Dwight Howard Aims to Become Atlanta Sports Hero
Dwight Howard is seeking a career revival in Atlanta, his hometown. After making eight All-Star teams and winning the Defensive Player of the Year award three times, how much more does Dwight have to gain? Enough success will bring him immortality in his home city.
With controversy following him to his every stop, Dwight Howard has become a villain to a majority of the NBA world. After his feuds with Stan Van Gundy in Orlando, Kobe Bryant and Mike D’Antoni in LA, and James Harden in Houston, many feel that Dwight’s baggage has overcome his basketball talent. But as he returns to his home city, Howard will have the opportunity to seize the mantle of hero, once more.
As we saw with the great, LeBron James in his return to Cleveland, reviving your home city can transform you from NBA super-villain into a fan favorite almost overnight. In a championship-starved city like Atlanta (one major sports title in the history of five professional franchises), even competing for a title will make him a pillar for the city.
Constantly having teams in the “good not great” category, Atlanta sports fans, simply, aim to be relevant again. The 2012 Atlanta Falcons came very close to reaching the Super Bowl, but squandered a multi-score lead to lose narrowly to the 49ers. The Atlanta Braves won 14 consecutive division titles and converted only one of those playoff runs into titles in 1995. Now, the Atlanta Hawks have made nine consecutive playoff appearances and have not won a game past the second round, a narrative that Atlanta fans are all too familiar with.
More from Soaring Down South
- Start, Bench, Cut: Sorting through the Hawks’ power forward options
- Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic reacts to earning FIBA World Cup championship bid
- When does training camp start for the Atlanta Hawks?
- Grade the trade: Hawks deal Trae Young to Clippers in shocking proposal
- Dejounte Murray rips NBA 2K after Atlanta Hawks ratings reveal
Now after this summer, the Hawks have a very different look. Longtime starters Jeff Teague and Al Horford have departed, and now the Dwight Howard Era in Atlanta is ready for takeoff. Questions surround the team as Howard does not fit the mold of the players that the Hawks have brought in under Coach Mike Budenholzer. He does not space the floor and he is not regarded as a great passer. But change is what fans have called for after nine failed playoff runs, and that is certainly what they have.
Dwight Howard provides the Hawks something that they have not had before, a physical interior force that has a track record of carrying successful teams. And with the makeup of the roster with selfless, talented system standouts, Howard’s polarizing figure could be just what the team needs. Players seem to be on board with the idea, as fan favorite Kent Bazemore declared the Hawks to be Howard’s team. The fit next to All-Star Paul Millsap also gives Howard a frontcourt partner like he’s never had before and he gives young point guard, Dennis Schroder a dangerous pick-and-roll partner.
The basketball fit is as good as it has been since Orlando for Dwight, as the Hawks have transformed their image into a poor man’s version of the Spurs in the Eastern Conference. The team’s selfless play has allowed almost all of their players to exceed expectations and now they have a man capable of carrying a team to add to that mold. He is not the player he was for the Orlando Magic, but can still be a dominant inside force in the more slow paced style of play in the Eastern Conference and giving the Hawks the versatility to hurt you from the inside and out.
While the Hawks have improved their image and success under Budenholzer, they are still, for the most part, irrelevant in the Eastern Conference title hunt. But, this transition to bringing in big names is a step towards competing with Cleveland. Will they topple the Cavs this season? Probably not. But don’t be surprised if Dwight returns to All-Star form at home and gives the Cavs a run in the near future.
He’s home, he’s working vigorously to improve his shooting, and finally seems 100% focused on basketball. He is not going to provide the impact that LeBron did in his return to the Cavs, but could certainly improve his hometown team. “Championship or bust” may be the saying in many sports cities. But in Atlanta, we simply want to be true competitors for one, first.
Next: 10 Greatest Shooters In Hawks History
If Dwight can provide that for a few years, he may be bashed around the league for never winning a title, but he will be a hero to us.