Charlotte Hornets: Can Dwight Howard go home again?

With the Charlotte Hornets, Dwight Howard was given another chance to find his home again, and his rightful place inside the NBA.

Recently, Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated wrote a piece on Dwight Howard titled “What Happened to Superman?” When the Charlotte Hornets acquired Howard during the offseason, it would be a chance for Howard to show the world that maybe you can go home again.

Not a home in the physical sense, such as his College Park neighborhood in Atlanta, but the home that Howard had planned on making inside the NBA. A home where he is respected by his peers and fans alike.

As told by Jenkins:

"“He slept under a wooden cross and a framed copy of the Ten Commandments. He prayed twice a day, once before school and once before bed. He went to Bible study on Tuesday, teen ministry on Friday and church on Sunday, at Fellowship of Faith in East Point, where he started a youth program called Top Flight Security so he and his friends could usher congregants to their pews. His parents sent him to Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, a private school with 16 students in his grade, all the boys outfitted in matching maroon ties and sweater vests. When he sought post defenders his own size, he joined a firemen’s league at Atlanta Christian College, and he told everybody that he’d someday persuade the NBA to superimpose a cross over its silhouetted logo.”"

With such an upbringing, how did Howard manage to lose his way? When he was drafted in 2004 by the Orlando Magic at age 18, according to Howard, he felt “ridiculed.” He wished he never mentioned a cross over The Logo. He unleashed his anger in the gym, developing his massive physique.

Howard’s pockets began to match his physique. According to Jenkins, in 2008 he had “more endorsement deals than LeBron James.” However, he lost millions, similar to most athletes profiled in any 30 for 30.

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The Hornets will be his fifth team. Although Howard never married, he has five children by five different women.

There are those who may deem Howard a hypocrite, and others would call him human. Someone who ventured off the path he started on, and is trying to find his way back home.

It’s not that Howard was a never was, but rather there is so much more that he could be. He could return to the All-Star game, a place where Superman came to town, and rocked all those in attendance. In an article I penned this offseason, “Searching for Superman,” I wrote that he could also help lead the Hornets, who missed the playoffs last season, past the first round this season.

Howard is not a redemption story, because he is still in the NBA, and has a chance to correct any wrongs or shortcomings that he believes that he still has. The beauty of Howard is that he recognized his mistakes, while he’s still in the game.

There’s an argument that he had a lot of chances, because he’s been on five different teams. But, “it’s not about how many times you fall, but how many times you get back up.”

Charlotte owner Michael Jordan still believes in Howard’s ability to get back up:

"“On June 20, Howard was walking out of L.A. Fitness in Atlanta, swaddled in Hawks sweats, when Michael Jordan called. The voice took Howard back to his last high school game, the 2004 Jordan Brand Classic at Maryland. Through a mouthful of braces Howard thanked Jordan for lifting the NBA, and Jordan told the earnest phenom he could hoist the league higher.“‘Why are you so pissed off?’ Jordan asked, 13 years later. I thought that’s what people wanted, Howard thought. ‘When you’re pissed, you’re out of control, and you’re not focusing on your shots or your free throws or the right type of defense,’ Jordan went on. ‘Why play pissed when you can play determined?’ Jordan, the Hornets’ owner, explained that he was bringing Howard to Charlotte to learn the difference."

The fact that Jordan told Howard that “he could hoist the league higher” speaks volumes. It shows that Howard wasn’t just brought to the Hornets to sit on the bench, but to share in Jordan’s vision of helping the Hornets become a better team — determined not to be a one-round wonder.

Howard’s skills have not diminished. He has recorded a double-double every single season of his 13-year career. He is still one of the most dominant big men inside the paint. Last season, he averaged 13.5 points and 12.7 rebounds per game.

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No one is saying that Howard is taking the Hornets to the promised land next season. But he gives them hope.

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