Dwight Howard‘s play for the Los Angeles Lakers has been not only one of the biggest surprises for them, but the NBA as a whole.
In Howard’s 16th season and after dealing with a multitude of injuries over the past few seasons, he has looked revitalized in his second stint in Los Angeles.
Howard’s work ethic and dedication has been lauded by both coaching staff and teammates and he has given the Lakers a huge boost off the bench with his defense, rebounding, and overall energy. He has looked so good that he’s even considering taking it back to the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
Howard was interviewed by TMZ Sports and admitted he’s thought about entering this season’s dunk contest:
“I thought about it. I’m getting my legs back. I feel young again,” 33-year-old Howard told us outside The Window burger joint in Venice.
Howard famously won the contest over 10 seasons ago with his unbelievable ‘Superman’ dunk in which he donned a cape and practically threw the ball in from a ridiculous distance. Returning 12 seasons later would be an amazing accomplishment, but Howard is focused on other things:
“I have thought about it, but winning the championship is the most important thing. I have all the individual accolades but I don’t have the trophy so hopefully, we can win this title this year, which I believe we can.”
Without a doubt, the most important thing for this Lakers team is a championship and that is the goal for every individual.
Anything that could possibly hinder that in any way won’t be considered as this Lakers team is very focused.
Howard entering the dunk contest wouldn’t seem to do anything to put that in danger, but he is simply focused on the team goal as that is most important.
As Howard noted, he has all of the individual accolades any player could ask for as a multiple-time All-Star and All-NBA selection. The only thing that matters for him at this stage of his career is a championship.
So far this season, Howard’s play has certainly been championship-level and if he can keep up this pace, he will play a big role in whether or not the Lakers can return to championship glory.
