In a week where dozens of legends honored Dwight Howard\u2019s illustrious career following his Hall of Fame induction, the former NBA champion couldn\u2019t help but reflect on the past. He highlighted one individual in particular who had stolen his heart before he had even entered the league.<\/p>\n
Long before Howard reached the peak of NBA stardom, he was playing for a small high school with only 86 students from kindergarten through 12th grade. So when Dominique Wilkins showed up at Southwest Christian Academy, Howard was nervous.<\/p>\n
Howard was not sure how everyone else, let alone the Atlanta Hawks<\/a> legend, would fit into the school\u2019s gym during a game. The school, surprisingly, did not seem to worry about this at all.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just so crazy because I remember him coming to my first high school, well, it was our first high school game at our new gym. They thought that the gym was going to be big enough to fit everybody because we\u2019re a small school. I literally only had 16 people in my class,\u201d Howard said<\/a> on Above The Rim with DH.<\/p>\n Given Howard\u2019s status as a player, paired with the presence of an NBA great like Wilkins<\/a>, the school drew a massive crowd. Things quickly got out of hand, and Howard said it got so crazy that the fire marshal had to step in.<\/p>\n \u201cThe gym was so packed. The track was packed. Downstairs in the lobby was packed. They were streaming the game from the VCR outside on a TV because it was so packed\u2026 The fire marshal said we might have to shut it down. But Dominique was there, so they let it continue,\u201d the Orlando Magic<\/a> legend recalled.<\/p>\n If it had been any normal game, it probably would have been shut down. But with Wilkins there, the school knew they had to push to make sure it went on. All Howard really remembers from that night, though, is how surreal it felt to see someone like Wilkins at his game. He was baffled, mostly because he had never met him before then.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s crazy that he showed up, and he\u2019s always been there just watching. I\u2019m like, dang, that\u2019s crazy, man. He\u2019s the human highlight reel. Like, he\u2019s coming to my games in high school. This is, I got a shot. I gotta keep going,\u201d Howard said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat just made me go harder every morning because I\u2019m like, man, these people are watching me now. And it\u2019s because my work ethic was insane.\u201d<\/p>\n