Support NeoGAF

[norm9]

Fantastic long form article from Sports Illustrated. https://www.si.com/nba/2017/09/19/dwight-howard-hornets-magic-lakers-james-harden-kobe-bryant

Disclaimer- I still think Dwight Howard is a punk buster. That will never change. But I do have a bit of sympathy for him after this article.

One Friday evening, in a back room at Fellowship of Faith, the pastor called Howard in front of the teen ministry. “Your purpose,” the pastor intoned, “is to use basketball as a platform for God’s glory.” That was the plan. When the Magic drafted Howard with the No. 1 pick in 2004, he was an 18-year-old virgin, regaling teammates about the time God spoke to him in the bathroom. Steve Francis and Tony Battie invited their pious rookie to a club once, and never again, for fear they’d corrupt him. “That’s it,” Battie said. “We’re not letting you go out anymore.” At Howard’s first All-Star weekend, in 2005, players in the Denver hotel elevator compared party invitations. “We know you aren’t about to do nothin’,” one jeered, “except read your Bible.” Howard wished he’d never talked publicly about the cross on the logo.

Thirteen NBA seasons have passed, and Howard is trying to remember his old pastor’s name. “What is it?” he says, slapping his side. But the name matters less than the edict, issued on that Friday evening long ago in the back room at Fellowship of Faith. Has he done what he intended? Has he used basketball as a platform for God’s glory? He falls silent for a few seconds. “Yes,” he replies, “and no.”

In piggybacking the Magic to the ’09 Finals, Howard led the NBA in blocks and rebounds and was fourth in field goal percentage. He was the best defensive player in the league and one of the most efficient scorers. When general managers responded to a 2009 NBA.com poll about which player they would sign to start a franchise, they picked James first, Howard second.

Today, Superman is 31, on the back end of what was supposed to be his prime. Never married, he has five children by five women. He has lost millions of dollars to friends and family. He has at times been estranged from his parents and spurned by his costars. His endorsement portfolio, once brimming with Gatorade and Vitamin Water, McDonald’s and Adidas, Kia and T-Mobile, is down to a sneaker deal with the Chinese sportswear company Peak. He checked in last winter with 151,000 All-Star votes—11,000 fewer than Ersan Ilyasova. Next week Howard will go to training camp with the Hornets, his fifth team in seven seasons, who acquired him over the summer for backups Miles Plumlee and Marco Belinelli.

What happened to Dwight Howard is a question that confounds much of the NBA, himself included. “All of a sudden,” he says, “I went from the good guy to the devil.” He has devoted an inordinate amount of reflection to the subject, reexamining that righteous 18-year-old who left East Point only to endure a punishing cycle of temptation and shame. “You won’t understand,” he warns. “You won’t get it.” But he’ll try to explain anyway, because God and basketball gave him the platform, and because there’s always another overgrown prodigy who could use a 6'11" caution sign. “What I’ve been through,” Howard says, “I don’t want anybody else to go through.”

It’s no surprise he clashed with Bryant, whose persona is famously confrontational, but in Houston he also engaged in a cold war with the mild-mannered James Harden. “James is not the kind of guy who is going to say, ‘Yo, man, you got a problem?’ and I’m not either,” Howard says. “When I don’t like what’s going on, I tend to shut down, put my headphones on and ignore everything. I don’t talk about things. That happened to me in L.A. It happened to me again in Houston. I should have communicated better.” One Rockets official called a meeting with Howard and Harden that felt more like an intervention. Harden voiced what he wanted from Howard, namely stronger screens and tougher rim protection, but Howard didn’t express much in response. The freeze deepened.

Howard does not have many friends in the league—“I’m kind of the loner”—and he became a convenient target. In one game, Bryant called his former teammate “soft as a ­motherf-----,” and in another, Kevin Durant called him worse. It wasn’t just fans and media who made him out to be a diva and a slacker, as if a slacker gets those mountainous shoulders. “Some players will tell you they don’t care what other people think,” Howard says. “They’re lying. We all care.”

There's a lot more in the article about growing up, wilding out, possible redemption under Jordan, and wanting a farm. Really great writing about a very divisive individual.

Dunk on me if old.

 

[JeremyEtcetera]

Another thing to add on that didn't help his overall image was being put in the Shaqtin' a fool segment nearly monthly and Shaq calling him 'Stuperman' each time he was highlighted. I'm sure that caught on with people just like Javale Mcgee.

 

[norm9]

Another thing to add on that didn't help his overall image was being put in the Shaqtin' a fool segment nearly monthly and Shaq calling him 'Stuperman' each time he was highlighted. I'm sure that caught on with people just like Javale Mcgee.

Definitely didn't help. Though had Dwight dropped that stupid Superman nickname claim instead of running with it after the Slam Dunk Contest, he wouldn't have been in Shaq's sights.

 

[RedAssedApe]

sounds like kobe was right

 

[thecouncil]

Zack Snyder

 

[Sandfox]

The Dwightmare forever damaged his image, with the next two stops just killing his career.

 

[Syphon Filter]

The Dwightmare forever damaged his image, with the next two stops just killing his career.

what you mean?

 

[Ever]

What's going on in that gif? I'm confused.

 

[theWB27]

Shaq only thought he should be putting up 27 and 15 in a league where he had a massive advantage almost every night.

 

[JeremyEtcetera]

Zack Snyder

I'd actually enjoy seeing Zack Snyder try to make a serious basketball movie about the rise and fall of Dwight Howard. Including the usual Blue hue from his movies too.

 

[norm9]

What's going on in that gif? I'm confused.

All time great coach Stan Van Gundy has had enough of Dwight's complaints and throws his hands up in the air. Many people do this around Dwight.

Dwight loved to complain. He was also indecisive. He signed an extension with the Magic only to decide he didn't want to be a part of the team anymore. So he wanted management to get rid of the Van Gundy. Van Gundy had heard about this and was in the middle of an interview when in pops Dwight (who wanted to get rid of him) acting nice and friendly to Coach when they both knew what Dwight was doing.

 

[Caddywompus]

Probably the biggest waste of talent still in the league. Dude just didn't care.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

still resent him for what he did to the magic

 

[norm9]

still resent him for what he did to the magic

And he made the Lakers beg to re-sign with them with the giant STAY posters in front of the arena. That was a real low point for the Lakers.

 

[neptunes]

Another thing to add on that didn't help his overall image was being put in the Shaqtin' a fool segment nearly monthly and Shaq calling him 'Stuperman' each time he was highlighted. I'm sure that caught on with people just like Javale Mcgee.

Fuck Shaq

 

[What did he mean by this?]

I'd actually enjoy seeing Zack Snyder try to make a serious basketball movie about the rise and fall of Dwight Howard. Including the usual Blue hue from his movies too.

https://youtu.be/cUJEI4agJuA?t=53

 

[Ninja Scooter]

His back injury sapped his athleticism just enough that is no longer the physical force he was, and thus, no longer a super star player. A lot of it stems from that. If he was still the player he was in 2009, or something close to it, he probably wouldn't have a lot of the problems he does.

Aside from that he needs to keep his dick in his pants.

 

[JeremyEtcetera]

Probably the biggest waste of talent still in the league. Dude just didn't care.

Some people can receive the best opportunities and at the end of the day they still treat it like just a job and end up jobbing. There are other reasons of course but that's what it feels like at the end of the day.

Fuck Shaq

Shaq can be quite the bully sometimes.

https://youtu.be/cUJEI4agJuA?t=53

It's really strange to see young Jordan again and how the media portrayed him outside of basketball.

 

[norm9]

His back injury sapped his athleticism just enough that is no longer the physical force he was, and thus, no longer a super star player. A lot of it stems from that. If he was still the player he was in 2009, or something close to it, he probably wouldn't have a lot of the problems he does.

Aside from that he needs to keep his dick in his pants.

The article mentions his back a little bit.

I knew it when he was ineffective playing with that hurt back when he came to the Lakers that it was a dumb pr move that didn't need to happen and was only going to make it worse.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

The article mentions his back a little bit.

I knew it when he was ineffective playing with that hurt back when he came to the Lakers that it was a dumb pr move that didn't need to happen and was only going to make it worse.

I'm not sure it would have made much difference. By that time he had already had major back surgery. He's never recovered. I don't know that playing made it worse. Back/neck injuries are some of the worst for athletes.

 

[Laz-E-Boy]

Never married, he has five children by five women

Just 5 Dwight?

All time great coach Stan Van Gundy has had enough of Dwight's complaints and throws his hands up in the air. Many people do this around Dwight.

Dwight loved to complain. He was also indecisive. He signed an extension with the Magic only to decide he didn't want to be a part of the team anymore. So he wanted management to get rid of the Van Gundy. Van Gundy had heard about this and was in the middle of an interview when in pops Dwight (who wanted to get rid of him) acting nice and friendly to Coach when they both knew what Dwight was doing.

Yep

Beginning of his downfall

 

[Flux]

He had other world talent and fame, then stopped caring. It's crazy that he's only 31, but feels like he's been washed up for ages.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

He had other world talent and fame, then stopped caring. It's crazy that he's only 31, but feels like he's been washed up for ages.

I don't get the characterization that he doesn't care. You don't get as far as he did by not caring. If he didn't care he wouldn't have become an MVP candidate. If he didn't care he wouldn't have become a multiple time defensive player of the year. There have been a lot of athletic freaks in the NBA that don't amount to anything. If anything what seems to have happened is that his athleticism took a hit and he was unable to adjust. He still wanted to be a star. He still wanted to be a franchise player. He wanted offenses run through him, he wanted teams to post him up and dump the ball down to him, when he no longer had the ability to be that guy. Similar to what has happened to Derrick Rose. These guys have been "the man" their entire lives, and then all of a sudden they are in their late 20s and being told to accept that their careers as they knew them are effectively older. It's not all that shocking that denial would set in.

 

[qcf x2]

His back injury sapped his athleticism just enough that is no longer the physical force he was, and thus, no longer a super star player. A lot of it stems from that. If he was still the player he was in 2009, or something close to it, he probably wouldn't have a lot of the problems he does.

Aside from that he needs to keep his dick in his pants.

All of this. I do pity the guy and it sure seems like he's older than 31, but so it goes. He also never really bothered to learn post moves that would extend his career once the dip in athleticism occurs (already happened because of injury as stated above).

He got a lot of heat for being a flake and soft, but now we come to expect that from players.

 

[RedAssedApe]

can't wait to see him chucking threes

 

[Colonel Nasty]

I didn’t mind Howard in Houston but he and Moreys system were a bad fit. You watch Clint Capela doing what he’s is and Howard could have been a way better version but he was still concerned with being “the man” Hoepfully he learns a role on a great team someday before his athleticism disappears.

 

[TheWraith]

I liked Superman Returns, but yeah Snyder happened and it became an unwatchable mess.

 

[Sandfox]

what you mean?

In Orlando he held the organization hostage, pissed off fans, and was accused of some scandalous things. Orlando still hasn't recovered.

In LA he pissed off pretty much every Laker fan and went against Kobe, who is absolutely loved by the fanbase and a lot of the media. He then left the Lakers with them getting nothing in return after giving up a lot for him making them a lottery team with no assets and Kobe coming off a major injury.

By the time he got to Houston his popularity fell off in a big way because of what happened in the previous two stops. He started getting heavily criticized from fans and media at the time. Even players like Kobe and Durant were calling him harshly insulting him during games. To make matters worse he clashed with Harden and his play started to fall off in a league where his playstyle is becoming obsolete. This pissed off the fans in Houston and he left them like he left the Lakers.

 

[TheBaldEmperor]

Shaq only thought he should be putting up 27 and 15 in a league where he had a massive advantage almost every night.

Which is completely logical. Shaq played against actual quality big men almost every night. Dwight just disappeared too frequently during games for no apparent reason.

Also, Lee Jenkins is a national treasure. He is an excellent journalist and is always great in interviews. Jim Rome has him on a few times a year. Always awesome.

 

[theWB27]

I don't get the characterization that he doesn't care. You don't get as far as he did by not caring. If he didn't care he wouldn't have become an MVP candidate. If he didn't care he wouldn't have become a multiple time defensive player of the year. There have been a lot of athletic freaks in the NBA that don't amount to anything. If anything what seems to have happened is that his athleticism took a hit and he was unable to adjust. He still wanted to be a star. He still wanted to be a franchise player. He wanted offenses run through him, he wanted teams to post him up and dump the ball down to him, when he no longer had the ability to be that guy. Similar to what has happened to Derrick Rose. These guys have been "the man" their entire lives, and then all of a sudden they are in their late 20s and being told to accept that their careers as they knew them are effectively older. It's not all that shocking that denial would set in.

Think the main thing that's frustrated people with Dwight was he didn't really expand his offensive game to the point he could demand the ball like he did.

I think he would've been fine if he accepted he was mutumbo 2.0 which is nothing to sneeze at.

 

[Sandfox]

Think the main thing that's frustrated people with Dwight was he didn't really expand his offensive game to the point he could demand the ball like he did.

I think he would've been fine if he accepted he was mutumbo 2.0 which is nothing to sneeze at.

The issue is that fans and the media were demanding more from him. We had guys like Barkley and Shaq criticizing him on live TV and saying stuff like "he doesn't know a single post move" or saying that he needs to play like Shaq and put up unrealistic numbers.

 

[norm9]

Think the main thing that's frustrated people with Dwight was he didn't really expand his offensive game to the point he could demand the ball like he did.

I think he would've been fine if he accepted he was mutumbo 2.0 which is nothing to sneeze at.

Yep. He could have been defensive anchor in conjunction with his garbage dunks into a hall of fame career. Instead, he wanted to be post up guy even though he didn't have any post up moves. Didn't bother learning to shoot free throws. And didn't want to set screens.

Worst part is from what I read, in both LA and Houston, he met with Kareem and Hakeem like once. Dude wasn't a serious student. He coasted until he could coast no more.

 

[JasonUresti]

Yep. He could have been defensive anchor in conjunction with his garbage dunks into a hall of fame career. Instead, he wanted to be post up guy even though he didn't have any post up moves. Didn't bother learning to shoot free throws. And didn't want to set screens.

Worst part is from what I read, in both LA and Houston, he met with Kareem and Hakeem like once. Dude wasn't a serious student. He coasted until he could coast no more.

I remember Kareem ripping him and saying Dwight didn't want his help and didn't seem to care what Kareem had to say.

 

[theWB27]

Yep. He could have been defensive anchor in conjunction with his garbage dunks into a hall of fame career. Instead, he wanted to be post up guy even though he didn't have any post up moves. Didn't bother learning to shoot free throws. And didn't want to set screens.

Worst part is from what I read, in both LA and Houston, he met with Kareem and Hakeem like once. Dude wasn't a serious student. He coasted until he could coast no more.

Which is wild cause did can still rebound better than most.

The issue is that fans and the media were demanding more from him. We had guys like Barkley and Shaq criticizing him on live TV and saying stuff like "he doesn't know a single post move" or saying that he needs to play like Shaq and put up unrealistic numbers.

Because that's the player Dwight presented himself as. For all the strength Shaq had he still developed go to post moves. Barkley was a monster down low. Dwight wanted to be a focal point when everybody knew his limits.

 

[CanUKlehead]

Honestly thought he would go AC Green 'virgin til I'm married' route, or crash and burn being all high and mighty.

Welp.

But really, sounds like a simple 'the temptation got too much' story. Sucks more that he got ostracized early on in the league, and his friends and family took advantage of hsi generosity as well.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Think the main thing that's frustrated people with Dwight was he didn't really expand his offensive game to the point he could demand the ball like he did.

I think he would've been fine if he accepted he was mutumbo 2.0 which is nothing to sneeze at.

Mutombo was never a 20 ppg guy. He was an elite two way player in his prime, even without any Hakeem/Shaq type post moves (which aren't exactly in vogue these days anyway). His problem is that his physical prime didn't last as long as he or most others thought it would.

 

[Basketball]

"Never married, he has five children by five women"

multiply by 2/3

 

[theWB27]

Mutombo was never a 20 ppg guy. He was an elite two way player in his prime, even without any Hakeem/Shaq type post moves (which aren't exactly in vogue these days anyway). His problem is that his physical prime didn't last as long as he or most others thought it would.

That's why I put 2.0. Dwight never had the offensive game to demand the offensive attention he wanted. He had a complimentary offensive game with elite d.

I think he would've been remembered more fondly if he would've accepted that.

 

[Sandfox]

Which is wild cause did can still rebound better than most.




Because that's the player Dwight presented himself as. For all the strength Shaq had he still developed go to post moves. Barkley was a monster down low. Dwight wanted to be a focal point when everybody knew his limits.

It was others that wanted Dwight to be Shaq and whenever he tried to change his game for the modern era people would get on him.

 

[DietRob]

Kobe stole his soul.

 

[sooperkool]

I will never respect Dwight because he had the chance to cure his #1 weakness, offensive predictability at the feet of two of the greatest post players of all time: McHale and Hakeem and pissed it all away.