Three point field goals and Dwight Howard are just two things that have never gone well together.
The superstition of Dwight Howard shooting consistent jump shots at any point in his career has always been, well, a superstition. Howard has always been simply an outrageously physical prescience down low and that’s how he has succeeded throughout his NBA career.
Howard has five three pointers made spread out over his 12 year NBA career. Now when Dwight first signed with the Hawks we saw numerous clips of him working with shooting coaches and putting up jumpers in the empty gym.
While this didn’t necessarily translate to an increase in made field goals outside of the paint for Dwight Howard, all indication has shown that he is continuing to work on the jumper. The reason as to why Dwight is so committed to improving his jump shot has seemed to come as a new realization in terms of the final years of his career.
"“When I first came into the league there was no bigs shooting threes… they said we need you down in the paint, dunking the ball, blocking shots, and grabbing all the rebounds. So that was the game back then. Now you got these guys now like Demarcus Cousins, Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, these guys are stretching the floor… you have these guys that play away from the basket.”-Dwight Howard on ESPN’s The Jump"
On ESPN’s The Jump Dwight Howard released the fact that he is now focused on being able to convert on threes, as part of an attempt to lengthen his career and adapt himself to how the NBA is today.
"“So, I have this guy in Atlanta that I’ve been working with, and I’ve been working on my 3s. Really trying to add some range to my game, which is gonna be weird for people to see, I guess. They’re used to seeing me in the paint, battling. But in order for me to play longer, I have to expand my game.”"
The philosophy behind this is that the league has entered the next era in terms of talent. Part of the new era, that revolves around perimeter shooting, is that big men who can’t shoot are rather ineffective. Despite the initial blasphemy at the thought of Dwight Howard shooting threes, he is absolutely correct here.
The only bigs in the game today that can get away with lackadaisical perimeter shooting are those with elite defensive impact around the rim, such as Deandre Jordan and Rudy Gobert. Dwight Howard is far from the defensive power he was in his prime, which leaves him no choice but to mold himself to match the necessities in order to succeed in the NBA once again.
Howard had a decent season with the Hawks this past season, but it was evident just how the times have passed his play style. Dwight will always have the physical dominance which will in turn always have him with high rebounding totals and a high number of dunks.
However, even if it’s just the slightest of improvements, any improvement that Dwight Howard can make on his jump shot will further his effectiveness with the Hawks going forward.