Dwight Howard is viewing his contract with the Atlanta Hawks as a new beginning. To prove his point even further, he has changed his lifetime jersey number.
As the free agency whirlwind begins to slow down, it’s time that Atlanta Hawks fans let the thought Dwight Howard playing for his hometown team sink in. The first couple weeks of July is always a blur in itself because of so many moves different teams are making, it almost doesn’t give you time to really think about who was acquired.
Howard is still one of the prominent centers in the league. The fact that he’s had a rough patch with the last couple of teams he played for leaves some fans skeptical of how he will treat this situation, and rightfully so. But Howard is looking at this new contract with Atlanta as a revitalization in his career. Getting back on the right path. Becoming the best center in the NBA. Just like he was back in his Orlando Magic days.
As a reminder that this is an opportunity for Howard to reinvent himself is by coming to the decision to change his jersey number. Ever since he was drafted into the league in 2004, Howard has worn No. 12. Now, he has switched to No. 8, and he explained the motivation behind that number on The Dan Patrick Show:
"“Well, I’ve had No. 12 my whole life and I just felt like I needed a change. I wanted something different. I wanted to come in with a different mentality. A different me. And you know, the No. 8 has a lot of great meanings and the one that stood out was the new beginning and new life. It’s just so ironic that my birthday is December 8th and you know, I was supposed to be dead. My mom lost seven kids and I was supposed to be the eighth one and I ended up being the eighth one that lived out of all the ones that passed away. So it has some significance in my life.”"
Howard averaged 13.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game last season for the Houston Rockets. As he comes into a new team with a respected head coach, he will look to get back into the upper-echelon of players at his position like he was for so many years.