Dwight Howard to Hall of Fame: Three-time Defensive Player of the Year to join prestigious class of 2025

Dwight Howard's 18-year NBA career consisted of nine stops with seven different teams. Three years after playing in his final NBA game, Howard's next stop will be in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Howard will officially be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2025, according to a report from ESPN's Shams Charania. He was announced as a finalist in February and gets in as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

At his peak, Howard was the league's best center for several years running. He's an eight-time All-Star who was named to the All-NBA First Team for five consecutive seasons from 2008-2012. In that same span, Howard won Defensive Player of the Year three consecutive years, doing so in 2009-2011.

Here's what to know about Howard's Hall of Fame career.

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Who is in the Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2025?

Howard, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, is the latest all-time great to officially get the call to the Hall. The report from Charania comes two days after 10-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony learned of his induction.

In addition to Howard and Anthony, the group of finalists includes Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Mark Few, Billy Donovan and the 2008 United States Men's Senior National Team.

Howard's accolades are not limited to the ones listed above. In total, he earned eight All-NBA selections and five All-Defensive Team selections. Howard also led the league in rebounding five times and was the league's blocks leader twice.

He led the Magic to the NBA Finals in 2009 and captured a title as a member of the Lakers in 2020.

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Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2025 candidates

The Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2025 could be one of the most well-rounded in recent memory. Here is the full list of candidates for enshrinement this year.

North American Committee Finalists

• 2008 US Olympic Men’s Basketball Team

• Carmelo Anthony (Player)

• Danny Crawford (Referee)

• Billy Donovan (Coach)

• Mark Few (Coach)

• Dwight Howard (Player)

• Marques Johnson (Player)

• Jerry Welsh (Coach)

• Buck Williams (Player)

Women's Committee Finalists:

• Jennifer Azzi (Player)

• Sue Bird (Player)

• Sylvia Fowles (Player)

• Maya Moore (Player)

Women's Veteran Committee Finalist:

• Molly Bolin (Player)

International Committee Finalist:

• Dušan Ivković (Coach)

Contributors Committee Finalists:

• Micky Arison

• Tal Brody

Dwight Howard stats

Howard is undoubtedly one of the greatest centers in NBA history. He averaged a double-double for each of his first 14 seasons in the league and retired with 19,485 career points and 11,913 rebounds.

Here's a look at some of his numbers.

Dwight Howard career averages

• 15.7 points per game
• 11.8 rebounds per game
• 1.3 assists per game
• 0.9 steals per game
• 1.8 blocks per game
• 58.7 percent field goal shooting
• 56.7 percent free throw shooting