The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed forward Josh Howard to a contract extension. Per team policy, terms of the deal were undisclosed.

"Josh has been vital to the success of the Dallas Mavericks and we believe that he is a significant part of this franchise's future," said President Donnie Nelson. "From the day we drafted Josh he has really worked hard to become an elite NBA player and we look forward to watching him continue to develop. We are ecstatic to keep him in the Mavericks family."

In 2005-06, Howard averaged a career-high 15.6 points a game and registered 6.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.15 steals in 32.3 minutes per contest. Howard shot 47.1% from field goal range, posted a career-high 3-point percentage of 42.9% and shot 73.4% from the free throw line. Last season, Howard scored 20 points 19 times with the Mavericks going 19-0 in those games.

Last year during the Mavericks run to the NBA Finals, Howard started all 23 games, averaging 16.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.00 steals in the postseason.

Originally drafted 29th overall by Dallas in 2003, Howard has played in 202 games with 163 starts for the Mavericks. He holds career averages of 12.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.25 steals in 29.5 minutes per game.

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