Dwight Howard has nice gesture for grieving Stan Van Gundy
Jan 15, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) arrives at Toyota Center before a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Dwight Howard and Stan Van Gundy have had their differences in the past, but that is all taking a backseat right now.
The ex-NBA star Howard revealed in a post to social media that he recently took a trip to Orlando, Fla. to be there for Van Gundy. Howard’s former coach on the Orlando Magic, Van Gundy is grieving the loss of his wife Kimberly, who died unexpectedly earlier this month.
Howard shared a picture with many of his old Magic teammates and Van Gundy. Included in the photo were Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, Mickael Pietrus, Ryan Anderson, Quentin Richardson, Marcin Gortat, Patrick Ewing (a former Magic assistant), and others.
The gang all came back to support Stan Van Gundy (@realStanVG) ♥️ pic.twitter.com/Ymo7eHA5iy
— Be Magic Or Be Gone! (@BeORLMagic) August 27, 2023
Additionally, Howard posted a touching message of support for Van Gundy and a tribute to Kimberly. You can see Howard’s lengthy post below.
Van Gundy coached Howard on the Magic from 2007-12. While it was a largely successful partnership that produced an NBA Finals appearance in 2009, the two men didn’t always see eye-to-eye. Van Gundy eventually got fired by the Magic in 2012 (supposedly at Howard’s insistence).
In recent years though, the relationship between Howard and Van Gundy had already been much improved. Van Gundy even went viral a little while back for a strong take in Howard’s defense. Now Howard is returning the favor in Van Gundy’s time of need, which is especially cool since Howard now resides pretty far away (playing in Taiwan for the Taoyuan Leopards).