Juwan Antonio Howard (born February 7, 1973 in Chicago, Illinois) is an NBA player and a member of the University of Michigan's "Fab Five" (along with Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson).
He left Michigan after his junior year (though he still managed to graduate on time), and was taken by the Washington Bullets fifth overall in the 1994 NBA Draft. When Chris Webber, his teammate and friend from college joined Washington that same season. A lot of people thought that the "Fab Five" would bode for a bright future for the Washington franchise. Together with Gheorghe Muresan, a 7 feet 7 inch (231 centimetres) Romanian center, Calbert Cheaney, a swingman from Indiana University, veteran point guards Mark Price and Robert Pack as well as the promising rookie Rasheed Wallace, many saw the Bullets as a secure playoff lock. But Webber, Price and Pack missed almost the entire 1995-96 season due to injuries. That very season, the Bullets still managed to pull off 39 victories and just barely missed the playoffs, in large part thanks to Howard's stellar play. Averaging 22.1 points and 8.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists, he was invited to the Eastern Conference's All-Star team for the first and only time during his career.
After the season, practically all experts saw Howard as a coming superstar. Howard also became a free agent after that season. A lot of teams wanted him, but Howard decided to sign a 101 million dollar contract with the Miami Heat on July 15, 1996. Yet the contract was disallowed by the NBA, the reason being that it was not in accordance with the existing salary cap rules. Howard then re-signed with the Bullets on August 5. He thus became the second player to sign a contract worth over 100 million dollars, his seven-year contract being worth 105 million dollars. Although he always put up decent numbers during his tenure in Washington (about 18 points and 8 rebounds per game), he never reached the level of his All-Star year again. Fans in Washington began to see the woes of their struggling team in the person of Juwan Howard. They thought he was not worth his contract and started to boo him during every home game.
After Michael Jordan joined the re-named Washington Wizards, he pulled off a huge trade that sent Howard, together with Obinna Ekezie and Calvin Booth to the Dallas Mavericks for Christian Laettner, Loy Vaught, Etan Thomas, Hubert Davis, Courtney Alexander and cash on February 22, 2001. The Mavs traded him with Donnell Harvey, Tim Hardaway and a 2002 1st-round pick to the Denver Nuggets for Raef LaFrentz, Avery Johnson, Nick Van Exel and Tariq Abdul-Wahad on February 21, 2002. He then signed as a free agent with the Orlando Magic on July 16, 2003. Despite all the stops, Howard has managed to average 17.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. On March 25, 2002, he scored his 10,000th point.
He married singer Jenine Wardally on July 6, 2002 on Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands. They met at a party thrown by Alonzo Mourning. The couple have a son, Chris. On June 29, 2004, Howard and Magic teammate Tracy McGrady were part of a 7-player trade that sent Houston Rockets star guards Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley to the Magic.
Legal trouble[]
Miami Beach police are investigating Juwan Howard on charges of grand theft, stemming from surveillance video which allegedy shows Howard stealing an expensive pair of sunglasses. In May of 2006, Howard walked into Eye Q Optical on Ocean Drive and purchased two pairs of sunglasses. The store owner claims surveillance video captured Howard pocketing a pair of Cartier sunglasses worth $1,652. Howard says the incident never happened and issued a statement. "I am aware of the situation and have spoken to my attorney. I will vigorously defend myself and am confident that I'll be cleared of these baseless allegations."
No charges have yet been filed.
Trivia[]
Howard is the first player in franchise history since Bernard King to post back-to-back 40-point games (vs. Boston Celtics on July 17, 1996 with 40, and at Toronto on April 19, 1996 with 42).
External links[]
- ClutchFans.net Juwan Howard Profile - Houston Rocket Fan Site
- NBA Fantasy Basketball Stats - Juwan Howard
- Juwan Howard Official Website
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