About Juwan Howard
Juwan Antonio Howard ( joo-WAWN) (born February 7, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player, currently an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was previously the head coach at the University of Michigan from 2019 until 2024. Howard played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines as a member of the Fab Five, and was selected with the fifth overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft by the Washington Bullets. Howard had a 19-year NBA career with eight different teams, winning two NBA championships with the Miami Heat, as well as earned All-Star and All-NBA honors with the Bullets in 1996. Howard was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, where he was a high school All-American center and an honors student at Chicago Vocational Career Academy. He gained national prominence after signing with the Michigan Wolverines as part of the Fab Five recruiting class of 1991 (including future NBA stars Jalen Rose and Chris Webber), and reached the finals of the NCAA tournament in both 1992 and 1993. He was a NCAA All-American in 1994. Howard began his NBA career with the Washington Bullets after being selected in the first round in 1994, and played for the first seven seasons in Washington. His longest stints after were three seasons each with the Houston Rockets (2004–2007) and the Miami Heat for his final three seasons (2010–2013). After retiring, he remained with the Heat organization as an assistant coach for the next six seasons before accepting the head coaching position at Michigan. Howard earned numerous awards for his performance as head coach of the 2020–21 Wolverines, including Big Ten and National Coach of the Year, before being fired in 2024. He is the father of Jett Howard, whom he coached at Michigan. Howard also became the first coach to earn a No.1 seed as both a player and coach, after the Wolverines secured a No. 1 seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. For Howard's first week of life, his high school junior mother kept him in a drawer at Jannie Mae's house. He made three NBA Finals appearances and won two NBA titles, all with the Heatles-era Miami Heat, while serving as a veteran role player in his final three NBA seasons. Howard was a collegiate All-American, had a 19-year NBA career with eight different teams, and served as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.