Former NBA head coach Stan Van Gundy recently took part in a wide-ranging interview with Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel. Amid their discussion, Van Gundy was asked if Wizards big man Dwight Howard should be inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible.
“Absolutely!” Van Gundy said without hesitation. “It’s not even close. It would be a travesty and absolutely ridiculous if he didn’t get in. He was first-team All-NBA for five years and Defensive Player of the Year for three years in a row. Then compare him to guys who are already in the Hall of Fame like Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo. Come on, Dwight had a lot better career than a lot of centers who are in the Hall of Fame.”
During his stint as head coach of the Orlando Magic (2007-12), Van Gundy witnessed Howard's skill-set firsthand. However, injuries began to play a part in Howard's career arc. In fact, the former No. 1 overall pick underwent surgery in 2012 to repair a herniated disc in his back.
Prior to his back surgery, Howard was racking up some impressive numbers — a fact Van Gundy pointed out in his interview with the Orlando Sentinel.
“Dwight has had injury problems since 2012 when he hurt his back here in Orlando,” Van Gundy said of Howard. “Everybody is looking at him since then but are forgetting what he was up until then, which is the most dominant big man in the NBA for quite some time. How many guys do you know who made the All-Star team for eight straight years and are not in the Hall of Fame? We forget who this guy was.”
Howard, now 33 years of age, is still dealing with back issues to this day. He underwent spinal surgery in November. Despite that fact, he's been working with his Wizards teammates more and more on the practice court in recent days.
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