Dwight Howard Quotations

We're gaining a lot of confidence in each other, in the new offense and with the coach. Things are looking pretty good for us right now.

We knew they were undersized down low, so we wanted to take advantage of that. Tony played really big for us and was a big key in the win.

We held Sacramento to nine points in the third quarter.

This win was real big. Coach ( Brian Hill ) said that we have three teams coming up with Miami (April 9), Dallas and San Antonio (April 13) and we wanted to get all three teams.

Maybe we're not mentally ready for a playoff series right now. But physically, I think we can compete with any team.

Riding that bike and the little sideline running isn't basketball. My timing is still off, but it's basketball. It's what I do.

I had it marked on my calendar, but I think I was a little anxious tonight. I didn't play as well as I had hoped tonight. Kevin just had a great game.

I expect us to be in the playoffs next year. We've got a great group of young guys and hopefully it will stay together. I think we can build off the finish we had to this season and do some great things next year.

He's back and I'm glad to see him on the court with us.

He's a tough guy to guard. Sometimes you can't do anything about him scoring. You just have to run back down the court.

He knows when it's crunch time, he's going to get the ball and do what he needs for his team to win. He's the MVP.

I think we could have had a win tonight. Detroit stepped it up on the defensive end and won the game, but the next time, we'll know what to do.

I was just trying to make a play for my team. The last thing Randy (Magic assistant coach Randy Ayers) told me was to make a play. I just wanted to get down and play good defense.

Our coach said before the game, we got three good teams coming up in Miami, Dallas and San Antonio. We want to go out and try to beat all three teams. We started off tonight with a good win.

Playing a top team like the Heat, with all their veterans, really lets us know where we stand. You could see we need a couple more days to regroup.

Really, it's an honor and I thank God that the team looks at me that way. I just want to try and be the kind of player that they think I can be.

It feels good. From the get-go, we knew we could beat these guys. The story all year has been us not playing up to our potential, not playing as well as we can. When we do that, we lose, and that happened a lot earlier in the season. We've learned that we have to come out with the kind of intensity we had tonight every night.

Man, we're supposed to get wins like that, ... That's a tough loss.

That's the secret to success -- not worrying only about what's going to happen in the future, trying to work only on the stuff you can work on in the present.

We just came out slow. We came out with the energy that we needed in the second half, but we didn't come out like we were ready to play tonight. We can't do that if we want to win.

We really needed a win tonight, especially on the road. My mind-set tonight was to really focus in on bearing down and getting a win. I wanted to do everything in my will to get that win tonight.

We can win games at home. But we seem to lose focus on the road.

We had a lot of careless mistakes but I think that our defensive pressure was not there the whole game. We gave them easy baskets on our turnovers and that's one thing our coaches have been impressing on us all year.

We can't let losing stop us from believing. We're a work in progress.

We just didn't give up. We were down 29, even though that's a big deficit, you know you never throw in the towel. We made sure we gave a better effort in the second half and try and come back and win the game.

We can still make a big run. We can steal games because the All-Star break is coming up. We just have to keep chipping away and fighting for that eighth spot, and I really think we can make it.

You know hard work will eventually show up for our team and I think that's what the case is now.

We'll figure this out. We'll make it work in the future.

We're not trying to get into the playoffs. We're just trying to win games.

We were all embarrassed after that game, and I know exactly how Toronto feels.

I love wearing suits. I love being suited and booted. When I'm chilling, I also like to look nice.

The biggest thing is always being around people that are going to lift you up and not bring you down. That's why I prayed for God to send me some good friends. He's done that. I don't really have a lot of friends, but the friends I do have are great.

My purpose in life, my goal for the NBA is to preach God's word - not just try to beat everybody over the head with a Bible but just being a good example and always conducting myself in a Christian-like manner.

Growing up, I played about every sport imaginable except soccer and hockey. I've always had a passion for basketball. I remember actually playing basketball when I was two or three years old. The time I knew that I could really take my game to the next level.

I'm really thankful to be alive. If you get to know me, I'm a person that's always smiling and always joyful and I've been that way since I was born because of the struggles I went through. I was supposed to be number eight that died so I'm always thankful.

The toughest part for me is the city - the people. They've got burgers named after me in Orlando, they've got a Web site saying, "Please stay." I love the people in the city. I've literally sat on the bench with a towel on my head crying, because I feel the passion in the stands.

I was supposed to be in the NBA. I was supposed to travel the world and make the world a better place.

That's my job, to motivate people. I can do more, show people more things. That's really why I play basketball. That's my whole purpose of playing basketball.

When I'm anywhere, I'm going to show God that I'm thankful just for life. I'm living out my dream. This is what I want to do.

People say you don't need a father to be successful. I take offense to that. I had an argument with my mom about Father's Day and why it's not celebrated like Mother's Day.

The hardest thing to do is to trust people. Even if you know them from way back when, it's hard to trust people. There's a lot we have to deal with, and it's the price of fame.

God says, Turn the other cheek. So there's no way I could play in a man's game.

Nobody thought that I was going to make it to the NBA. I only had a couple of believers growing up.

I had a lot of negativity growing up, so I understand how to block the negativity out.

As far juicing goes, I've done it for a couple of years; it's very good to cleanse the body. Doing the smoothies and getting the fruits and veggies in there just gives you more energy. You'll feel quite different after a couple weeks of doing it. Be consistent with it and you'll see it really makes a difference.

Everybody needs to realize that it doesn't matter how old you are or how young you are, you still can be a Christian and live for God. It's not easy but that's why we have God's word and He forgives us when we do something we shouldn't be doing. You know, God sent His son to die for us and He paid that sacrifice so you can go to Heaven.

I try not to have a lot of sugar in my system. If I have sugar for breakfast, whether that be fruit or some pancakes or French toast, they'll make sure all of the meals for the rest of the day have no sugar in them. I try to take the sugar out of my diet.

I want to make sure I'm fly. Nothing too baggy, something that fits right. I just like that feeling when you go out in public and everyone's like "Wow, that's an awesome outfit."

Rolexes never lose value, so I started getting a couple of them. I like them. Not only do they look good but they work very well.

A lot of times when I'm in the gym, I might not have that energy but I realize what I'm doing it for and it gives me the strength to do one more extra rep, to do one more set or to push even harder, and to not let whatever obstacle is in front of me stop me from reaching my goal.

I do a lot of exercises where I'm so tired that I'm not supposed to do the last rep. What that does is it teaches me that no matter how far I am, how hard I've fallen, I'm never out of the fight. I just take that with me every time I'm in the weight room.

Sugar can cause fatigue and it can also build up on your joints. It can lead to those injuries where you've got nagging pain on those joints.

My job is to be the best teammate I can be, push these guys to the limit every day, make sure that I'm being the right type of leader.

I want to be held accountable. I want my teammates and my coaches to push me to be the best that I can be.

Sometimes things don't work like they should.

I changed up everything around me. I hold myself more accountable in certain situations. I try to be a better man, a better father, a better teammate.

You really can't please people. I know everybody's attention is on what I'm doing on the floor.

When I'm smiling, I'm supposedly not taking the game seriously. When I'm not smiling, then it's like, "He don't care. He's just out there."

I just want to show Atalanta who I really am and show my teammates what kind of teammate I am.

I know who I am and what kind of teammate I've always been.

The only way to shut people up is just by winning and just playing basketball.

I'm a fun person to be around, laid back, love to have fun.

That's one thing I pride myself on is working hard in the weight room, working hard in practice, trying to become a better player.

I've always played 'NBA Live' since I was a kid, so to be on the cover is a blessing.

It was more of me rushing my shots than anything. Thats the biggest thing for me. I was making good moves, but at the end of my moves, I was rushing all my shots. I learned a lesson.

I hated that perception that I didn't work hard, that I really don't love basketball.

Coming out of high school, I think it was good for me instead of going to college because college and the NBA are two different things. You can dominate on the college level, but the NBA is a whole different story. The dudes that do the best are the ones who work hard.

I work extremely hard in the weight room, and also on the court to get better and make sure I keep my body in shape.

I've been on the side where you have nothing, and now I'm on the side where anything I want is there for me. When I didn't have the means to do whatever I wanted to do, I still had peace.

I'm trying to earn everything given to me. I play hard and I want guys to remember that when they play the Magic they have to face Dwight Howard. And when you face him you have to get after it.

You go from high school, to the NBA, and you're thrown in the fire.

You don't have to be best friends as basketball players but I do believe in chemistry. I think it makes everything different if a team is really together and they're all on that same page. They might not like each other, per se, but if you're on the same page and the chemistry is there, you can play great basketball. You can go back to teams like Detroit, the Bad Boys. Those guys had great chemistry, that's why they won.

I'm not a nest-egg person.

People say you don't need a father to be successful. I take offense to that.

Basketball has brought me a lot of joy, brought me a lot of good things. Just that side of it has really affected me.

I would never, ever desert my child. A lot of my friends didn't have fathers growing up, and they were very upset that their fathers weren't around. I was lucky to have mine around.

In Orlando, I handled a lot of stuff the wrong way.

I didn't try to cry my way out of Orlando. That was never my intention, or not what I did at all. And I understand everybody thought it was that way because of what was being put out there.

I know you can't please everybody; you can't make everybody happy, but just getting that perception that I don't care about basketball and what it brings is a lie.

You always have to keep up with the trends. The biggest thing is making your own trend and making your own stamp in the fashion industry. Whatever is going to be your style, make that your style and go from there.

My team in Orlando was a team full of people who nobody wanted, and I was the leader and I led that team with a smile on my face.

Are you gonna be tough, or are you going to be tough?

Playing 13 years is a long time, but I feel really good. It's not like I'm [old]. I'm just thankful.

The NBA is not for everybody. And looking from the outside in like I did last year, it seems so easy from just watching, but on the court it is a whole different level.

I want to be the greatest player ever in my era.

When I'm smiling and having fun, that's when you should have a problem. If I'm out there frowning and looking mean, that's when you know you've beat me - because I'm not having fun. I've been playing basketball since I was three. Everybody since I was three tried to tell me to stop smiling. Even my dad. My dad apologized to me when I was ten.

I'll joke all day, but once I get in the gym, I'm going to work hard.

Always look at what your goal is. Understand that there are going to be days when you feel like crap. There are going to be days where you feel like "I don't want to do this" but you've got to understand what you're doing it for.

But at the end of the day, every star, every person that been iconic, has gone through a time in their lives where it was just bad. Everybody. It just made them better.

The hardest thing to do is to trust people.

I didn't need to meet with other teams. I didn't care about what offers were on the table. I wanted to be in Atlanta. I wanted to represent for this team.

I'm just going to keep working. Spend more days in the gym, as possible. Just trying to get my game up, and just keep playing. And if it's in God's will for me to win, then I'll get it.

Today is a new day. Even if you were wrong yesterday, you can get it right today.

I've decided to become a member of the Houston Rockets. I feel it's the best place for me and I am excited about joining the Rockets and I'm looking forward to a great season. I want to thank the fans in Los Angeles and wish them the best.

We're trying to send a message to teams that when they come into our house they are going to have a tough game ahead of them.

We're not playing desperate. Like I've been preaching all season, hard work will eventually turn out and show up for our team.

This was a little bit of payback for me. The first time we played against them, they did a pretty good job on me. I wanted to come out and get some payback because I don't feel like I played well in the first game.

The playoffs are the last thing on our mind right now. We just want to come out, play every night and give 100 percent for out fans and just for ourselves.

Those were back-breakers. We had fought back, and to have Gary hit those were real neck-breakers.

Those two guys really stepped up tonight. Harrison is really tough to keep out of the low post. He's a strong guy. Granger really hit some big shots at key times, and he really seemed confident in his shots.