The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the oldest teams we’ve seen in a while but that’s not necessarily a bad team.
While health could be a concern down the stretch, the fact that Rob Pelinka put together a team of mature veterans who know what it takes to win also gives them an edge over their rivals.
One of those players who have clearly grown throughout the course of their careers is Dwight Howard. He’s back for his third stint with the purple-and-gold and is ready to contribute in whatever capacity coach Frank Vogel asks from him:
“I just think it’s about sacrifice,” Howard told Austin Green of Silver Screen and Roll. “What are you willing to give up to get the trophy?… My first year [back] here, it was for me, you’ve got to realize, ‘Dwight, just do what they ask you to do, no matter how hard it may be at times.’ Everybody wants to score. Everybody wants to be the person to make the front page of the newspaper. At the end of the day, holding up that trophy and celebrating with your family and the city and all the people that you love, it just means so much more.”
That’s what you want to hear out of your veteran players but it’s not an easy mindset to achieve, especially if you were a superstar like Dwight Howard.
Howard is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, one of the most dominant big men of his time, and a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate in his prime.
He will no longer shut down the paint or jump off the roof as he used to but he can still be quite valuable and productive for the Lakers, especially if he’s willing to embrace a diminished role for the sake of the team.
