Dwight Howard’s 18-year NBA career was filled with plenty of ups and downs. During his first several seasons with the Orlando Magic, he made a name for himself as a monstrous rebounder and defender, but once he came to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012, his reputation took a nose dive.
After playing for four other teams in subsequent seasons, the eight-time All-Star center returned to the Lakers in 2019 and embraced a reduced role while helping them win the 2020 NBA championship. Now he’s officially a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame after getting inducted on Saturday.
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Patrick Ewing, another Hall of Fame center, was an assistant coach with the Magic when Howard was there. Howard thanked Ewing for helping him become the player he was.
He also thanked Stan Van Gundy, who was one of his head coaches in Orlando.
Howard also gave a shout-out to his parents, both of whom were in attendance.
The former No. 1 pick in the 2004 NBA Draft got his Hall of Fame jacket at the ceremony, and he can now say he triumphed over the many critics he had for a good stretch of his career.
Howard ended his NBA career with averages of 15.7 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, and he led the league in rebounding five times and in blocked shots twice. During his three stints with the Lakers, he put up 10.7 points, 8.8 boards and 1.5 blocks in 24.4 minutes per game.
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This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Watch: Former Laker Dwight Howard gets inducted into Hall of Fame