Today apos;s Birthday 8 12

Today's Birthday, December 8: US basketballer Dwight Howard (1985 - )

Dwight Howard was sitting on the NBA scrap heap before being handed a lifeline by the Los Angeles Lakers this year.

The three-time defensive player of the year was virtually out of the league after oft-tumultuous stints with the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards over the previous three seasons.

But a devastating injury to Lakers recruit DeMarcus Cousins opened the door for Howard to fill a crucial back-up centre spot behind superstar Anthony Davis.

The Lakers held try-outs for the role, with Howard beating out Joakim Noah and Marreese Speights to sign a one-year non-guaranteed contract.

Howard's signing turned heads due to his rocky past with the franchise.

The Lakers had paid a hefty price to acquire the perennial All-Star from Orlando in 2012, with Howard to form a "Big Three" with Kobe Bryant and free agent Steve Nash.

But the trio didn't live up to their billing, finishing with a middling 45-37 regular season record before being bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs.

At the end of the season, he famously bolted for the Houston Rockets as a free agent.

"I hope I get the chance to make it up to you! Thank u LA," he tweeted at the time.

Six years later Howard is starting to make good on his wish, with the slimmed-down veteran coming off the bench to make an impact on LeBron James's Western Conference contenders.

Howard was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1985 to Dwight Sr and https://wiki.pearson424.org/index.php/Aussie_Star_Ben_Simmons_BANNED_From_Winning_Player_Of_The_Season_Award mother Sheryl, who had seven miscarriages before having three children.

From basketball stocks, Howard started playing at an early age and starred at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy as a senior before electing to forgo college and enter the NBA.

Orlando snapped him up with the No.1 pick in the 2004 draft and he finished third in Rookie of the Year voting.

But Dwight eventually stamped his claim as the pick of the rookie crop, developing into a double-double machine and transforming the Magic into an NBA powerhouse.

The greatest team triumph of his 16-year career came in 2009 when leading Orlando past James's Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals before they fell to the Lakers at the last hurdle.