Dwight Howard Has An Important Message for 76ers – ‘Sometimes You Gotta Give Up Everything’

Published 11/27/2020, 8:27 AM EST

With a healthy Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers have made it to the playoffs three times consecutively. But whenever they have faced the Boston Celtics, they end up getting sent packing. They were inches away from making it to the Conference Finals in 2019. However, Kawhi Leonard’s buzzer-beater stomped on all their hopes. But does their recent addition, Dwight Howard, give rise to hope again?

But this offseason, the Sixers are determined in going through a complete overhaul. Along with their newly appointed head coach, Doc Rivers, they have made many moves to make a better roster. They replaced All Horford and Josh Richardson, who were non-shooters, with Danny Green and Seth Curry.

And now, to add a veteran presence into the team, they have also signed big man Dwight Howard. Signing a 1-year $2.6 million deal with them, he is expected to hold the fort along with Ben Simmons when Embiid hits the bench.

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Winning one title with the Lakers, Dwight is focused on bringing a winning culture to the Sixers. He has been an integral cog for the reigning champions. That’s exactly what the Sixers are hoping to bring out of him.

What Dwight Howard learned from his first title

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Before he makes his way to his new home, Howard had some words of wisdom for the 76ers. According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Dwight said, “Winning the championship was everything. It made me realize I could have the best stats in the world and it doesn’t mean nothing.”

“Because here it was, I won a championship and there were games where I didn’t score a bucket, or get a field goal, or get minutes in a game. What really matters is just holding up that trophy.”

“That would be my message to everybody on the team: What are you willing to give up to get that trophy? Sometimes you got to give up everything. Sometimes your role and what’s required of you [is] to give up the things you want to do the most. For me, I would have loved to be the guy to score all the points and rebounds. But my team needed me for a specific purpose, and that was to provide the spirit and energy on and off the court. I think I did a pretty good job at it, and whatever this team asks me to do, I’m willing to do it.”

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Dwight’s enthusiasm will certainly go a long way for this team. Although it’ll be more interesting to see how well he fits into the team.

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Yashima Bhatia is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports who specialises in providing nuanced predictions and updates for matches. She has a Bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication. Yashima's love for playing the game came up at a young age, when the excitement of the games coupled with the intensity of the Playoffs had her hooked.

Dwight Howard Has An Important Message for 76ers – ‘Sometimes You Gotta Give Up Everything’

What Dwight Howard learned from his first title

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