Dwight Howard became the best big man in the NBA just a few years into his time with the Orlando Magic, and he accomplished it despite having a rather unhealthy diet.
Dwight Howard's early NBA diet was WILD 😭🍟
(via @GrahamBensinger) pic.twitter.com/L2wavQNl4i
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 13, 2023
It is incredible how he was able to be so dominant on the court with a diet like that. It does perhaps speak to how intense his training and workouts were, as that’s the only way he could have stayed in great shape eating like this.
Howard would realize later, though, that he couldn’t continue this. You’re not going to have a long and healthy life eating 25 candy bars a day, and he did change his diet as the years went on. It is easy perhaps to claim that the 37-year-old’s prime didn’t last very long because of this, but that had more to do with the back injury he suffered in 2012.
NBA Fans Reacted To Dwight Howard’s Diet
It’s safe to say I wasn’t the only one left surprised after finding this out. NBA fans reacted to Howard’s insane diet with amazement.
One joked that this is his current diet and wondered why he isn’t in the NBA.
That’s currently my diet why am I not in the NBA?
— Bottle0fRum (@99Bottles0fRum) October 13, 2023
A fan can’t believe Howard actually ate all this.
That can’t be real
— Benja (@Benja_THFC) October 13, 2023
A fan bemoaned the fact that despite having a healthy diet, he’d never look as good as Howard.
There is no justice
I eat clean, workout & look like a random
And Dwight gets to eat McDonald’s every game and looks like a super hero
— Or From Wicked Cushions (@wickedcushions) October 13, 2023
A fan says this would be his dream diet.
Jesus, what a dream diet
— TheeFungibleNFT (@thee_nft) October 13, 2023
One fan brutally said this is Zion Williamson’s current diet.
https://twitter.com/ChiefOttoSosa/status/1712952560322031809
I want to think Zion has been eating a lot better now, and he does look in great shape. As for Howard, he was absolutely incredible on the court for the Magic despite eating like this, as I mentioned earlier.
In eight seasons with the franchise, he was a six-time All-Star, made the All-NBA First Team four times, and won Defensive Player of the Year three years in a row from 2009 to 2011. He’d finish his Magic career with impressive averages of 18.4 points, 13.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game.
Hearing about this diet, though, does make you wonder if he could have been even better had he eaten better.
Derrick Rose Had A Similar Bad Diet When He Entered The NBA
Howard, of course, isn’t the only one who didn’t have the greatest diet when he entered the league. A 19-year-old Derrick Rose only ate McDonald’s, Burger King, and Skittles.
“D-Rose, one of my favorite people, he’s always injuring himself,” John Salley said. “[When] Derrick Rose was 19 years old, and his food was McDonald’s, Burger King, and Skittles. This is all he did. You talk to D-Rose now? D-Rose, the first thing he’s talking about is the food he eats and how he stretches. But no one tells you that. They just say, ‘Oh my God, you’re phenomenal,’ and they throw you out there. They forget that it’s a human body. You can have the best computer in the world [but] don’t plug it into the energy source, and it wouldn’t reboot.”
Just like Howard, Rose realized he had to change his ways too. It was perhaps a bit more commonplace for athletes to eat like this a decade or so ago, but things have changed now.
You only rarely see instances of players who are coming into the league now who don’t have a healthy diet, with the likes of Zion being exceptions, as most realize how important it is for their careers.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
