Juwan Antonio Howard is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men's team.
A one-time All-Star and one-time All-NBA power forward, he began his NBA career as the fifth overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft, selected by the Washington Bullets. Before he was drafted, he starred as an All-American on the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team. At Michigan he was part of the Fab Five recruiting class of 1991 that reached the finals of the NCAA tournament in 1992 and 1993.
Howard was an All-American center and an honors student at Chicago Vocational Career Academy. Michigan was able to sign him early over numerous competing offers and then convince others in his recruiting class to join him. The Fab Five, which included Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson, served as regular starters during their freshman and sophomore years for the 1991–92 and 1992–93 Wolverines. Although many of the Wolverines' accomplishments of the 1990s were vacated due to NCAA rules violations committed by four members of the program, Howard was not personally implicated in the scandal and his 1993–94 All-American season continues to be recognized.
After one season as an All-Rookie player and a second as an All-Star and an All-NBA performer, he became the first NBA player to sign a $100 million contract. In 2010, he signed with the Miami Heat and went on to make his first career NBA Finals appearance. He remained with the Heat the following season and won his first NBA championship during the 2012 NBA Finals. He returned to the Heat for part of the following season, and won a second championship. After retiring as a player in 2013, he remained with the Heat organization as an assistant coach for the next six seasons, before accepting the head coaching position at Michigan in 2019.
Howard earned numerous awards for his performance as a coach in the 2020–21 season, including AP National Coach of the Year and Big Ten Coach of the Year. Howard became the second Michigan basketball coach to earn AP National Coach of the Year honors. 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.
