‘He’s Superman’: Wizards’ Howard wants to play at 40
At the end of last summer, Dwight Howard was staring into a mirror, admiring the view. He had entered that NBA off-season as heavy as a football lineman, hiding 285 pounds beneath his Atlanta Hawks uniform. Now, he was 23 pounds lighter, dunking like it was 2008 again and expecting a rebirth with a new team, the Charlotte Hornets.
Howard made a bold declaration to his trainer: I want to play in the NBA until I’m 40.
Ed Downs chuckles at the memory. It’s not because he takes Howard lightly — he just seems to find humour in anything that questions his 32-year-old client. “The look he had on his face,” Downs recalls, “my response was: ‘Let’s make it happen.’ ” That private goal was made public on July 23 inside Capital One Arena when Howard casually shared with a crowded room that he planned “on playing this game for another good eight years” during his introductory news conference with the Washington Wizards.
The eight-time all-star, currently shredded at 265 pounds with 3.3 per cent body fat, has been focused on extending his career into his 40s, which would follow the path of old-timers such as Dirk Nowitzki (40) and Vince Carter (41), both set for record-tying 21st seasons in the league. Doing so wouldn’t make Howard an anomaly among big men. Hall of Fame centre Kareem Abdul-Jabbar started 74 games in his 20th and final season before retiring at 42. Robert Parish and Dikembe Mutombo, also hall of famers, went to age 43 and 42, respectively. Kevin Willis made it all the way to 44. Howard’s small entourage of trainers is trying to make his goal attainable by building a more modern, intellectual and structurally sound version of him — Dwight 2.0.
Downs and Justin Zormelo began working with Howard in spring 2017 — Downs, the founder of the Miami-based ProTERF Training, coming in a little more than a month before the Hawks faced the Wizards in the first round of the playoffs.
“I got a 285-pound, 121/2-per cent body fat guy,” Down said. “Not good.” Howard averaged just 8.0 points and 10.7 rebounds during the series, by far his lowest statistical production in 10 post-season appearances.
After the six-game exit, in which Howard was thoroughly outmatched by the older, less-athletic Marcin Gortat, Downs and Zormelo dedicated the summer to remoulding the self-proclaimed Superman.
“I had to figure out how to change his game into what today’s style of play was,” said Zormelo, the founder of Best Ball Analytics who has worked with several NBA teams along with stars including Kevin Durant and John Wall. “We added ball handling, we added shooting. Just a completely different mindset than he’s used to playing (with),” Zormelo said. “I was able to figure out how to add different skills to Dwight and he adapts pretty quickly.” Howard had grown up running — his father, Dwight Sr., once coached track and field — but not like Downs had in mind. Downs put that big body on a track, making the six-foot-11 Howard sprint and run 100-yard gassers. He introduced core and flexibility training to finally rid Howard of back issues after previous trainers had concentrated mainly on building strength. “People wanted him to get big and strong, which if you didn’t notice, he already is,” Downs said. “With the way that the game is changing, it’s a lot more fastpaced. You can’t have a 285-pound body out there on a six-foot-11 frame. It just slowed him down.” While Downs pushed Howard’s body, Zormelo worked on his mind. Think more transition, less post-ups, Zormelo advised. Fear not the perimeter; embrace stretching your range closer to the 3-point arc. Howard listened. “When I came into this league, I was playing against the Shaqs, the Alonzo Mournings, the Jermaine O’Neals and it was more so a physical — I’m going to see who’s the strongest guy in the paint. It’s like an arm wrestling match for the big guys,” Howard said. “And nowadays, it’s not the same game. So it’s either evolve, adapt or get left behind.”
Zormelo viewed last season in Charlotte as a test run for Howard to implement some updated elements to his game. Downs had loftier goals. He wanted Howard to play all 82 games, which would have been the first time he’d done so since he was 24 and dominating the paint for the Orlando Magic. Howard just missed the mark, playing 81 games only because he had to serve a one-game suspension for receiving his 16th technical foul.
But in the previous game, No. 72 of the season, Howard recorded 32 points and 30 rebounds to become the first player in the NBA to do so since 2010.
“He’s Superman,” Zormelo said. “After the game, we said it could’ve been 40 and 35. Most people are shocked but for him ...” Downs finishes the thought: “He’s healthy now.”
Since keeping a new routine with a diet consisting of 60 per cent protein, 20 per cent carbs and 20 per cent fibre, Howard has recaptured the athleticism of old, Downs said. During last summer’s transformation, Downs had Howard replicating his showcase from the 2008 All-Star Weekend dunk contest: a windmill starting from behind the basket, an alleyoop finish from two steps inside the free throw line then tapping the basketball off the backboard with his left hand then slamming it down with his right. Though Howard didn’t heed his trainer’s advice to enter the 2018 slam dunk contest, Downs won’t stop hinting.
“I think I can talk him into it this year,” Downs said with a laugh.