Dwight Howard hasn’t made headlines all that often during the 2017-18 NBA season. While he’s averaging a respectable 16.6 points and 12.2 rebounds per game, the Hornets have been an afterthought for much of the year, which has led to Howard taking a backseat in most people’s minds.
But on Wednesday night, Howard did something that’s only been done one other time over the course of the last 36 years. He put up 32 points and 30 rebounds in a 111-105 Charlotte win over the Nets. Howard is the first NBA player to put together a 30/30 game since Kevin Love did it back in 2010 with a 31-point, 31-rebound game against the Knicks.
Howard is also just the second NBA player to put together a 30/30 game since Moses Malone recorded 38 points and 32 rebounds during a game in 1982.
So what in the world got into Howard on Wednesday? Well, after the game, he revealed he received a text message from a friend at halftime who said something that fired him up. Howard didn’t specify what the friend said to him, but whatever it was inspired Howard—and the Hornets—to get it going in the second half. They rallied from a 23-point deficit to get a win on the road.
"I just thought that my energy and effort wasn’t where it needed to be for our team to be successful," Howard said. "Got a text at halftime from somebody, and it kind of got me motivated and gave me extra energy."
After the game, Love sent Howard a tweet welcoming him to the prestigious 30/30 club.
Meanwhile, NBA fans took to their social media accounts to make the same joke over and over and over again. They all wondered what year they were in when they saw what Howard was able to do against the Nets. Check out the reactions they had to his 30/30 performance below.
