Dwight Howard | Orlando Magic
Dwight Howard | Orlando Magic
Dwight was born in Atlanta in 1985. His father is a Georgia State Trooper, who was also the athletic director at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, where Dwight was the star player on their 2004 Georgia state high school championship team. He was the Gatorade National Player of the Year, Naismith Prep Player of the Year, and the McDonald's National High School Player of the Year in 2004. He went straight from high school to the Orlando Magic as the #1 pick in the 2004 draft. His career started off well and has only gotten better. He averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds and played in every game as a rookie. His consecutive games played streak reached 351 games before he finally missed a few games in 2008 with a knee injury. At 6-11 and 270 pounds, Dwight has one of the best bodies in professional sports. He was the cover picture for a 2010 Men's Health article. And he looked like "Superman" when he won the NBA slam dunk contest in 2008 while wearing the "Man of Steel's" shirt and cape. Dwight is a five-time All-Star and All-NBA team selection, and the youngest player ever to win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. In 2010, Dwight passed Wilt Chamberlain to become the first player to lead the league in rebounds for five consecutive seasons. His career average is 18.2 points and 12.9 rebounds. Howard has a strong Christian faith and has been involved in several charities. His Dwight D. Howard Foundation has helped over 100 Atlanta children with educational financial assistance. Dwight was scheduled to earn $18,091,770 for the 2011 - 2012 NBA season.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, Dwight paid $8 million in 2008 for his "Chateau d' Usse" home in Longwood, Florida. The mansion is over 11,000 square feet on 3 acres with features such as an office with a secret room that goes to his bedroom closet, a swimming pool with a lazy-river and waterfall, five bedrooms and baths, a game room, family room, home theater, art gallery and two guest suites. The home had been listed for $9.7 million.
Source: virtualglobetrotting.com