Dwight Howard is already planning a championship run in Atlanta.
The newest Hawks center credits his rough 2015-16 season with the Rockets as motivation to bring an NBA title to Atlanta. Howard watched LeBron James, the player drafted first overall one year before he was picked first in the 2004 NBA Draft, do the same for Cleveland last year.
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“I want to do whatever I can to bring a championship home,” Howard told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday . “I know it’s not going to be easy. I’ve worked extremely hard this summer, every summer. I’m very motivated. I’m really (ticked) off about last season. I’m looking forward to coming back with a different mentality.”
Howard, who is an Atlanta native, said losing was why he was so angry about last season and why he decided to move on from the Rockets.
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“A lot of people see me with smiles and all that stuff and think I don’t care but I hate losing," Howard said. "I hate seeing other people stand up on the podium and hold up that trophy and I worked so hard for it. That’s the main thing.”
Howard will officially sign his three-year, $70.5 million contract with the Hawks on Thursday.