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Dwight Howard sang Beyonce songs at free throw line

By Matt Couden

Apr 24, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) warms up before playing against the Golden State Warriors in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 24, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) warms up before playing against the Golden State Warriors in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports /
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New Atlanta Hawks big man Dwight Howard said in a recent interview he used to sing Beyoncé songs at the free throw line to help calm himself down.

While NBA star Dwight Howard has been considered a top player during a good portion of his career, one stat that has always been a flaw has been his free throw shooting percentage. Howard, the newest member of the Atlanta Hawks, recently talked about a special mental trick he used in order to calm himself at the charity stripe.

A July 21 report via ESPN talks about the trend of struggling big men in this particular aspect of their game. Among those mentioned are current stars Andre Drummond of the Pistons, DeAndre Jordan of the Clippers and Howard of the Hawks. The Atlanta center notes that he found a way to make those shots thanks to pop R&B diva Beyoncé.

Howard mentions in the report that singing the music of Miss Beyoncé Knowles greatly helped him earlier in his career. He’s quoted as saying, “I used to sing Beyoncé songs, that was my thing. I told her about it when I saw her. I said, ‘When I sing your song, I make my free throws.’ She seemed to like that.”

Fun tidbit aside, Howard will now have a starring role for the Atlanta Hawks, a team that was among the top three or four in the Eastern Conference in the past season. Howard brings some good size for the interior but terrible FT shooting, as he’s hit at a rate of 56.8 percent for his career thus far. The irony is that Howard was second in the league in field goal percentage for the 2015-16 season, trailing only fellow big man DeAndre Jordan.

In addition to the singing routine, Howard had previously enlisted a sports psychologist who also worked with professional golf star Tiger Woods. Those early techniques seemed to help slightly. However, Howard has still struggled mightily at the line over the course of his career, indicating that maybe he needs to actually hire Beyonce to sing as he practices his free throws.

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