Superman Comes Home: Inside Dwight Howard's Emotional Magic Hall of Fame Induction Day

ORLANDO, Fla. – Dwight Howard, dressed to the nines in a platinum grey suit, rose from his chair ready for immortality.

During his time with the Orlando Magic, "Superman" was capable of nearly anything. On this Monday afternoon, 13 years removed from a less-than-amicable split between he and the franchise, he showed it once again.

Howard, flanked by team ownership, lifted a blue veil to reveal his Orlando Magic Hall of Fame standing plaque. In taking his rightful place among 12 other figures of significance, No. 12 simultaneously tore down the last remains of any wall built between him and his forever home.

"God likes to play baseball," a teary-eyed Howard said moments later, looking out amongst a private space packed to the brim with family, friends and franchise figures of importance. "I started out here in Orlando at home plate. Hit a couple balls out, [and] I had to start running around the bases of life. Got to first base, went to second base, got to third base. But God had to bring me back home. He had to bring me back home, and He brought me back here, to Orlando.

"This is my home. It will always forever be my home."

Those tears today were tears of JOY
Tears for that 10 year old that said he was going to be the #1 pick in the NBA draft! Tears for the 18 year old kid that was handed the keys to a franchise and a city. Tears for the ups & downs on this long journey I had in the NBA. Everything… pic.twitter.com/VxgaqSjxJ3
— Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward) March 25, 2025

Complexities have cast different shadows over Howard's time with the team for years. But he's synonymous with the franchise, and history says no one player is more decorated in the 36-year history of the Magic.

Over eight seasons, he was a six-time All-NBA performer and All-Star, three-time Defensive Player of the Year, and the team's leading scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker. His teams made six playoff appearances, including a trip to the Finals in 2009 and the Eastern Conference Finals the year after. Because of this, Springfield will soon come calling to celebrate his accomplishments all over again.

However, a public rift developed between him and team leadership, leading to a messy break-up between Howard and the franchise. Coined the "Dwightmare," all parties involved were mostly worse off in its aftermath.

Howard's demanded trade to the Los Angeles Lakers was the first of eight team changes he made in his final 10 NBA seasons. In total, he suited up for six other franchises before wrapping his playing career overseas.

Eleven years after the Magic's five-game Finals loss to the Lakers, Howard did win the title he never did with Orlando. Whether by coincidence, irony, fate or what-have-you, it came in Orlando inside the NBA's Disney-rooted, COVID-influenced bubble – finally hoisting the Larry O'Brien in 2020 during the second of his three Laker stints.

Meanwhile, the Magic have spent most of the post-Dwight era trudging through the East's doldrums. Only recently has the Magic pulled itself out of the mud, but still, the heights reached during Howard's era with the team have yet to be accomplished again.

"It would be a lie if I tried to say I didn't think about it every day," Howard said of his then-forced departure. "I'm just grateful that over time, I was able to learn from all of my experiences, which allows me to be more grateful and have more gratitude for a lot of the things that have transpired over the years ... Do I have regrets about it now? I've had those moments, but life is supposed to teach you certain lessons."

Time has since healed those wounds. It's why on a day filled with thank you's, reflection and celebration, a sense of alleviation was undeniably present.

"Sometimes, I do get mad and beat myself up over leaving. 'Why did you freaking leave, Dwight?,'" Howard said. "But all of these memories, the good memories, the bad memories, it still doesn't take away what is happening. We've had some really amazing times in Orlando. A lot of people's lives were impacted because God blessed me with the ability to play basketball and come down here to Orlando. Everything wasn't perfect, I'm not perfect. But I know that when I had my time here, I gave 110 percent, whether that was on the court or off the court. I didn't play around with my city.

"Did I leave on the note everybody wanted it to be? No, but ... at the end of the day, we've got to enjoy all the moments and just be grateful that had the ability to have these moments and share them with each other."

That healing process started with rectifying his relationship with Stan Van Gundy – the coach entangled in Howard's departure that was eventually fired. He supported Van Gundy after his wife's sudden passing, and has since called the crux interaction of their breaking apart part of the "worst day of [his] life."

Monday afternoon, Van Gundy, although not present, was one of many receivers of emotional thanks – along with former teammates, coaches, family and fans – for making Howard into the man he'd become.

In last season's playoffs, Howard was warmly welcomed back as a guest in a win-or-go-home Game 6 at the Kia Center – the arena opened by Howard and company 15 years ago.

That reception helped pave the path for Howard to receive a call from Magic CEO Alex Martins, the tears to start flowing and for Monday afternoon to transition from possibility to reality.

Reuniting Howard with a family he was never truly apart from – one that can't be accurately described without his consistent mentioning – was a matter of importance the franchise found vital. Now was finally the time to do it.

"I look on the landscape of sports, and there are very few players, superstars, that remain with their team their entire career," Martins said Monday. "I don't think any exit is clean during the course of a career. It really is about the look back at the time that they were with a certain franchise, the impact they made and the experience they had with a certain franchise.

"We can look back fondly on the time that he played with us just like he looks back fondly on that time with us as well."

When Howard lifted the cover off his commemorative place in Magic history, he, too, lifted the cloud hanging over the career of Orlando's greatest-ever player.

Hours later, a Magic-record 19,598 people packed the house he'd built to see the Orlando's stars topple NBA royalty. Howard was honored between the first and second quarters to a loving, cheerful ovation.

Superman has long since traded in his cape. One day, no one again will wear the No. 12 he donned beneath it when it's lifted to the arena's rafters.

But for now, Monday was about bringing home Orlando's own – for Howard and for the Magic.

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