Now that Dwight Howard knows what it’s like to win an NBA title, he wants to guide the Philadelphia 76ers to the same destination.
Fresh off a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers, Howard said he wants to do the same for the Sixers. One thing he emphasized was sacrifice and not caring about stats in order to succeed.
“Winning the championship was everything, and it made me realize I could have the best stats in the world and it don’t mean nothing,” Howard said Wednesday, via Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “Because here it was, I won a championship and there was games where I didn’t score a bucket, or get a field goal, or get minutes in a game. What really matters is just holding up that trophy.
“That would be my message to everybody on the team: What are you willing to give up to get that trophy? Sometimes you got to give up everything. Sometimes your role and what’s required of you [is] to give up the things you want to do the most.”
Howard had very limited duty for the Lakers in the playoffs. He only averaged 15.7 minutes per game, with 5.8 points and 4.6 rebounds in that span. He clearly feels it was worth it, and that’s the message he wants his new teammates to absorb.
Ultimately, things got a bit strange between Howard and the Lakers at the end. The Sixers will hope that is to their benefit.
