Dwight Howard is in redemption mode this season, not only with the Lakers, but all of basketball.
The former five-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year has turned into more of a joke than anything else in recent seasons, as he has looked like a shell of his former self. But now, he's using a Warriors player as inspiration before the 2019-20 regular season.
And it's someone Howard used to have pretty strong feelings about.
"I hated Draymond [Green]," Howard said to The Athletic's Shams Charania in a sit-down interview. "I'm like, 'this dude is an a--.' But I sat back this year and really watched everything he did, and I was really impressed."
"I hated Draymond. I'm like, ‘This dude is a**.' But I sat back this year and really watched everything he did. I was really impressed."
NBA Insider @ShamsCharania's sit-down with new Lakers center Dwight Howard: Using Draymond Green as inspiration. More video to come. pic.twitter.com/mtrogU6oZc— Stadium (@Stadium) September 25, 2019
Howard said he paid close attention to how Green lets the game come to him. The eight-time All-Star could notice Draymond's confidence on the court, and wants to emulate that this season.
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"Just all the little things that he did that might not show up on the stat sheet," Howard said.
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The Lakers signed Howard to a non-guaranteed contract in late August after former Kings and Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins tore his ACL this offseason. If Howard wants to be a key contributor in the Lakers' title chase, he will have to take a note out of Green's book and focus on the little things instead of thinking he's still the same scoring threat he once was.
Only time will tell how inspired Dwight truly is by Draymond.
