Dwight Howard was among the NBA’s best players in the late 2010s. He was a perennial All-Star and earned five straight All-NBA first-team nods between 2008 and 2012. Howard’s stock was at its peak in 2009. His achievements on the court rewarded him with a selection as the cover star of the title’s 2009 release, NBA Live 10. Recently, the former Magic man shared the game’s cover on his social, reliving the memory.
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Howard led the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals in his fifth season with the franchise. They beat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals but succumbed to Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.
Despite the loss, Howard had established himself as one of the sport’s top players. So, it was no surprise when NBA Live, EA Sports’ basketball video game, picked the Orlando Magic superstar to be on the cover of the video game. Content Creator Miguel Luis Ledesma, better known as Shady00018, shared a video reminiscing the NBA Live 10’s video gameplay. Howard re-shared the post on his Instagram stories and captioned it, “What a time to be alive.”
While Howard reminisced about the peak of his career, fans in the replies of the post were getting nostalgic about NBA Live 10’s smooth gameplay. The game introduced two new modes, NBA Live Run and Dynamic Season. Live Run gave users the ability to pit themselves against other players online. Users could talk trash and learn from opponents while playing with their favourite teams and players.
Dynamic Season was an offline mode where players went through a virtual NBA regular season and could play any match of their choice on a particular game day while the rest of the season carried on through autoplay. Dynamic Season had a feature called Dynamic DNA, which updated the players’ in-game stats and abilities based on their real-life form in the NBA. For example, during Jeremy Lin’s “Linsanity Run,” his stats would rise after almost every game. Fans would get the opportunity to play with the overpowered virtual version of Lin.
These updates, the improved player models, and updated gameplay made this game a smash hit.
Dwight Howard’s curious NBA career and hopes of a return to the league
After leading the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals in 2009, Dwight Howard became one of the most-coveted players in the league. He was a defensive juggernaut, winning three straight Defensive Player of the Year awards between 2009 and 2011, and also averaged over 20 points per game.
After another Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 2010 and a bitterly disappointing first-round exit in 2011, Howard demanded a trade from the Magic. His wish wasn’t granted for a year, but in the 2012 offseason, he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Howard joining the Lakers from the Magic and forming a duo with Kobe Bryant earned him a comparison to franchise icon Shaquille O’Neal.
The Lakers were expected to compete for the NBA title. However, injuries and poor coaching saw them finish the regular season with a 45-37 record and get swept in the first round of the playoffs. The franchise was willing to write off the year as a blip and start fresh in 2013. They offered Howard a five-year, $118 million extension, but he shockingly turned it down and joined the Houston Rockets. Bryant was incensed with the center turning his back on the Lakers. They also had an altercation during the 2014-15 season, where the Lakers superstar called the Rockets center “soft.”
Howard’s trade to the Rockets started a downward spiral in his career. He spent three seasons in Houston before declining to opt into the final year of his contract and joining the Atlanta Hawks on a three-year deal. They traded him to the Charlotte Hornets after only one year with the team. The Hornets could also tolerate only one year of the former three-time Defensive Player of the Year and traded him to the Brooklyn Nets in July 2018, who waived him immediately.
Howard signed a one-year deal with the Washington Wizards, but injuries limited him to only nine games. With his stock at an all-time low, he made the shocking decision to sign a veteran’s minimum deal with the Lakers. Surprisingly, Howard was productive off the bench for the team and his efforts were rewarded with a first NBA title.
The team did not re-sign him and he joined the Philadelphia 76ers, before returning to the Lakers a year later. Since the end of the 2022 season, Howard has not played in the NBA. He played in the T1 league in Taiwan and put up exceptional numbers. But he’s itching for a return to the NBA and even pitched to the Pistons that he and a few other recognizable free agents will help end their 28-game losing streak.
Howard’s intriguing NBA career is all but over. But he’s still holding on to hope.
