Sixers' Dwight Howard Reacts to Rebounding Milestone vs. Nuggets
Saturday afternoon's game against the Denver Nuggets could be viewed as a forgettable game for the Philadelphia 76ers, considering the wildly unfortunate circumstances. For Dwight Howard, though, it's hard to forget since he reached an incredible milestone in the first half.
During the matchup, Howard collected his 13,749th career rebound, which helped him surpass NBA legend Hakeem Olajuwon on the NBA All-Time rebounding leaderboard. As the game was progressing, Howard hardly had a moment to let it sink in.
As the 76ers were competing against a tough Denver team with just seven active players, Howard didn't have time to soak it all in as he was focused on leading his young and inexperienced team to an unlikely victory. Unfortunately, Howard and his teammates couldn't pick up the win on Saturday, but the veteran big man did find a moment to react to his milestone on Sunday via Instagram.
"I am so grateful," Howard wrote in a post. "Praise and honor to The Most High Heavenly One for giving me the strength to achieve a very prestigious milestone. I won’t stop climbing higher."
On Saturday, Howard saw the least amount of minutes on the court for the Sixers as he landed himself in some foul trouble. Although he only garnered 23 minutes of action, the veteran center picked up a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Although the future Hall of Famer is technically no longer an NBA superstar starting center, Howard has still been a big-time contributor for the Sixers so far this season, and he'll continue to have an opportunity to climb even higher on the All-Time rebounding list. The big man should soon catch up to Wes Unseld, who is ranked right in front of Howard at No. 12 as the Sixers center needs just 11 more rebounds to surpass him.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
