Getty Dwight Howard, Lakers
Dwight Howard is in a good groove with the Los Angeles Lakers this season.
Howard, 34, is averaging 7.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per contest for the purple and gold.
A five-time All-Defensive Team member, Howard has won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year Award three times, been crowned an NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner and he’s looking to add NBA Champion to his resume with the Los Angeles Lakers alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis and JR Smith.
The first pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic, Howard is in his second stint with the Lakers and the 8-time NBA All-Star and Olympic gold medalist has the eyes of retired NBA player, Jamario Moon.
Appearing on this week’s episode of the episode while promoting his role with The 5 Tournament Pro Basketball Invitational, Moon checked in with the Scoop B Radio Podcast and discussed his views on Howard this season.
Moon also discussed participating in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest with Howard.
Check out my notes below:
Jamario Moon on Dwight Howard with the Los Angeles Lakers:
“I don’t know if he reinvented himself. They act like he just disappeared or something man. It’s just all about – when you have certain roles when you go to certain teams you know what I’m sayin’? And a lot of people that’s outside of the game that just watch it on TV just thinking you’re going out there and playing. Everybody got a role. You go out there and do your job. You get paid, you go home. It’s like anybody that works a regular job; they get up, they go to work, they do what they do what they’re required and they come back home. I think Dwight was just doing what he had to do with whatever team he was with. I don’t think he’s reinventing himself or nothing like that so, but I do like him with the Lakers because he still can jump with the best of them, he’s still blocking shots and rebounding. He doesn’t really have to be too much of a scoring threat. They got people that can score the basketball. So if he’s to be a rim protector and a shot blocker and a rebounder, I love him with the Lakers. And that’s six extra fouls! So of course I like Dwight man; he still can move.”
CLEVELAND, OH – DECEMBER 02: LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat drives around Jamario Moon #15 of the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena on December 2, 2010 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Jamario Moon on competing in the 2008 Slam Dunk Contest with Gerald Green and Dwight Howard:
“Man, all that stuff was happening my rookie season man, so I was just like I was dreaming man. To go from watching all those guys like Mike and Dominique and Vince and T-Mac and Nate Robinson… and all those people that were on that same stage before me man…To go from years of minor league, whatever league to get to the NBA to finally be on the same stage as those guys man, I was dreaming. It was like that whole season was a dream. But that All-Star Weekend was wild man; my family got to come out and they got to experience the weekend with me man – like nobody, coming from where I came from made it in professional sports; not going to a high level in professional sports. So it’s almost like, ‘can we even get out of here?’ so to be able to give them the opportunity to come meet some people that they watched on TV and experience that whole weekend man, that felt good. They probably felt like that they were dreaming too. But the people asked me was I mad because I came in third place and I was like, “Man, you see the people that I was in the Dunk Contest against? Why would I be mad that I came in 3rd place?” So the people back home were like, ‘they cheated you man! Dwight didn’t even dunk that!’ … look, when you go back and replay on how high he was flying with that cape on, and threw that ball in, it looked like Superman, right? The way he was laying and threw that ball in, that was CRAZY man…Like, you really couldn’t see what it was when it happened at regular speed. But when you look up on the jumbotron and look at it in slow motion, you’re like, ‘Oh ok!’ like when Vince did the elbow dunk. When he did it, people were just like ‘Eh’ but then when they go back and look at it they’re like ‘ooohhhh ok!’ it was one of those moments. But I enjoyed that whole weekend man. I wish every year on my birthday I could just go back and do that on my birthday.”