Apr 7, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard (39) during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

NBA Legend Dwight Howard Sends Fans Message After HOF Honor

Originally posted on Fastbreak on SI | By Justin Grasso | Last updated Sep 6, 2025 10:00 PM ET

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame opened its doors for Dwight Howard on Saturday night.

The 39-year-old former NBA center beamed as he walked across the stage to be greeted by his guests. After Howard took the podium and gave his speech, the great big man took to social media to reflect on his night with a quick message.

via @DwightHoward: ‍‍‍ I’m a Hall of Famer now ! I hope yall liked my speech

‍‍‍ I’m a Hall of Famer now ! I hope yall liked my speech
— Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward) September 6, 2025

Howard earns the final accolade of his playing career, even after famously getting snubbed from the NBA’s 75th anniversary team.

Dwight Howard’s in the Hall

Back in 2004, Howard was set to become another top pick straight out of high school. Following the LeBron James draft, Howard went first overall to the Orlando Magic.

As a 19-year-old, Howard started all 82 games for the Magic. During his rookie season, Howard averaged 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game.

Throughout the first four years of his career, Howard appeared in all 82 games for Orlando. By year four, he was starting to gain recognition as an MVP-caliber player in the league. by the time he was 23, he established himself as the best defensive player in the league, and held that title for a few follow-up seasons.

Howard spent eight years in Orlando. During that time, the veteran center averaged 18.4 points, 13 rebounds, and 1 block per game.

When Howard moved on from Orlando, he played for the Los Angeles Lakers for one season. After that, Howard ended up with the Houston Rockets. After the 2015-2016 NBA season, Howard bounced around the NBA.

He played for the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, Philadelphia 76ers, and had two separate stints with the Lakers.

During Howard’s championship season with the Lakers, he averaged 7.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game while coming off the bench. It was the first season in his career that he started to gain a bit of Sixth Man of the Year consideration.

At age 36, Howard played his final season in the NBA. He had a 60-game stint with the Lakers. The veteran center averaged 6.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

Howard left the NBA as a one-time champion, eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA, three-time Defensive Player of the Year, five-time NBA rebounding leader, and a two-time NBA blocks leader. Now, he's a Basketball Hall of Famer after a successful career.