Dwight Howard: Magic Star Reportedly out for Season, Olympics with Back Surgery
The tumultuous Orlando Magic season took a turn for the worse on Thursday night, when news surfaced that Dwight Howard would reportedly undergo back surgery, effectively ending his season.
ESPN's Ric Bucher reports Howard will have surgery to repair his herniated disk, negating hope that he would return in time for the postseason:
"Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard will undergo back surgery Friday morning in Los Angeles to repair a herniated disk, effectively ending his season and eliminating him from participation in the 2012 Summer Olympics, Howard's agent said Thursday night.
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There are too many subplots to count in this story that will change the landscape of the NBA playoffs and, as far as Howard is concerned, take him out of the running to play for his country.
The biggest issue on NBA minds is whether we have seen the last of Howard playing under head coach Stan Van Gundy.
The two have had a very public melodrama play out like a soap opera for fans—the most notable being Van Gundy telling reporters that Howard asked for him to be fired moments before the star center showed up to put his arm around his coach.
The ESPN report also mentions the bigger story of the early morning, a rumor that Howard said he would not play for Van Gundy in a phone call to owner Rich DeVos.
Howard's representatives have deemed those accusations as completely false and ridiculous, per the report.
This puts to rest the ugly rumor that Howard may have been taking time off, disinterested in suiting up for Van Gundy.
Howard's agent, Dan Fegan, made his thoughts known on that mess, via ESPN:
"Dwight has never laid down once in his entire career. It's absurd that some publicly, and others privately, speculated that Dwight was laying down or quitting. In fact, he was working his hardest to play through an injury which now requires surgery.
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There should be no question that Howard would love to be on the court with his teammates, giving his all to win an NBA title.
A horrible situation in Orlando is far worse, with the best player on the team sidelined at the most important part of the season.
The Magic are currently 36-26 and have a three-game hold on the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference, with four games to play.
