Josh Howard Was A ‘Walking Miracle’
There was a high chance he wasn’t going to be able to walk, let alone become an NBA player.
In the 2006-07 season, Josh Howard was an NBA All-Star.
He was one of the best two-way forwards in the game. When the Dallas Mavericks needed a bucket, he was able to get a couple for them. When they needed stops, he was able to lock down the opponent’s best player and get a steal or cause a turnover.
He was long, athletic, hustled and played smart and was most definitely one of the most feared players during his prime.
Kobe Bryant even once told the Los Angeles Times that Howard was a “problem.”
“He’s a problem because he’s another guy that you got to focus on, especially on that block in the mid-post. And you really got to pay attention to him, his offensive rebound capabilities, getting possessions back for his team. He’s a problem.”
However, when Howard was an infant, doctors told his mom that there was a high chance he wouldn’t be able to walk.
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On the Knuckleheads’ podcast, Howard revealed that he was born “bowlegged” as a newborn and required surgery just to be able to walk.
“The best way my mama explained it was I came out sitting Indian style but inverted,” Howard told Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson. “They [the doctors] said like, basically, if it -if I would try to, I guess grow with it, that it’s a possibility that I wouldn’t be able to walk.”
Howard also said that to fix his condition, the doctors had to break his legs to straighten them.
“They gave my mama those two options as far as growing up with it or breaking my legs and she chose to break them. So, a lot of my kid pictures, when I was like eight, nine months, where you know, I was in a cast.
“I don’t tell that story often because I don’t want nobody to feel sorry for me, but I know I was a walking miracle as far as being able to overcome that and then get to the level of basketball from when I honestly took basketball serious in high school.”
Though Howard didn’t receive many individual accolades in his career (was an All-Star once and was an All-Rookie), he was a force to be reckoned with.
He helped the Mavericks make it to many playoff appearances and played a big role in helping them in the 2006 playoffs, when they made it all of the way to the NBA Finals (unfortunately, they lost to the Miami Heat in 6 games).
He played 10 years in the league and averaged 14.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1 steal.
That’s not too shabby for a guy who wasn’t going to be able to walk.
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