CITY OF LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA Office of the JUNE lAGMAY CITY CLERK City Clerk Council and Public Services Room 395, City Hall Los Angeles, CA 90012 HOllY i, WOLCOTT General Information - (213) 978·1133 Executive Officer Fax: (213) 978·1040 SHANNON HOPPES When making inquiries relative to Council and Public Services Division this matter, please refer to the ANTONIO R. VILLARAIGOSA Council File No. MAYOR www.cityclerk.!acily.orq November 15, 2012 To All Interested Parties: The City Council adopted the action(s), as attached, under Council File No. 12-1716, at its meeting held November 14, 2012. An Equal Employment Opportunity - Affirmative Action Employer r'dV ~""r "\-:"~';I' '.~ . ,-',~,'f\ DN NEXT CITY OF Los !\l't;t..E:0io:\¥llJ'iGiL [;GENDA TO BE POSTED #541 ; FD" Ctv),;1 !,Icve,' be- H,)O i ;: NOV 0 7 2012 RESOLUTION Dwight Howard Day WHEREAS, Dwight David Howard, born December 8, 1985, is an American basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Dwight, who usually plays center but can also play power forward, had an outstanding high school career at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. He chose to forgo college and entered the 2004 NBA Draft, and was selected first overall by the Orlando Magic; and WHEREAS, Dwight was born in Atlanta, Georgia to Dwight Sr. and Sheryl Howard and into a family with strong athletic connections. His father is a Georgia State Trooper and serves as Athletic Director of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, a private academy with one of the best high school basketball programs in the country, while his mother played on the inaugural women's basketball team at Morris Brown College; and WHEREAS, a devout Christian since his youth, Dwight became serious about basketball around the age of nine; when in the eighth grade, he resolved to be selected as the number one piek in the NBA Draft one day; and WHEREAS, a six-time All-Star, six-time AU-NBAteam selection, five-time All-Defensive member, and three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Dwight has been ranked consistently as one of the best in the league in rebounds, blocks, field goal percentage and free throw attempts, and has set numerous franchise and league records; and WHEREAS, Dwight led the Orlando Magic to three division titles and one conference title, and he was' the winner of the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. In the 2008 Olympics, he was the starting center for Team USA, which went on to win the gold medal; and WHEREAS, Before he was drafted in 2004, Dwight said that he wanted-to use his NBA career and Christian faith to "raise the name of God within the league and throughout the world". In November 2009, he was named one of the 10 finalists for the Jefferson Awards for Public Service, which awards athletes for their charitable work; and WHEREAS, Despite his large frame, Dwight was quick and versatile enough to play the guard position. He elected to attend Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy for high school, and in his four years he played mostly as power forward, averaging 16.6 points per game, 13.4 rebounds per game and 6.3 blocks per game in 129 appearances; and WHEREAS, as a senior, Dwight led his team to the 2004 state title. He averaged 25 points, 18 rebounds, 8.1 blocks and 3.5 assists per game, That same year, Dwight was widely recognized as the best American high school basketball player, and he was awarded the Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award, the Morgan Wootten High School Player of the Year Award, Gatorade National Player of the Year and the McDonald's National High School Player of the Year honor. He was also co~MVP of the McDonald's High School All-American Game that year. On January 31,2012, Dwight was also honored as one of the 35 greatest Mcljonald's All-Americans: and . WHEREAS, Following his high school successes, Dwight chose to forego college and declared for the 2004 NBA Draft-a decision partly inspired by his idol Kevin Garnett who had done the same in 1995; and CITY OF Los ANGELES RESOLUTION WHEREAS, Dwight took the number 12 for his jersey, in pint because it was the reverse of Garnett's 21 when he played for Minnesota. Dwight joined a depleted Magic squad that had finished with only 21 victories the previous season; further, the club had just lost perennial NBA All-Star Tracy McGrady. Dwight, however, made an immediate impact. He finished his rookie season with an average of 12.0 points per game and 10.0 rebounds pCI' game, setting several NBA records in the process; and WHEREAS, Dwight became the youngest player in NBA history to average a double double in the regular season. He also became the youngest player in NBA history to average at least 10 rebounds in a season and youngest NBA player everto record at least 20 rebounds in a game. Dwight's importance to the Magic was highlighted when he became the first player in NBA history directly out of high school to start all 82 games during his rookie season. For his efforts, he was selected to play in the 2005,NBA Rookie Challenge, and was unanimously selected to the All-Rookie Team. He also finished third to fellow center Emeka Okafor of the Charlotte Bobcats and guard Ben Gordon of the Chicago Bulls for the Rookie of the Year award; and WHEREAS, Dwight reported to camp for his second NBA campaign having added 20 pounds of muscle during the off-season. Orlando coach Brian Hill decided that Dwight should be converted into a full-fledged center. Hill identified two .ereas where Dwight needed to improve: his post-up game, and his defense. He exerted extra pressure on Dwight, saying that the Magic would need him to emerge as a force in the middle before the team had a chance at the playoffs; and WHEREAS, even though the big man played tentatively at times, Dwight was able to buiJd on his strong rookie year with an impressive sophomore season. On November 15, 2005, in a home game against the Charlotte Bobcats, Dwight scored 21 points and 20 rebounds, becoming the youngest player ever to score 20 or more points and gather 20 or more rebounds in, the same game. He was selected. to play on the Sophomore Team in the 2006 Rookie Challenge during the All-Star break, and on April 15,2006, be- recorded a career-high 26 rebounds against the Philadelphia 76ers; his 28 points in that game also brought him close to an NBA rarity, a 30-30 game; and WHEREAS, Overall, Dwight averaged 15.8 points and 12.5 rebounds per game, ranking second in the NBA in rebounds per game, offensive rebounds, and double doubles; and sixth in field goal percentage; and WHEREAS, Dwight took another step forward as the franchise player for Orlando in the 2006-07 season, and for the third consecutive season he played in all 82 regular season games. On February 1,2007, he received his first NBA All-Star selection as a reserve on the Eastern Conference squad for the 2007 NBA AU-Star Game. Dwight finished the game with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Less than a week later, he recorded a career-high 32 points against the Toronto Raptors. A highlight was his game-winning alley-cop off an inbound at the buzzer against the San Antonio Spurs at Amway Arena on February 9; and WHEREAS, Dwight continued posting impressive numbers in the 2007-08 season; with free agent Rasbard Lewis added to the ranks alongisde Hedo Turlcoglu to provide an extra offensive spark, this was the Magic's best season yet. Dwight's strong and consistent play ensured that he was named as a starter for the Eastern Conference All-Star team, and by the time the mid-season break arrived, he was leading the league in double doubles (he concluded the season with a league-high 69) and had recorded 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game on five occasions; eight by the season's end; and WHEREAS, Dwight's rebounding is in part facilitated by his extraordinary athleticism; his running vertical leap was tested at 39.5 inches in 2011, rare for a player of his size at 6' 11". He demonstrated this skill in the 2007 Slam Dunk Contest, where he completed an alley oop dunk from teammate Jameer CITY OF Los ANGELES RESOLUTION Nelson while slapping a sticker onto the backboard at 12 feet 6 inches high. The sticker showed an image of his own smiling face with a handwritten "All things through Christ Phil: 4:13," a paraphrase of Philippians 4:13. Dwight's leaping reach of 12 feet 6 inches is the highest documented in NBA history, 1 inch higher than Shaquille O'Neal's previous record; and WHEREAS, Dwight led the Magic to their first division title in 12 years and to the third seed for the 2008 NBA Playoffs, and in the first-round match-up against the Toronto Raptors, Dwight's dominance (three 20 point/20 rebound games) and point guard Jameer Nelson's strong play ensured that Orlando prevailed over five games, Dwight's series total of 91 rebounds was also greater than the total rebounds collected by the entire Toronto frontcourt; and WHEREAS, in the next round against the Pistons, the Magic lost the first two road games before Dwight's 20 point and 12 rebound performance in Game 3 salvaged a home win.