Friday, July 29th, 2011 at 9:00 am  |  97 responses

Dwight Howard Working Out With Hakeem Olajuwon Again


by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

Last summer, NBA fans — ones in Orlando, especially — were thrilled to discover that Dwight Howard was taking lessons from Hakeem Olajuwon. Already considered the best center in the League, by a wide margin, Howard went to the ultimate master of the post game to hone his craft.

It resulted in a wonderful season, where Dwight Howard averaged the most points of his career (22.9 ppg), looked more comfortable and fluid in the post than ever before, and drew very serious consideration for the MVP award.

Dwight and Hakeem are back in the gym this summer, working together again.

Per the Orlando Sentinel (via Howard’s Twitter account):

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard is training again with former NBA great Hakeem Olajuwon and says he’s working on shooting more and on raising his notoriously poor free-throw shooting to above 75 percent. In messages back and forth with some of his Twitter followers, Howard said he’s in Houston working with Olajuwon for the second consecutive summer. Asked whether he’s working on his outside touch, Howard responded that he is working on becoming “more complete” as a player.

Howard currently is spending five days working with Ojawuon. One of Howard’s Twitter followers wrote to Howard that shooting more and an improved free-throw percentage were the two things missing from Howard “winning MVPs” and “leading the Magic to a championship.” “This yr shoulda been mine,” Howard responded.

This is terrific.

Just make sure Stan Van Gundy doesn’t find out about any of this, everyone.

  • Add a Comment
  • Share
  • RSS

Tags: , ,

Newer Comments →
  • http://www.optimabbc.be Max

    MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP!!

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Is that so? Unless Rose, Bron and KD magically vanish from the planet for the next 5-10 yrs, there’s no winning MVPs and chips for you but you know keep hope alive.

  • http://www.optimabbc.be Max

    ^If his team would be better, and they won some more games last year, wouldn’t he be the leading candidate for mvp?

  • BRAVO

    Yes he would

  • http://slamonline.com AllDayEveryDay

    What makes Rose and KD automatically more qualified as MVP than Howard. Dwight is a better player than both, and would 100% deserve MVP if his team didn’t suck and won more games.

  • NJ4Life

    Dwight getting ready to run things in Bklyn with DWill

  • http://slamonline.com Tae

    Good for him. Anyway, has anyone seen all those post-lockout moves in tha NFL? Wow! Todd heap cut from bmore, Chad ocho to new england, Kolb traded to Arizona for Rodgers-Cromartie, Mcnabb to my boys tha Vikings, Vince young backin up Vick now, its alot more

  • http://slamonline.com Tae

    Good for him. Anyway, has anyone seen all those post-lockout moves in tha NFL? Wow! Todd heap cut from bmore, Chad ocho to new england, Kolb traded to Arizona for Rodgers-Cromartie, Mcnabb to my boys tha Vikings, Vince young backin up Vick now, its alot more. Holla at me

  • rob

    @Tae And Haynesworth to NE too. let’s see if he wants to play this time

  • BostonBaller

    Go PATS!!!! D12 is getting ready so he’ll look good in Celtic Green then get some lessons from McHale.

  • Genuivere

    Only if Amare would do the same.

  • http://twitter.com/smileyoufckers Bryan

    I can’t wait to see how much they discredit him again next year.

  • BostonBaller

    Imagine getting help from P. Ewing then H. Olajuwon AND THEN K. McHale…WOW!! lol

  • http://stapledesign.com Spaceship Jay

    Great! Now we can argue with imbeciles who agreed with SVG giving Ewing the credit for Dwight’s spike in production again!… I can’t wait!

  • http://slamonline.com Tae

    @ rob, he gotta pass tha physical first haha. Good luck with that. How many times did he take that thing? And tha Bears traded Greg Olsen to tha Panthers

  • slamfan4life

    good to hear, but no way he’ll win MVP if they’re coutning on the magic having a better record than MIA or CHI

    soley #s? Then Dwight might be the MVP whenever the L starts up again

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    I have Dwight as #2 candidate for MVP going into the season. And wouldn’t be surprised at all if he just ran away with the thing. As long as Orlando finishes around 50 Wins or more he has a really good chance, the voters love guys who have never won the award.

  • Alan

    PleAse hakeem tell him that He needs to use the brain, and If he wants a win a championship needs a better teammates

  • http://twitter.com/BeezKneezy LA Huey

    Let’s discuss more NFL.

  • http://www.optimabbc.be Max

    ^No!

  • bike

    He should be working out with Kareem learning the sky hook. Why work out with the Jack of Hearts when you could have the King?

  • misso

    D12 deserves to be MVP, he’s dpoy 3x in a row & he carries his team, & he’s better than most players in the league

  • http://www.facebook.com/joe.l.brewer3 BlackPhantom

    @Tae I feel bad for Greg Olsen getting traded to that crappy squad. And the Patriots Front Office are geniuses. Knick fans must be both pissed and jealous: “Why can’t we have GMs that know what they’re doing??”

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    If Dwight is so MVP-worthy, why couldn’t he lead his squad to more wins last year?
    Damn near every publication under the sun had Orlando winning more games than Chicago before the season.
    Oh, I know, cause they made a major trade blah blah blah…
    F that.
    Bron, Wade, Durant, Rose and Paul are all better than dude.

  • Double J

    CP3!

  • AQWORD

    he’s mos def mvp calibre BUT you cant teach an old dog new trix.

  • http://www.kb24.com The Seed

    Patriots are not geniuses, getting Chad was a stretch. TO outperformed him last year on Chad’s team. Carson Palmer had more belief to throw more passes toward TO than Chad. If I was Patriots, I sign Burress or TO over Chad. Look at Chad’s last 4 year numbers. He is more Twitter hype than play on the field.
    ____________________________________________________________________________

    Dwight Howard is best center in NBA, and without him Orlando sucks, that is the reason DRose got MVP, so Howard should get it too. I expect Howard to get 2 MVP’s in his career. I would take Howard over everyone in the NBA, based off of his AGE, DEFENSE and him being a center. You can add pieces around a center to win. Its hard to add around non centers to win. ASK Lebron and Wade. Because I personally feel. If Lebron or Wade had a defensive center, that can get 20 points, 12 rebounds a game. They win title. BOOK IT!!!

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Um, a defensive center who gets 20 points and 12 rebounds is actually a superstar. So yeah, if you gave LeBron and Wade a superstar they would win it. lol.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    I don’t think Dwight should’ve won all those DPOYs though.
    Dude gets his blocks and rebounds, but come on, it’s pretty easy to be a “lockdown defender” when almost everyone else at his position sucks.
    As for patrolling the paint, that’s what he’s supposed to do!
    He wouldn’t be able to go out to the three-point line and guard a LeBron James or Paul Pierce like Joakim Noah does.
    And dude would get embarrassed if David Robinson/90’s Shaq/Patrick Ewing/Hakeem Olajuwan were around today.

  • http://Slamonline.com Datkid

    Cosign allenp.. Enigmatic Idk man… In an age where everybody is a good speedy pg with a questionable amount of shots and there are literally no more true centers Dwight Howard is kinda more valuable than d.rose…plus he defends other centers way better than rose defends other point guards.. And he scores decently too(although it’s not like he couldnt use more offensive polish) in the final analysis…. Howard> rose

  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    Agree with Datkid, Howard better than Rose. Overall Players right now 1.LeBron(ya’ll know how i feel about this). 2. Kobe, 3. Wade, 4. Howard, 5. CP3, 6.Kevin Durant, 7. Dirk Diggler, 8. Rose, 9. Derron Williams, 10. Melo.

  • http://Slamonline.com CatKiller

    Rose is great point gaurd in a time when the league is full of good point guards. Dwights an animal but there are no real centers or even post players anymore. Almost all big men like to go out and shoot jumpers. So I think they are both equally valuable to their teams so Dwight=Rose

  • LP

    Dwight can easily win MVP…but that free throw percentage aint goin nowhere ABOVE 60%…thas just how it is….

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    If I had to pick one player other then LeBron to win a title with this next season i’d pick Dwight.

  • http://Slamonline.com Datkid

    You feel me lakeshow? Btw I like your list… Personally tho I’d switch Wade and Kobe and put d.will right behind cp3. But that’s me

  • http://Slamonline.com Datkid

    Also cosign nbk…

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    @Lakeshow & Datkid – very true that a player like Howard is a lot more rare these days than a player like Rose, and in that way you could argue he’s more special or could be more valuable to a team.
    I still take Rose over him, but I get where y’all are coming from.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    Dwight’s not winning a title with the Magic next season.
    Nope.
    He won’t win one until he gets traded/signs elsewhere.

  • http://philosopher.view@blogspot.com The Philosopher

    ^I want him to team up with Rose.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    He definitely ain’t winning a title with Orlando, not unless they find some kind of miracle trade to bring is CP…..and Dwight aint going to Chicago at anypoint when Carlos Boozer & Joakim Noah are both members of the team. Even if one of them is used in a trade, Chicago just doesn’t have the cap to add Dwight in a trade that Orlando would accept. Not that I can find anyway.

  • http://Slamonline.com CatKiller

    Dwight could win if all those supposed “three point threats” they traded for could actually make some threes

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Well Dwight alone is the reason they were ranked so high defensively. That advantage is lost in the playoffs. And Hedo is not as effective as he used to be because they got rid of Rashard Lewis, and all the mismatches that came with having 2-6’10″ SF’s playing PF.

  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    Enig you feel about Rose how I feel about Kobe. We are both a little biased but we love our dudes and have faith that they can deliver even over someone with maybe “more” to offer. Got no problem with you taking Rose over Howard. Just as I would take Kobe over both. DatKid, I understand that you take Wade over Kobe, for me I am possibly biased towards Kobe, but I truly think he offers more than Wade does. But can’t argue you for taking Wade over him. Honestly it’s probably damn close to a tie for the best SG in the L right now. As far as D-Will righ after CP3 can’t blame you there either. The list is pretty hard to figure towards the last 5 for me. D-Will could be as high as 5, and as low as 9 for me.

  • http://Slamonline.com CatKiller

    Just wondering here but what do you guys think about Amare possibly having potential to be better than Dwight skill wise.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    “Skill Wise” he is probably already better, definitely better offensively. But, Dwight is 3 years younger, and will always be a better basketball player then Amar’e, without a doubt. Dwight is heads and tails the best center in the league, and he still has more un-tapped potential then every Center in the league except MAYBE Demarcus Cousins. Maybe. Amar’e is already one of the most overrated players in the NBA, and has more then likely reached his ceiling potential wise, he turns 29 this year.

  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    “One of the most Over rated?” How so? I think most people have him in the 15-20 on the best players currently playing list. Thats where he belongs right? CatKiller, kinda a silly question about Amare and Dwight. Dwight doesn’t have a very good skill set and Amare has a decent skill set, but Amare is 3 years older making it seem silly to question if Amare can “out-skill” Howard eventually. He already does and he probably always will. Better question would be as NBK mentioned Cousins possibly having a better skill set then Howard.
    (He may already also have a better skill set compared to howard)

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    Amare plays little to no defense and has never averaged 10-plus rebounds a game, for one.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    If people have him 15-20 then no he isn’t overrated. But he is constantly talked about as a top-10 player (not as much since no-one is talking about basketball) – Or how the Knicks are likely contenders because they have Carmelo and Amar’e. That’s overrating Amar’e IMO, he doesn’t make a team a title contender. But your right, if the majority of people have Amar’e 15-20 then he isn’t overrated at all.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Actually I don’t know if Amar’e is even 15-20, I haven’t put enough thought into it, but he really might be more like 20-25

  • brandon

    get rid of the facial hair dwight

Newer Comments →
Advertisement