Friday, December 11, 2009 0:18 am
CENTER OF ATTENTION
A year after his first Finals appearance, Dwight Howard’s still proving he’s stronger, has more stamina and smiles more than anybody else in the NBA.
By Sebastian del Marmol; Photography by Dania Graibe
There are five minutes left in the fourth quarter of Game 7 of the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals. Everybody is gassed after banging for position—with elbows flying and knees knocking—for close to an entire game. Everybody, that is, except for one dude who just seems to be hitting his stride. And if you’re an opposing player, it’s the guy you wish weren’t in the game in the first place.
He’s 6-feet-11-inches, with arms like copper pipes and shoulders like junior-sized basketballs. It’s Dwight Howard, the man in the middle for the Orlando Magic, and his wingspan is blocking every possible route to the rim. Time to settle for that outside jumper.
If there’s one thing Dwight, 24, has proven as a professional baller it’s that he can evolve. Seeing the modern-day version of Dwight, it seems ludicrous that the mountain of a man was little more than a scrawny high school hoopster six years ago. A kid who made the jump to the pros even while some pundits said he’d never develop into an NBA big man. Had they bothered to look beyond the surface back when the outside wasn’t so impressive, they would have found a man-child who never stops pushing himself.
He hasn’t stopped, either. Today he’s still learning new ways to improve his fitness, strength and, of course, his game. And that’s a scary thought for the rest of the NBA. If Dwight—who’s already won Defensive Player of the Year, is a three-time All Star, and even a Slam Dunk Champion—can only get better, where should the rest of the league hide?
In our full interview, Dwight says “It pissed me off that somebody would think just because I was smiling that I don’t take the game seriously.” Find out how he’s all smiles leading the Orlando Magic in the January/February 2010 issue of SOBeFiT Magazine.
