 1985 and is currently 34 years old.

He stands at a height of 6 feet 11 inches (2.11 m) and weighs around 120 kilograms (almost 230 pounds).

Facts of Dwight Howard

Net Worth and Salary

As of the year 2022, Dwight David Howard has a net worth of $140 million.

Dwight Howard is the 11th best-paid player of the Los Angeles Lakers, 28th best-paid center, and 191st best-paid NBA Player of the Year.

Starting with around $4 million in 2004 with the Orlando Magic, Dwight Howard has risen to earn almost $23 million in 2015.

As of 2022, this basketball player earns over $30 million per average when you consider his salary and all the other endorsements he is a part of due to his popularity.

He also has an endorsement deal with Peak Sport.

House

Along with this, he was also spotted with his stunning Ferrari FF premiered in 2011, and was also rumored to have bought a lavish in Los Angeles that cost almost around $20 million, which was his yearly salary back in the day.

While always being a part of multi-year contracts throughout his career with Orlando Magic, Houston Rocket, and others, in 2019, Howard got into a unique contract with the Lakers.

For this contract, he was paid almost $14.5 thousand for every day he was a part of their roster, and was also stated that the Lakers would only be viable for $6,000 if he got injured before the season.

Therefore, the mitigating the risk of injury pay by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Professional Life

Dwight bypassed college after graduating from high school and entered the NBA Draft in 2004, where he was taken first overall by the Orlando Magic.

He has pushed ahead of the team in the season because of his high school records and accomplishments, and he demonstrated his worth by setting new records, such as becoming the NBA’s youngest player to record 20 rebounds in a game.

In the NBA Rookie Challenge of 2005, he was named to the All-Rookie Team.

Dwight then worked hard to become a force to be reckoned with on defense, where he played center.

While the Magic never seemed to make the playoffs, Howard and his teammates seemed to get better with each match they played.

He was named to his first All-Star Team and to the All-NBA Third Team in the 2006-07 season.

Howard won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in February 2008 and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team and NBA All-First Team the following season.

Dwight became the NBA’s youngest Defensive Player of the Year Award winner in the 2008-09 season after leading his team to the Finals.

Later on, the next season, he was on top of the list of NBA for Rebounds and Blocks for the second consecutive time.

Afterward, in the 2010-11 season, Howard achieved the feat of being the first to be named NBA Best Defensive Player of the Year three times in a row.

However, despite Orlando Magic now winning, he pleaded to be traded from the team.

Los Angeles Lakers (2012-2013)

His 2012 season was one of his first setbacks that were majorly a result of his multiple struggles with injuries.

Even though the season was disappointing, he still managed to top the NBA in Rebounds and thus received yet another All NBA-Third Team Honour.

Houston Rockets (2013-2016)

In the three seasons with Houston Rockets, Dwight faced a bumpy road as he accomplished a few more feats, namely the All NBA-Second Team and reaching 15,000 career points in December of 2015.

While only making it to the finals once with the Rockets, Dwight also faced a severe knee injury that put him out for 4 months in the 2014-15 season from December 14 to March 15.

Turning down a contract with the Houston Rockets after his third season with them, Howard again became a free agent.

Atlanta Hawks (2016-2017)

In like manner, signing a three-year contract with the Hawks, Dwight had a great season with the team and had the most rebounds by any team member in their debut match with the Atlanta Hawk.

Charlotte Hornets (2017-2018)

Despite a decent season, the athlete was traded to Charlotte Hornets in the following season.

Starting to make new records the moment he stepped in in June 2017, Dwight became the eight-player in the league to record a 30-30 point game in March 2018.

He also became a part of an elite group of 6 players to score a double-double in their first 13 seasons playing in the NBA. In July 2018, he got traded again.

Washington Wizards (2018-2019)

While the new season bought him opportunities, it also bought him many injuries to deal with. Also, in April 2019, he went on to play a second season with the Wizards before getting traded again in July 2019.

Atlanta Hawks (2019-Present)

In 2019, Dwight was returned to one of his former teams with whom he is playing since.

Due to his history of injuries in the previous season, Howard agreed to sign a non-guaranteed contract, which gave the Atlanta Hawks the authority to let go of the player any time they want.

Girlfriend and Kids

Everyone famously knows that Dwight David Howard has five different kids with five different women.

With this, he also has his fair share of abuse and defamation allegations that put his personality in turmoil.

In 2010, he put forward a defamation allegation against one of his children’s mothers – Royce Reed, who had publicly disclosed and talked about their relationship on multiple shows.

Due to a contractual bind, Reed had to pay a $500 fine as she mentioned Howard’s name publicly on separate occasions.

A few years later, he received child abuse accusations when an investigation in 2014 determined that Howard beat his son with a belt.

In his defense, the player said that his parents disciplined him when he was a kid.

Foundation

Howard is actively into philanthropy, giving back to society. He established the Dwight D. Howard Foundation in 2004.

The foundation aims at providing scholarships for students who want to attend his alma mater, Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy.

Similarly, it also gives grants to Lovell Elementary School and Memorial Middle School in Orlando, Florida.

The NBA player also organizes summer basketball camps for boys and girls, collaborating with high school and college coaches and players. Moreover, he invites his fellow NBA players to be on hand at the camps.

He rightfully contributes to the people he shares his basketball love with.

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Social Media Presence

Active over Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, Dwight is rarely active over the Twitter scenario.  He is more active on Instagram than on Twitter.

On Instagram, he has around 2.9 million followers, where he mostly posts match highlights, pictures of his team, and many more.

He is not so active on Facebook. If you search his account, you will find some of his favorite NBA moments and basketball-related videos there.

On Twitter, he has more followers than on Instagram.

Howard has a total of 6.5 million followers, and he tweets quite often.

Recently, in his last tweet, he retweeted Shams Charania, who is an NBA writer, and analyst.