Atlanta Hawks

Watch Dwight Howard boo himself in Orlando

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:05 p.m. ET

Fansided, John Buhler/Fansided

Dwight Howard is only five years removed from playing his last game for the Orlando Magic. However, the Orlando faithful still booed him and he booed back…at himself.

Howard was once the superstar big man for the Magic from 2004 to 2012. He was a six-time All-NBA center, a six-time NBA All-Star, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, and led the 2009-10 Magic to the NBA Finals. He also put the team through the ringer with a half-hearted season of pushing for a trade.

Howard left Central Florida after eight Hall-of-Fame worthy NBA seasons via a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers in summer 2012. Orlando has since cratered as a basketball franchise, having missed the Eastern Conference Playoffs every season since his exodus. Howard has been on three NBA teams since forcing a trade out of Orlando: one year with the Los Angeles Lakers, three years with the Houston Rockets, and now in his first year with his hometown Atlanta Hawks.

At 31 years old, Howard is still one of the most talented centers in the NBA. However, he is still childlike at heart. As one of his Hawks teammates lines up to take a free throw against the Magic in Orlando, the boo birds come out. Howard had fun with this and started to boo himself jokingly.

(h/t NBA Reddit user: GilsWorld)

Magic center Bismack Biyombo found the whole thing to be rather odd. Keep in mind that this is Biyombo’s first year with the Magic after starring with the Toronto Raptors in the 2016 Eastern Conference Playoffs. He gave Howard this look of that was a combination of “Are you really booing yourself?” and “Does this happen to you every time you play at the Amway Center?”

Howard didn’t seem to care about the boo birds at all. He had a double-double against his former team in a road victory for the Hawks. Howard had 13 points on 5-9 shooting from the field, 12 rebounds, a block, a steal, an assist, and was a perfect 3-3 from the charity stripe. Atlanta would win easily 111-92 over the division rival Magic.

The Hawks have been okay in the first half of the 2016-17 NBA season, going 19-16 in their first 35 games. That’s good enough to be in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings and only half a game back of the rival Charlotte Hornets (20-16) for first place in the Southeast Division standings.

Orlando (16-21) is four games back of the Hawks in Southeast Division and in 12th place in the East, ahead of only the Miami Heat, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Brooklyn Nets. Misery loves company, so why not boo the best player from a Magic team from five years ago, Orlando? The bigger question is if Oklahoma City Thunder shooting guard Victor Oladipo will have the courage to boo himself when he makes his first trek back to Orlando on March 26? Howard did set the precedent for Oladipo to follow.