Portal:Chicago/Selected biography/105

Juwan Antonio Howard is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Heat are his eighth different NBA team. He was drafted fifth overall in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Washington Bullets. A former All-Star and All-NBA power forward, he also starred as an All-American on the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team during the Fab Five years and, earlier, on the Chicago Vocational Career Academy team as a center. In addition to being an All-American in high school, he was an honors student. Howard was a member of the Fab Five (along with Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson) that reached the finals of the 1992 and 1993 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men's Division I Basketball Championship as freshmen and sophomores. He played six and a half seasons for the Bullets/Wizard franchise and has played three full seasons for the Houston Rockets. He has not played more than two seasons for any other teams. During his rookie year as a professional, he became the first player to graduate on time with his class after leaving college early to play in the NBA. After one season as an All-Rookie player and a second as an All-NBA performer, he became the first NBA player to sign a $100 million contract. In 2010, he entered his 17th NBA season. The 2005–06 NBA season was the most recent in which he was a starter in more than half of the games in which he played and averaged more than 30 minutes per game. Howard has developed a reputation as a humanitarian for his civic commitment.