After a successful career, Dwight Howard, former center for the Los Angeles Lakers, is one of the newest members inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Speaking at his induction ceremony alongside Carmelo Anthony, Sue Bird, Maya Moore, and other basketball legends, the former Lakers player offered up multiple memorable moments in his speech. Of those included praising his mother, crediting her for his receiving the sports’ top honor.
“My mother lost seven children, and He allowed me to bring sunshine into her life,” Howard said. “I’m just honored to stand in front of you as one of the greatest basketball players ever.”
Howard played for the Lakers in the 2012-13 season, their 2019-20 title-winning season, and again in the 2021-22 season, his last in the NBA. Along with his individual career, both Howard and Anthony were some of the players at the ceremony to celebrate the induction of the 2008 Team USA ‘Redeem Team’, which won gold at the Beijing Olympics.
Former Lakers Star Howard Praises SVG
Howard’s career had ups and downs, highlighted by his 2009 NBA Finals appearance with the Orlando Magic, and a low point of ending his career overseas after failing to sign an NBA deal. Though he did finish as a champion with the Lakers’ 2020 title, Howard chose to give credit to former Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy, including an impression of the now-broadcaster.
“Because of you, I am in the Hall of Fame. As I’ve said before, there is no Dwight Howard without Stan Van Gundy. You taught me what it means to stay ready. I still remember, in the playoffs, you had us doing plays for guys who never even got in the game,” Howard said.
Van Gundy coached Howard in Orlando for a big stretch in the first stage of his career, but after the 2009 Finals loss, their relationship began to sour. Though the two didn’t see eye-to-eye for a while, Howard made his feelings clear on his former coach in his induction speech.
“Stan is the best coach I’ve had in the NBA. I got to give him the credit. What he did for my game, what he did for me mentally, it really carried my whole life. I didn’t understand it until I got away from the game, the effect that Stan had on me because he got me so prepared for everything,” Howard added.
Howard is one of four players to win the Defensive Player of the Year award at least three times, all of which came from 2009 to 2011 under Van Gundy on the Magic.
Mending the Shaq Relationship
In what was the other most memorable ‘beef‘ of Howard’s career, Shaquille O’Neal spent more than a decade criticizing and critiquing the newer version of the NBA’s ‘Superman’. Speaking directly to O’Neal, who was one of four players to induct Howard, the newest member of the Hall of Fame addressed their rivalry.
“Shaq, we did not always seen eye-to-eye, but in hindsight I believe it was just sibling rivalries,” Howard said. “We are brothers in this fraternity of basketball, and sometimes brothers fight over the stupidest stuff.”
Howard was Orlando’s next big star after O’Neal led them to the 1994 Finals and left for the Lakers in 1996. After taking the ‘Superman‘ nickname from the four-time champion, Howard never reached the same level of success as his predecessor. Regardless, the two seemed to have mended their relationship now that both have been enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
“I really blame Soulja Boy,” Howard added. “I just want y’all to know that the true original Superman is in the building today, and it’s an honor to have you walk me out into this arena of greatness.”
O’Neal was alongside Dominique Wilkins, Patrick Ewing, and Robert Parish as the three players who directly inducted Howard into the Hall of Fame. He now joins a list of elite big men to receive the honor, continuing the trend of centers being the position with the most players in the Hall of Fame.
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