Dwight Howard Believes He’s Better Now
Houston Rockets’ center Dwight Howard believes he is better now than he was when he was with the Orlando Magic
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In 2009, Dwight Howard was on top of the world. He was one of the most beloved players in the league and he had the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals.
Soon, he asked for a trade and “The Dwightmare” began. He was soon traded to the Los Angeles Lakers but a back injury hurt his productivity. Before last season, he signed with the Houston Rockets, hoping to get his career back on track. Although they lost the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round last season, Dwight Howard believes that will happen.
In fact, Dwight Howard told Michael Lee of The Washington Post he is better now than he was in Orlando.
“I don’t think the players that I play against have forgotten me. I just think it’s everybody else on the outside, because you hear things, and people say, ‘He was this in Orlando.’ Well, I was in Orlando eight years. I can’t forget what I did in Orlando. I don’t think that’s ever going to go away,” Howard said recently, “but the Dwight now, is a smarter, better player than the Dwight in Orlando.”
He also believes he has to step up his game to get the Rockets where they want to be.
“In order for this team to be, where we all want to be, I have to step up in a lot of different ways,” Howard said. “Whether that’s how hard I play on the floor, how I am in the locker room, the bus, the plane, wherever it may be, to be that guys that other guys look at as the right example. I think we have a really good opportunity to do something great down here.”
Dwight Howard averaged 18.3 points, 12.2 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, 1.8 assists and 0.8 steals per game while shooting 59.1% from the field and 54.7% from the free throw line last season. He’s averaged 18.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 57.9% from the floor and 57.4% from the charity stripe in his career.
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