Report: 8-time All-Star Dwight Howard elected to Basketball Hall of Fame

Superman is heading to Springfield, Mass.

After 18 NBA seasons, Dwight Howard is reportedly set to join basketball royalty as he’s been elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2025 as a first-ballot member, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Through nearly two decades in the league, Howard racked up eight All-Star nods, eight All-NBA selections and three consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards. Howard was the first player in league history to win three straight DPOYs.

The now-39-year-old was never able to lead a team to a title as the No. 1 option — although he did take the Orlando Magic past a prime LeBron James to a Finals appearance against Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 — he did eventually win it all as a depth centre alongside James and the Lakers in 2020.

Howard was drafted first overall by the Magic in 2004 and spent the first eight years of his career with them. Through 621 games in Orlando, the star big man averaged 18.4 points, 13.0 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 1.0 steals. Howard finished top five in MVP voting as a member of the Magic from 2007-2011, the last of which he ended up as the runner-up to Derrick Rose.

He ended up getting traded to the Lakers in 2012 for the first of three separate stints — with stops in Houston, Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington and Philadelphia in between. Howard played a total of 1242 regular-season games in the NBA, posting averages of 15.7 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks.

The four-time rebounding champ ranks 10th all-time for boards with 14,000 for his career, 13th all-time for blocks (2,228), 57th in scoring (19,485) and seventh for free throw attempts (9,455).

Howard was recently honoured by the Magic, becoming the 13th inductee into the franchise’s Hall of Fame. He was the first Orlando player to be selected to the All-NBA first team unanimously. Howard’s name is all over the Magic’s record books as he leads the organization in all-time points, rebounds, blocks, free throws made, free throws attempted and minutes played. He’s also third in games and made field goals while sitting fourth for steals.