Josh Howard
| Dallas Mavericks | |
|---|---|
| Position | Small forward |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | April 28, 1980 |
| Nationality | USA |
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Wake Forest |
| NBA draft | 2003: 29th pick |
| Selected by the Dallas Mavericks | |
| Playing career | 2003–present |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| NBA All-Rookie Second Team (2004) | |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Joshua Jay Howard (born April 28, 1980 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is a 6' 7" NBA small forward for the Dallas Mavericks.
NCAA career
He was the unanimous selection as the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year in 2003 (first since David Thompson in 1975) and led Wake Forest to the regular season league championship. Howard was named the national player of the year by FOX, College Insider and Basketball Digest. He was also a finalist for the John Wooden Award and the James Naismith Award in 2003.
2003 NBA Draft/rookie season
Even with all these accomplishments, Howard was only projected as a mid to late 1st round pick in the 2003 NBA Draft because of his apparent lack of upside. This was the same rationale behind the Minnesota Timberwolves' decision to draft Ndudi Ebi over Howard despite working him out and the expectation that they will be the team drafting him. [1] Howard was eventually drafted with the 29th selection in the first round by the Dallas Mavericks, a club looking for a much needed boost defensively and a successor to the aging Michael Finley.
The snub was considered by many basketball analysts as a huge error a lot of teams would regret and Howard wasted no time proving it. Despite being on a team loaded with all-star forwards, Howard played his way into the rotation and two months later, started in the place of the injured Finley against the Los Angeles Lakers. Howard finished with 17 points and a team-high 13 rebounds helping the Mavericks secure their first win in Los Angeles in 10 years. Along with then co-rookie Marquis Daniels, Josh Howard capped off the season by being selected to the 2003 NBA All-Rookie Second team.
Second year
After a miserable 1st round exit, the Dallas Mavericks' sought change, executing a series of trades that eased some of their glut at the forward spots. At first it seemed like it was Howard's chance to finally crack the starting line-up but with the emergence of fellow rookie Daniels along with veterans Finley and newcomer Jerry Stackhouse, then head coach Don Nelson informed Howard that he's going to get "mop-up minutes" instead.[2] But with Daniels' nagging ankle injury (suffered in the off-season) continuing to bother him, Finley moved in to shooting guard while Howard took over the starting small forward spot permanently. Howard averaged 12.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.53 steals in 32 minutes of play for the season. Impressed by Howard's stellar play, the Mavs' immediately picked up the team option on his rookie contract after their postseason defeat (granting them the ability to match any offer he receives during the summer of 2007) and used the Amnesty Clause to waive Michael Finley.
Third year
Howard is currently averaging career highs in scoring (15.7 points), rebounding (6.5) and three-point field goal percentage (42%) despite only playing a total of 55 games due to injury.
Early in 2006, Team USA director Jerry Colangelo invited Howard to serve as one of Team USA's possible defensive specialists (the other two being Shane Battier of the Memphis Grizzlies and Bruce Bowen of the San Antonio Spurs) in the 2008 Summer Olympics. Howard turned down the invite, opting to stay and run his free basketball clinics.
In the 2006 NBA playoffs, Howard was vital to the Mavs' surprising run to the Finals.
Player profile
Now in his third year in the league, Josh Howard is considered as one of the league's finest all-around performers and draws comparisons to Scottie Pippen because of his relentless ability to crash the boards, score, play the point, and guard the opposing team's best perimeter threat including the likes of Ray Allen, Tracy McGrady, and Kobe Bryant. Howard is considered so valuable to the team that owner Mark Cuban once said, in response to the Ron Artest sweepstakes, that it would take both Jermaine O'Neal and Artest to pry him off the Mavs.[3] The Mavs are also undefeated when he scores 20 or more points; a streak broken at June 13 against the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
In game 5 of the series, it was asserted by referees that Howard called for a timeout during Dwyane Wade's free throw attempts, which only allowed Dallas to inbound the ball at full court instead of setting up for a play at half court. Howard asserted that in fact no timeout was called [4].
Awards/achievements
- NBA All-Rookie Second Team: 2004
Trivia
- Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett: "Josh has made unbelievable strides. It's not easy to come into this league and be respected. He not only has done that, but he has a style that works for him. I think we had a chance to get Josh Howard. Ask [Kevin] McHale about that one." - in response to the much-ballyhooed Ndubi Ebi selection. [5]
- Lakers guard Kobe Bryant: "I think he's a (heck) of a player. I like his game a lot. He provides for his team what they ask him to do. He comes in and does it extremely well. He's consistent, too. I think he's a (heck) of a player." [6]
- Blazers head coach Nate McMillan: "He's a scrapper with a real good feel for the game. You can run your offense with him, trap with him, play big or small with him."[7]
- Wears his headband on top of his head "to have a different look".
- A big fan of the film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Howard has the movie poster, DVD and VHS and considers it as the "funniest movie in the world". He believes it sends a good message to the kids about staying away from drugs. [8]
- Was named as a candidate for the 2008 US Olympic Basketball Team. He has recently opted out of consideration.
- During the 2005-2006 season, the Mavericks are 25-2 (both games were lost in the final four games of the season, against the eventual champion Miami Heat in the NBA Finals) whenever Josh Howard scores 20 points or more includng the playoffs as of June 13, 2006.
- In Game 5 of the 2006 NBA Finals, with less than two seconds left in overtime, referees mistakenly took Howard's timeout sign to Avery Johnson as an official timeout [9]. This caused much angst among the team's coaching staff. After Dwyane Wade hit his second foul shot to put the Miami Heat up by one point, Dallas was unable to advance the ball to halfcourt for an attempt at a game-winning shot.