Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard is a former Orlando Magic player. He played high school basketball for the Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy in Georgia. He played with the Magic from 2004-2012 and has also played in the NBA for the Los Angeles Lakers

Career

The Magic drafted Howard out of high school with the 1st overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft to be the new face of the franchise. Though it took some time for him to develop, Howard proved Orlando right to select him by becoming the league's most dominant force in the paint. Howard became the first player in the NBA history to win the Defensive Player of the Year award in three consecutive seasons from 2009-2011. Howard's dominance helped lead the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals where they lost to the Lakers.

Prior to the start of the 2011-12 NBA season, Howard requested a trade from the Magic to either the New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Lakers or Dallas Mavericks. Refusing to give up on their franchise player so soon, the Magic held off all trade discussions and instead tried to convince Howard of signing a long term extension with Orlando. The decision temporarily paid off as Howard announced that he would waive his rights to opt out of his contract following the 2011-12 NBA season, keeping him under contract with the Magic for at least one more season. However, Howard suffered a season ending back injury weeks later and Orlando was quickly eliminated in the playoffs without its' star player. That offseason, Howard told the Magic he regretted waiving his opt out clause and once again demanded a trade. Finally on August 10th, 2012, Howard was finally granted his wish and was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in a massive four team trade. The same team that the last All Star Magic center, Shaquille O'Neal, left Orlando for. Dwight played in 621 games with the Magic while scoring 11,435 points, the most in Orlando Magic franchise history.

*All stats are as of the end of the 2011-12 NBA season.