In a week where dozens of legends honored Dwight Howard’s illustrious career following his Hall of Fame induction, the former NBA champion couldn’t help but reflect on the past. He highlighted one individual in particular who had stolen his heart before he had even entered the league.
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Long before Howard reached the peak of NBA stardom, he was playing for a small high school with only 86 students from kindergarten through 12th grade. So when Dominique Wilkins showed up at Southwest Christian Academy, Howard was nervous.
Howard was not sure how everyone else, let alone the Atlanta Hawks legend, would fit into the school’s gym during a game. The school, surprisingly, did not seem to worry about this at all.
“It was just so crazy because I remember him coming to my first high school, well, it was our first high school game at our new gym. They thought that the gym was going to be big enough to fit everybody because we’re a small school. I literally only had 16 people in my class,” Howard said on Above The Rim with DH.
Given Howard’s status as a player, paired with the presence of an NBA great like Wilkins, the school drew a massive crowd. Things quickly got out of hand, and Howard said it got so crazy that the fire marshal had to step in.
“The gym was so packed. The track was packed. Downstairs in the lobby was packed. They were streaming the game from the VCR outside on a TV because it was so packed… The fire marshal said we might have to shut it down. But Dominique was there, so they let it continue,” the Orlando Magic legend recalled.
If it had been any normal game, it probably would have been shut down. But with Wilkins there, the school knew they had to push to make sure it went on. All Howard really remembers from that night, though, is how surreal it felt to see someone like Wilkins at his game. He was baffled, mostly because he had never met him before then.
“It’s crazy that he showed up, and he’s always been there just watching. I’m like, dang, that’s crazy, man. He’s the human highlight reel. Like, he’s coming to my games in high school. This is, I got a shot. I gotta keep going,” Howard said.
“That just made me go harder every morning because I’m like, man, these people are watching me now. And it’s because my work ethic was insane.”
Howard went on to be drafted first overall by the Magic straight out of high school in the 2004 NBA Draft. He immediately made his mark in the league, averaging a double-double in points and rebounds, something he continued to do for 14 straight seasons.
All in all, it was a fun story for Howard to share. Even though his old school is still about the same size, we can only hope they added more seating after Wilkins’ appearance, just in case. After all, you never know when another player of Dwight’s caliber might rise out of nowhere. And it’s pretty cool to hear that the big man still remembers the moment all these years later.
