| Dwight Howard | ||||
|
|
Dwight Howard Dunk king just scratching the surface of his talent. He goes by “Superman’’ now and needs no phone booth to change into his work clothes. At age 22, Dwight Howard, the ultra-talented Orlando Magic forward, has life firmly gripped by the scuff of the neck. It’s been quite a summer for Howard, who won a gold medal as a member of the U.S. basketball team at the Olympic Games in China, shot numerous commercials (one of which has him chiding Charles Barkley about his famously bad golf swing) that have enhanced his public profile, and he even threw out the first pitch for the Tampa Bay Rays. On top of all those fun things, Howard has hardly let the extracurricular elements in his life distract him from his day job. In the NBA preseason, he led the team in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots as he readied himself for the regular season. Howard’s priorities are in order, which is refreshing for such a young star. “Dwight’s come back with a great approach; he’s much more serious,” Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy says. “Nobody ever has to worry about me,’’ the 6-foot-11, 270-pound Howard says. “I want to win a championship. For me, the biggest thing was being on ESPN highlights. Now it’s seeing my team win. On and off the court [I want to be] more mature with my decisions.” Spoken like a man far more mature than his 22 years and such early success and riches — he has a five-year, $85 million contract kicking in this season — might suggest. Spoken really, like Superman. Howard embraced the superhero’s moniker when he wore a Superman outfit, cape and all, while winning the dunk contest at last season’s NBA All-Star Game. He has since officially aligned himself in a marketing relationship with the comic book trademark and will wear the Superman emblem on the back of his basketball shoes in games. “Dwight’s still scratching the surface,” says Magic general manager Otis Smith. “He’s not a finished product. But at this point, you’d have to say he has delivered.” Interestingly, there are those inside the Magic organization who believe that Howard’s Olympic experience has made him a better player because of the fact that he wasn’t the star of the show. The Olympic team was filled with stars, and the theme to the “Redeem Team’’ was about those stars being role players. “For me, he got better from the standpoint that he had a role,”’ Smith says. “It wasn’t the role that he’s accustomed to on our team, but he had a role. So I think he has a newfound appreciation for the Brian Cooks and Tony Batties. It might seem like a little blip on the radar, but it’s huge for him to understand that everybody has a role. “He’ll tell you that in the Olympics, he was frustrated because he wanted to score 30 points and do all those other things. I love him to death, but sometimes you just got to play a role.” Even Superman. — Mark Cannizzaro
Set as favorite
Bookmark
Email this
Hits: 106 Comments (0)Subscribe to this comment's feedWrite commentYou must be logged in to post a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.
|
