Dwight Howard entered the NBA straight out of high school with enormous promise in 2004.
His quick progression to best NBA big man catapulted the Orlando Magic to the top of a short list of yearly championship contenders.
But somewhere along the way Howard grew annoyed with his coach, teammates, and the Magic front office and things quickly soured.
Howard's trade demands suddenly became an enormous PR mess and his strong standing with fans went downhill fast. It's gotten so bad, he's surprisingly taken over LeBron James as enemy No. 1 in basketball circles.
Now, after nearly getting his wish to end up in Brooklyn, it looks like Howard will have to play yet another frustrating season with the Magic.
The Orlando Magic drafted a then soft-spoken, outwardly religious Dwight Howard right out of high school with the first overall pick in 2004
From an ESPN report right before the 2004 draft:
Posters of Michael Jordan and Julius Erving, two gods of the hardcourt, on the wall. Seemingly, a typical room of a typical hoops junky. ... If not for the crude drawing of the NBA logo with a cross affixed over the heart of Jerry West's silhouette...
[...]
"I want to be able to speak to non-Christians so that I can get them saved or change their lives around," Howard said.
Howard's rookie campaign (12 points, 10 rebounds per game as a teenager) and commitment to getting stronger and developing his post moves early on showed why things were looking bright for Orlando
Orlando made a commitment to building around a 20-year-old Howard in 2006 when they traded away their supposed team leader and highest paid star in Steve Francis
Source: ESPN
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